Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Infamous Bugatti offshore excursion going to trial for insurance fraud [w/video]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/30/infamous-bugatti-offshore-excursion-going-to-trial-for-insurance/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/30/infamous-bugatti-offshore-excursion-going-to-trial-for-insurance/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/30/infamous-bugatti-offshore-excursion-going-to-trial-for-insurance/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Submerged Bugatti Veyron

It appears the gentleman who piloted his Bugatti Veyron into a Texas lagoon has run into a spot of legal trouble. The insurance company that paid out $2 million for the trashed exotic is calling fraud on the whole scenario, and a federal judge has decided that the claim should go before a jury. Andy House of Lufkin, Texas, originally purchased the Veyron after securing an interest-free $1 million loan from Lloyd Gillespie. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company alleges House attempted to pay a confidential informant to steal the Bugatti and set it on fire so that he could later claim insurance on the vehicle and double Gillespie's initial investment.

Before that could happen, however, House drove the Veyron into a salt water marsh. Amateur video captured the vehicle calmly exiting the paved surface and splashing down, and House later said that he had swerved to avoid a pelican on the road while trying to pick up a dropped cell phone. The vehicle's owner then left the supercar idling in the salt water for 15 minutes until the vehicle died of its own accord. House claimed that he was being bitten by mosquitos at the time and didn't want to return to the car to turn off the engine.

The insurance company also claims that the collector's car policy House took out on the vehicle doesn't apply in this case since House violated the terms of the policy. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company claims House put over 1,200 miles on the vehicle in the three weeks he owned it. Hit the jump to check out the video once again.

Continue reading Infamous Bugatti offshore excursion going to trial for insurance fraud [w/video]

Infamous Bugatti offshore excursion going to trial for insurance fraud [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>andy housebugattibugatti veyronfederal judgefraudinsurance fraudjudgelloyd gillespieveyronveyron crashveyron insurance fraudveyron lakeveyron pelican crashWed, 30 Nov 2011 11:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20117532/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/11/30/infamous-bugatti-offshore-excursion-going-to-trial-for-insurance/20117532/article-detail.xml 20117532 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/11/submerged-veyron-628_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/11/submerged-veyron-628.jpg <![CDATA[Bugatti Bird-gate Followup: Driver identity revealed <b>[*UPDATE:</b> Now with actual crash video!]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/13/bugatti-bird-gate-update-driver-identity-revealed-gov-schwarz/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/13/bugatti-bird-gate-update-driver-identity-revealed-gov-schwarz/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/13/bugatti-bird-gate-update-driver-identity-revealed-gov-schwarz/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Bugatti Veyron of Andy House from Lufkin, Texas - Click above to view video

As we've already reported (stop tipping us on this!), yesterday a Texas man lost control of his Bugatti Veyron and ended up driving into the two-foot shallows of a nearby salt marsh. The driver claimed a kamikaze pelican that flew too low was to blame for the Veyron's bath. The Lufkin Daily News has now identified that driver as Andy House, the owner of Performance Auto Sales in Lufkin.

Perhaps too coincidentally, the company restores wrecked exotics for resale, which makes this whole situation seem like something akin to a mortician offing his own family members to drum up business. Unthinkable, for sure, and we hope it's not the case here as we'd hate to discover later that this Veyron was sacrificed as a publicity stunt.

Apparently a lot of people have been trying to reach Mr. House to discover exactly what happened. We're not sure what the connection is, but the group of interested callers is said to even include California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. We don't think the car has been terminated, but it might be a while before it's back.

*UPDATE: Now with incredible one-in-a-million video footage of the actual crash after the jump - and no, we don't see a pelican, either. However, we do hear explicit language, so this one is NSFW.

*UPDATE 2: Video working again.

[Sources: Lufkin Daily News; YouTube]

Continue reading Bugatti Bird-gate Followup: Driver identity revealed [*UPDATE: Now with actual crash video!]

Bugatti Bird-gate Followup: Driver identity revealed [*UPDATE: Now with actual crash video!] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Andy HouseAndyHousebugattibugatti veyronBugattiVeyronLufkinPerformance Auto SalesPerformanceAutoSalesveyronveyron crashVeyronCrashFri, 13 Nov 2009 20:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19239277/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/11/13/bugatti-bird-gate-update-driver-identity-revealed-gov-schwarz/19239277/article-detail.xml 19239277 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/bugatti-veyron-swim-1258147199_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/bugatti-veyron-swim-1258147199.jpg <![CDATA[Aw Snap! First Bugatti Veyron to be wrecked on public roads]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/05/aw-snap-first-bugatti-veyron-to-be-wrecked-on-public-roads/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/05/aw-snap-first-bugatti-veyron-to-be-wrecked-on-public-roads/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/05/aw-snap-first-bugatti-veyron-to-be-wrecked-on-public-roads/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


click above image to view both shots of the first unofficial wreck of the Veyron on public roads

We only know of one other time a Bugatti Veyron has been wrecked, and that was during the car's development when a prototype was destroyed doing a high-speed test. There there was the time a preproduction Veyron performed a very public spin-out at Mazda's Laguna Seca Raceway during the Monterey Historics. These incidents actually delayed the debut of the production car, though perhaps it should have stayed in the oven a bit longer if its designers were worried about stability at speed.

Reports this morning are flooding in of the first known wreck of a Bugatti Veyron on public roads, and there are pictures to prove it. Very little is known about the circumstances expect that the crash occured in the U.K. and was apparently the result of hydroplaning. For a car with an MSRP well over a million bucks, we assumed that when hydroplaning is detected the car would immediately enter hovercraft mode, but we now know that's not the case.

We should end this post with that greatest of car wreck jokes: "Think that'll buff out?" No. No it won't.

Thanks to everyone who sent in a tip!

[Source: Germancarscene]

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron - first wreck

Aw Snap! First Bugatti Veyron to be wrecked on public roads originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bugatti VeyronBugattiVeyronveyron accidentveyron crashveyron totalledVeyron wreckVeyronAccidentVeyronCrashVeyronTotalledVeyronWreckwreckMon, 05 Mar 2007 09:25:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/845769/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/03/05/aw-snap-first-bugatti-veyron-to-be-wrecked-on-public-roads/845769/article-detail.xml 845769 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/03/veyrondam1468_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/03/veyrondam1468.jpg -1 2