VIDEO: Actual full-motion footage of Love's Ferrari 250 TR tagging the wall at Laguna Seca *UPDATED
1958 Ferrari 250 TR crashes at Laguna Sega - Click above to watch video When David Love's $8 million 1958 Ferrari 250 TR loses its brakes, goes airborne and then crashes into a bank of tires, it's news. When our best photographer just happens to be shooting the car just as it crashes at the Laguna Sega Corkscrew, of course we're going to post the obligatory high-resolution gallery. Heck, we even went back to the well when one of our readers took Drew Phillips' fast action photos and animated them into a six frame per second movie.
Just when you thought our fascination over the wrecking of the ultra rare 250 TR has passed, we're taking you back to the Corkscrew one more time. We have a great reason, too, as Autoblog reader Susan Curry has given us a never-before-seen video of the crash from the bottom of the Corkscrew. And this time we're talking about actual motion pictures with audio instead of a conglomeration of 31 ultra high-resolution pics. We were kind of expecting someone would have the video, as a collection of rare and expensive race cars traversing a challenging track absolutely should attract some filming. Hit the jump to view the exclusive video. We've also added the reader animation video for your perusal, along with the fantastic gallery from Mr. Phillips. Thanks for the video, Susan!
*UPDATE: Compelling new video from a different vantage point added after the jump - thanks for the link, Robert B!
Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
raysocal 1:11AM (8/19/2009)
Thanks great pics and clip
Did anyone get a clip of the lap before. Another 250 TR spun at turn 8b and ended up facing uphill looking up the corkscrew. This crashed 250TR and another Ferrari I think a Superamerica nearly collided with the spun TR. Rumor in the paddock was the driver was so shaken up from the near miss incident it led to a late turn in at the top of the corkscrew and you see the results.
There was also a great pass by Brian Redman in the session after where he was driving a 908 Spyder and passed two 911s between 8b and 9. Anyone have a clip of that?
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Paul 9:51PM (8/19/2009)
I've got not clip but I'd heard (again, rumor) that he had a momentary stuck throttle. The photos indicate he may have had the throttle on as he entered the gravel, braking at the same time. I'm sure he'll chime in at some point.
Regardless, I'm very relieved he's safe. David (driver/owner) is a class guy who truly loves to share his car with everyone. That he's owned this machine since 1964 makes him and the car two rare animals and I'm confident both will be back next year.
sonic the plumber 5:05PM (8/20/2009)
Anybody who uses these cars like their maker intended whilst they're worth millions is a true car guy.
It's the ones who collect cars and keep them in sealed garages that hack me off, the wastrels.
Collect scale models ffs, don't buy a car and store it.
ckm 7:52PM (8/19/2009)
I actually worked on a portion of a trunk of one of those as part of a master sheet metal apprenticeship (under heavy supervision, of course). They are not that hard to fix as it seems as it's just sheet aluminum. The major problem is finding people with the right skills, particularly gas welding aluminum (and clean gas...). Luckily, there's been somewhat of a revival of craftsman sheet metal working in the last five years, so it's not as rare as it used to be.
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HotRodzNKustoms 7:52PM (8/19/2009)
I love vintage racing but there is a price to pay to race the greats and this guy was not seeing a tire wall but seeing a wall made out of dollar signs.
The corkscrew is one of the most amazing corners on any track. It is deceptively technical to really get it right. My father has got it really wrong twice there flipping a new Aston Martin while tire testing for Goodyear and flipping a production race car 11.5 times end over end. So luckily for the 250 TR driver it didn't go that wrong
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naggs 1:55AM (8/20/2009)
the cork-screw is the easiest corner to get really wrong in the US
kal326 11:00AM (8/20/2009)
Yeah I often find myself hitting that same tire wall in Forza 2 on the corkscrew. However this just leaves me pissed off in my living room and not with a significant repair bill.
fixitfixitstop 11:13AM (8/20/2009)
I have too many friends who break the cork and mess up my wine.
