Reported last week in the British news was this really funny car crash involving a brand new Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder, that occurred less than 20 mins after the driver took delivery of his supercar roadster.
This horrific incident happened on the M1 motorway in West Yorkshire, England. The driver of this 20 minute old Lamborghini reportedly experienced mechanical failure, which caused him to stop suddenly on the fast lane of the motorway. The grey V10 performance roadster was hit from behind by a van. Happily, no casualties were reported. Both the driver and passenger in the Huracan walked away unscathed, although driver of the van suffered head injuries.
Theories are abound questioning the validity of the cause of the accident. The claim of mechanical failure on the Huracan seems suspect to some, but mechanical failure among supercars is not uncommon. Some internet commentators are also wondering why the driver is on the fast lane when the vehicle was still brand new, skirting engine break in procedures put in place to maintain engine longevity. It is unclear whether this particular supercar was new or used.
Others meanwhile, placed blame on the van driver being inattentive and was slow to react to the suddenly stationary Lamborghini in front. There was even comments lamenting the lack of hard shoulder on this particular stretch of highway for the driver of the stricken Lamborghini to pull into. However, based on the evidence of the crash, it seems highly unlikely that the driver would have made it across the 3 lanes to the hard shoulder even if it was there.
Regardless of the cause of the crash, which increasingly seems like just a combination of unlucky circumstances that caused a totalled Lamborghini on a busy highway, the main takeaway from this accident is that everyone was able to walk away from a collision that occurred at highway speeds. The outcome of this story would be different in prior decades.
Based on the pictures of the crash, the rear left quarter of the Huracan is completely destroyed, with the left rear suspension now replaced with mangled metal. The force of impact also activated the Spyder’s roll protection system. For all the damage though, the passenger cell of the supercar remains intact and both occupants were able to come out of this unharmed. A testament to the improvement of vehicle safety over the years.
As per the tweet sent out be the highway police regarding this incident that carried the hashtag #couldhavecried, the small crumb of comfort for the owner of his now-totalled Lamborghini is that the unlucky driver is still able to read that tweet physically unharmed.
Text by Joshua Chin
