Video Shows Valet Crashing $1.2 Million Ferrari While Parking in Front of Furious Owner
Within seconds, the luxury car smacked into a pair of mopeds.
Have you suffered a professional setback this week? Perhaps not quite like a valet in Monaco, who crashed a limited-edition Ferrari worth $1.2 million right in front of its owner—and it was all caught on video. Of course, what happened in Monte Carlo didn't stay in Monte Carlo, and the video went viral in recent days, attracting crowds of digital onlookers who offered sympathy and analysis. Read on to see what happened.
The accident happened in Monte Carlo in Monaco, close to Casino Square on Avenue des Spélugues. The video shows the valet pulling the bright blue LaFerrari to the curb slowly, then opening the butterfly doors and stepping out. The car's engine is heard running behind him. As soon as the valet closes the car door, the supercar starts to roll forward. He had apparently left the car in drive or had failed to set the handbrake. Keep reading to see the video.
Clearly freaking out, the valet opened the car door and slid alongside the vehicle, trying—and failing—to step on the brake. Within seconds, the Ferrari smacked into a pair of mopeds a few feet away, as the valet belatedly found his way back into the driver's seat.
The owner's attention now captured, he's seen running across the road shouting at the hapless valet. "Are you stupid?! What are you doing?" he's heard saying, exhorting the valet to get out of the car. The sheepish-looking attendant obeyed.
Luckily for all concerned, the Ferrari was only superficially damaged, the Daily Mail reported, with its nose and front splitter slightly scratched and dented. But the specialized nature of the car means that even those minor repairs are likely to run into tens of thousands of dollars.
The LaFerrari—literally "the" Ferrari—was released in 2013 and marketed as the definitive Ferrari of the period. The cars went for $1.2 to $1.4 million then, but they were a limited edition and are worth double to three times that amount today. The LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and the Porsche 918 Spyder are known as the "Holy Trinity" of hybrid hypercars.
Several YouTube commenters responded with variations on the sentiment "Ouch" when analyzing the incident. Some offered sympathy: "This is very bizarre. You can clearly hear the parking brake engage when the door opened," said one. "I don't think this is the valet's fault, the car clearly had it's parking brake on and just randomly started lunging forward for no reason with nobody behind the wheel." "Hilarious but honestly I feel bad for the car," said another. "An ordinary accident. Anyone who has the money to buy a car like that, has the money to pay for minor damage repairs," said another commenter. "To be honest the guy is rich enough to not really care," wrote another. "If he actually cared, he wouldn't have valeted it."