With fast cars comes fun and even a bit of dangerous activity. You would think that most people would take better care of their million dollar vehicles. The newest Ferrari to bite the dust was the 599 GTB and it was being driven by Fiat CEO Sergio Machionne.
Marchionne knows this as well as anyone after he crashed his 599 GTB on Friday in Switzerland. Marchionne rear-ended a Renault while going about 60 MPH, which means the collision had little to do with the typical loss of control, and a lapse of attention was more likely the culprit. A few different Italian newspapers mentioned that the Renault “suddenly slowed”, but the last time we checked, a Ferrari can stop a lot faster than any Renault.
Luckily nobody was hurt in the accident, but after a tango with a French car and a Swiss guard rail, the 599 GTB looks like little more than a $275,000 parts donor. It’s really amazing that the 76 year-old driver of the Renault didn’t end up with a bad back or whiplash, as it isn’t every day that a Ferrari driven by a top auto exec comes flying into one’s behind. It sounds a lot like winning the lottery, but without the risk of putting up $1 for the ticket.