VIDEO: Low-flying pelican results in Bugatti Veyron Hydro Edition [*UPDATE: Now with actual crash footage!]
This is one of the saddest, yet most amusing sights we've ever seen. A $1.6 million Bugatti Veyron sitting in a salt water lagoon, door open, in two feet of nasty, corrosion-inducing muddy water. While the sight is sad, how the event allegedly transpired is downright hilarious. The unnamed owner of the vehicle, traveling through Galveston, Texas to look at some high-end property, was reportedly talking on his cell phone when a low-flying pelican distracted him. The driver swerved to avoid the big bird, dropped his cell phone, and in the process the front passenger tire hit a mud patch.
A quad-turbo, 16-cylinder engine may be able to get you to 60 mph in under three seconds, but it doesn't work well with mud, so the supercar made a b-line for an adjacent lagoon. The ultra rare Veyron (reportedly one of 15 copies here in the States) was still running after it rested nearly belt-line high in the salt water, as local news affiliate KHOU reported the 1,000+ hp engine "gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died." It probably would have been a great idea to kill power to the engine (and even shut the door) once the Veyron hit the muck, but hey, what do we know?
Hit the jump to watch video of the Veyron as it is extracted from its salty abyss. And if you own a Veyron, let this be a lesson to you that having money doesn't necessarily mean you have the skill to drive a supercar, especially when you're on the phone. Thanks to everyone for the tips!
*UPDATE: Now with actual (incredible) crash footage! (and no, we don't see any pelicans, either). WARNING: Second video contains explicit not-safe-for-work language.
Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
[Sources: KHOU; YouTube]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 11)
risk 11:03AM (11/12/2009)
amazing what money lets you do...
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Alex 3:31PM (11/12/2009)
What does this have to do with money? It's not like he used his Veyron to kill a school bus full of nuns and used his money to get away with it. This is just an idiot not paying attention. They only reason its news worthy is instead of Joe Schmoe taking his Ford Taurus for a dip, its a $1.6 mil Bugatti.
Arkz 5:00PM (11/12/2009)
Wait.... I'm a little confused. I thought Texans are known for executing retards. But if that really is true, then why the hell hasn't anyone put this moron out of his misery yet?
Blackstar 6:05PM (11/12/2009)
"Who's the U-Boat commander?"
larry raines 11:07AM (11/12/2009)
I wonder if Billybob got the tow points right, or tweaked the whole suspension
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burnitwithfire 11:19AM (11/12/2009)
No Billybob just hooked his junk on the rear wheel, that's why it's not spinning when they are pulling.
t_bracelin 7:00PM (11/12/2009)
Billybob just hooked the chain to the $15,000 wheel, no biggie...
KeatMP 8:02PM (11/12/2009)
BillyBob was probably thinking that a couple scratches to the wheels doesn't mean much when he just pulled the freakin thing out of several feat of muddy water.
AMcA 8:55PM (11/12/2009)
I don't think that's relevant. A car that's sat in salt water (or fresh for that matter) is deader than a doornail. All the electronics are fried. And the engine has apparently ingested salt water. Even if they get it running again, it will fail - perhaps spectacularly - on a regular basis for the rest of its life.
I bet I know what becomes of this car: it will be sold to Hollywood, where it will get blown up or smashed spectacularly in some high-budget thriller.
Visnick 10:16PM (11/12/2009)
Nope that car will be sent back to the Bugatti factory to be rebuilt like all the other uber-hyper-cars (McLaren F1 for example). The production numbers are very low and the demand is high
lane 1:15AM (11/13/2009)
Make it a Bu-yacht-ti
LaserRed38 11:08AM (11/12/2009)
Cool. Now can I have the engine to use as a bookcase/coffee table?!?
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MATT 11:09AM (11/12/2009)
I love that he washed his hand in muddy water to touch the steering wheel. Good times.
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Fraxture 11:09AM (11/12/2009)
Stupid people don't deserve to be rich!
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fmwso 12:30PM (11/12/2009)
Yeah, unfortunately that's not the case.
hashiryu 2:14AM (11/13/2009)
Unfortunately, a lot of stupid people talk on the phone while driving.
***sigh***
who the heck dodges birds anyway?
Farmboy 4:30AM (11/14/2009)
The two guys who got the footage weren't much brighter either. Quote: "I'm pretty sure that is a Lambo." FAIL!!!!!!
Sire 11:10AM (11/12/2009)
He was just trying to skip it across the pond like in Cannon Ball.
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MemphisNET 11:10AM (11/12/2009)
Hey, it could have been worse!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnFwu0xsy0s
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larry raines 11:16AM (11/12/2009)
Maybe the Texans got the tow points right after all