What not to do with your Enzo...

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High anxiety for fans of Ferraris after crash
In Los Angeles, detectives are looking into the crash of one of only 400 Enzos

By BOB POOL
Los Angeles Times


LOS ANGELES - It was a SigAlert made for Malibu.

A red Ferrari Enzo — one of only 400 made and worth more than $1 million — broke apart Tuesday when it crested a hill on Pacific Coast Highway going 120 mph and slammed into a power pole.

The driver reportedly leapt from the wreckage and ran into the canyon, evading a three-hour search by a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department helicopter and a mountain search-and-rescue team.

The crash did not result in serious injuries. But it sent shockwaves through both the tabloid and exotic car worlds as one group wondered if the driver was a celebrity — and the other mourned the loss of a hand-built car revered by many as a work of art.

The car was certain to be owned by someone rich, if not famous. Actor Nicolas Cage owns one. And Malibu local Britney Spears has been chased in a Ferrari by the paparazzi.

But by day's end the tabloids were disappointed to learn that the demolished car had been owned by a Swedish millionaire with no Screen Actor's Guild card.

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators identified him as Stefan Eriksson, 44, a Bel-Air resident. Officials are trying to determine whether he is the noted Swedish game designer who created car-racing themed video games.

Authorities said Eriksson claimed to be a passenger in the Ferrari, which he said was being driven by a German acquaintance he knew only as Dietrich.

One witness said the Ferrari appeared to be racing with a Mercedes SLR northbound along the coastal highway when the accident occurred around 6 a.m.

"It took out the pole and part of the car went another 600 feet," Sgt. Philip Brooks said. "There were 1,200 feet of debris out there."

While Eriksson said that "Dietrich" ran up a hill toward the canyon road and disappeared, Brooks said detectives are far from convinced they have the whole story.

"(Eriksson) had a .09 blood-alcohol level, but if he's a passenger, that's OK," Brooks said. "But he had a bloody lip, and only the air bag on the driver's side had blood on it. The passenger side air bag did not. My Scooby-Doo detectives are looking closely into that."

The crash left Ferrari fans anguished.

"I'm not surprised the driver ran away. He'd have been strangled by the owner," said Tex Oitto, a Santa Monica graphic artist who edits magazines for Ferrari owners.

"This will have a big impact on the local Ferrari community. This was not a car. It was a rolling art form."

Ferrari owner Chris Banning, a Beverly Hills writer, characterized the Enzo's destruction as "a tremendous loss" to the automotive world.

"He destroyed one of the finest cars on earth, maybe the finest. It's like taking a Van Gogh painting and burning it," said Banning, who is a leader of the Ferrari Owners Club.

Ferrari fan Wally Clark, a Villa Park insurance broker who owns two Ferraris — neither of which is an Enzo — said used Enzos currently fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million.

"I think the price went up another $100,000 with today's crash," Clark said.
 
Yeah, a loss of one in 400 copies is like losing an original Van Gogh? Whatever. The fact remains that the owner was enjoying his car. Not responsibly, but his own car. It's what insurance is for. Sounds like there was a lull in the partying, and somebody looked in the garage.
 
Ferrari fans from around the world will be coming to witness, touch and worship the bed of the tow truck on which it rested. Private detectives hired by the enthusiasts are trying to determine the resting place of the injured art-form as we speak.
 
He's wealthy.
He can afford a very good attorney.
He lives in California, Bel-Air no less.

He'll walk with MAYBE a slap on the wrist.

Britney Spears drives with her kid on her lap. Nothing happens.

Paris Hilton's friend drives drunk, crashes her Bentley into a parked car. Cops are even present. Nothing happens.

I don't have a front plate, and I'm considered public enemy #1.

Anyone from another state wanna adopt me?
 
Must have been running syntec 10w40! As we all know syntec is inferior to Pao/ester based syns and after only 1500 miles the TBN was less than 1 and it seized. Thus spinning him into the divider. Mobil 1 would have save this exotic sports car.
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Ummm, yeah.
Kids, here's the take-home lesson:
If you're a Swedish millionaire with a .09 BAC, use some of your Swedish millions to get you a ride home in a stretched Lincoln Town Car. Otherwise you might get a ride to a new home in a Crown Vic or a converted Caddilac.
Or, if you do want to drive home with a .09 BAC, don't go 120.
 
Oye Vey. What a fool.

I saw pictures recently of a crashed Pagani Zonda somewhere in Europe. The driver was standing there looking at it as though in a waking dream-nightmare.

Incidentally, since we're on exotic cars, does anyone know what oil that new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 takes? I'm curious because I know that overheating was a problem in its development, with four turbochargers on 16 cylinders.
 
I am dumbfounded that he was able to "run away". I would have thought body parts would have been mixed in with the car parts strewn across the road.
 
Reminds me of giving the kiddies a machine gun to play army with in the backyard. Moron.

I despise people who have money,NO judgement or driving skill to destroy a beautiful car in that way. Not to mention endangering everyone else around them.

BTW what was his nitration and silicon levels after impact with the pole?

If he had hit the pole head on we would have found the driver with the car.Figures he was out of control is a spin, woosie.
 
OK, so what do you do if ...

1) You have a full size truck, empty bed.

2) You and two (or more) of your strongest buddies riding with you

3) Enough gloves to pick up a hot motor

4) You come across this Enzo motor sitting in the middle of the road. Owner is nowhere in sight.


That engine would make a great coffee table or decoration of some sort.
 
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