Pelican... I've seen the video many, many times and there is no Pelican...
I still call fraud. Watching the video that was posted on the net (which I am suspicious of) you do not see anything in front of the car that would cause it to swerve. The thing that made me laugh was listening to the kid with the camera call it a Lambo ("I think"). Yep, calling BS on the whole thing. And, yes, I have read all of his explanations, and excuses, and I am not buying it. This guy claims he repairs and sells exotics, and that he is the premiere shop in the US for fixing, and rebuilding exotics. Like the Enzo that Eddie Griffin wrecked while filming "Redline". Have any of y'all dealt with him? I figure, if he is as big as he claims to be, then at least ONE person in the Austin, Dallas, or Houston scene will have dealt with him, or will know him. We all know how networkng works. I do not know anyone that will admit to knowing this guy. And that throws up red flags in my head. If anyone here knows this cat, and has the full story (no pelicans, honestly) please, let us know.
Was the submarined Veyron finally repaired or what? Has it been offered for sale since the incident? Did the owner get paid by the insurance company?
Someone had it in pieces after the accident: http://jalopnik.com/5465116/texas-bugatti-insurance-adjuster-photos-show-a-seriously-stripped-veyron/gallery/ Probably has been repaired or is in the process and if they were smart they painted it too. I never did see confirmation of the chassis number anywhere but I am sure Bugatti are well aware of which car it is. There's another set of pics here showing what it looked like at the tow yard: http://www.gtspirit.com/2009/11/17/update-bugatti-veyron-lake-crash/ >8^) ER
Cliff Notes: Lake Veyron coming up for auction - get your bids in by March 23rd. Translated from Français: >8^) ER Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bob, that is what I was thinking, unless it goes back to Molsheim for a complete rebuild ala McLaren F1's.
As long as they're out of sight who cares? BTW I was going for wry irony. Although I understand the reasons its a shame that this type of car rarely gets the use it was designed for.
Maybe the guy in Cali with the Countach on the wall will buy it to add to his collection of "wall art".
Maybe Gemballa will end up with it? Then we may see a modified Veyron along the lines of the Enzo they did?
Rather than turn the ignition off, he deliberately left it running until it sucked salt water.....done.
What happened finally to the U-boat Bug? How did the auction end? Did the owner get paid by the insurance or was it concluded a fraud? Anybody have the VIN?
It looks like this is taking another interesting turn. The owner is now apparently going to civil court for insurance fraud on this. http://www.dupontregistry.com/AUTOS/BLOG/post/2011/11/29/veyron-lake-crash-victim-dragged-into-court-for-insurance-fraud.aspx
This article on U.S. News on msnbc.com has even less information to read than that article above from duPontREGISTRY. I would love to see the driver of that Veyron (who apparently borrowed money to purchase the Veyron) go down in flames and just try and pay back the loan when he's convicted of insurance fraud. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9123493-case-of-the-drowned-million-dollar-car-to-go-to-trial
Here's an article from The Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Insurer-calls-crash-of-1-2-million-car-fraud-2332020.php
Saw this story on the news today, we called fraud from the beginning. They should have pointed out that he sells salvage repaired cars, not true exotics.
Not a seagull, a PELICAN!!!!! I did not see one anywhere around.... He should have went for the burn job, deep in those East Texas Pines.
I was always suspicious about the fact that someone was around to record this happening. I mean, how often do you get to see a Veyron on the road, and they just happened to be there to record him driving into a lake? The chances of that are rare indeed. And now the man is claiming that he swerved to avoid a pelican? When the story first came out he claimed that he had dropped his cell phone and leaned over to pick it up off the passenger floor. It burns me up inside to no end that someone would deliberately damage such a rare and expensive piece of automotive history. I hope he goes to jail and he makes lots of new "friends".