Robert B 8:09PM (8/19/2009)
Yet another view here that I shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thzuy7ouNxw
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Farris 9:20PM (8/19/2009)
GREAT SHOT! I think Autoblog needs to put that up in the article with the other two.
It sounded like announcer said something about a rear-ending? Any more details on that?
Farris 9:20PM (8/19/2009)
Oh, nevermind, I listened again and it sounds like he was just talking about the rear end of the car coming off the ground.
Joe Black 8:30PM (8/19/2009)
Have we heard what happened? Did he cook the brakes or did the pedal go spongy?
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xmdfmk7x 8:55PM (8/19/2009)
FAIL. Looks like he cooked the brakes, came in too hot, and ultimately paid the price for it. If I owned that car it would've never ended up in a tire wall. Some cars are just too rare to risk damaging by thrill seeking.
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Farris 9:17PM (8/19/2009)
So what you're saying is that if you owned one of the most beautiful vintage racers of all times, you'd keep it off the track... which is where it belongs?
Sounds like you're the FAIL.
xmdfmk7x 10:24PM (8/19/2009)
No Farris, I wouldn't be trying to drive it fast on a track like an idiot. You can have just as much fun in a car like that on a quiet mountain road. If you really need the adrenaline rush of driving on a track, there are plenty of other cars that fit the bill without having to risk ruining a rare vintage car like a 250 TR. Things can and do go wrong on the track, but finding parts for car like a 250 TR isn't exactly as easy as finding parts for a Corvette or replica Shelby Cobra.
Looks like the only FAIL here is your lack of sound judgement. My superior knowledge of risk assessment qualifies me better than you when it comes to taking good care of a vintage car.
Imag 10:58PM (8/19/2009)
Your "superior risk assessment" can go to Pebble Beach.
For a lot of us, these cars only exist as automobiles when they are doing what they were designed to do. In this case, the car is a racecar, and a lot of us happen to love the Monterey Historics for just this reason. To stand in the pits, when a 50+ year-old car comes in off the racetrack with its brakes smoking and the radiator steaming, is glorious. It is glorious to watch these cars, and it is even more special to hear them.
Your "superior risk assessment" would mean that many people never would have a memory of a Testarossa V12 howling up the straight of Seca, or an Bugatti type 35, supercharger whistling, blazing through the infield.
This car has been fixed before. It will be fixed again. The day it is subjected to "superior risk assessment" is the day it will die.
White Goodman 11:18PM (8/19/2009)
Thank you, lmag. Couldn't have said it better.
I can't help but smile when watching this video, not because I take pleasure in the misfortune of others, but because I know that the value of experiencing these fine cars as intended by their creators far outweighs the cost of the damage that occurred.
tankd0g 11:40PM (8/19/2009)
Live we've never seen pictures of a Veyron or McLaren F1 crashed on a "country road". what do you think an F1 is going to be worth in 20 years?
xmdfmk7x 11:46PM (8/19/2009)
Imag, I didn't say it didn't ever have to go out on the track, it just shouldn't be driven by a moron who's driving it too fast and too hard to the point where accidents happen and vintage cars get destroyed. He's lucky that was just a tire wall, otherwise that car would've been a worthless pile of vintage Ferrari scrap metal and you know what happens after that, right? It means NO ONE will hear it howling up the straight of Laguna Seca because it won't exist anymore. Pull your head out of your ass, this is a multi-million dollar car, not a Hot Wheels toy car, and it should be treated like its worth more than you're likely to ever make in your whole life. You wouldn't bet your entire retirement savings and pension on a game of roulette would you? So why would you take that gamble on a car worth far more than that?
why not the LS2LS7? 12:17AM (8/20/2009)
It's his car. If he wants to drive it hard, it's his decision. And I for one am glad he does.
Jeez, why all this talk by non-owners of 250 TRs of what 250 TR owners should do with their cars?