The only thing that chafes our hides more than someone wrecking a $2 million Bugatti Veyron is the thought someone did it on purpose. We can't say for sure, but it looks like that deep-sixed Veyron that everyone winced at last week might have been a publicity stunt.
There is too much coincidence surrounding the submarined Veyron, including a video of the actual splashdown sans that "low-flying pelican" the driver blamed for the mishap and some interesting facts about the owner that appear too coincidental to dismiss.
Remember that fateful day actor Eddie Griffin wrecked a Ferrari Enzo during a charity event for the film Redline? It was never conclusively shown to be a publicity stunt, but there was a lot of speculation about it. His first words after totaling the car, one of 400 ever made, were "The Undercover Brother’s good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can’t drive." Not the reaction you'd expect from someone who'd just wrecked someone else’s $1.5 million car.
Well it seems a man by the name of Andy House, who owns Performance Auto Sales, a business that fixes and sells wrecked exotics, is now the owner of that very same Enzo. You wouldn’t know it’s the same car, so we can only assume his company is a godsend to rich snobs who can’t drive.
The Eddie Griffin Enzo reborn. / Photo: Jalopnik.com
Our sleuthing friends over at Jalopnik say House also owns the waterlogged Veyron that went into the drink in Texas when the driver reportedly was distracted by a low-flying pelican.
A video of a truck hauling the Veyron out of the water was a real treat. What was weird was how quickly news of the crash appeared on the radar of the mainstream media. Since when does the Associated Press pick up on a wrecked supercar as fast as Wreckedexotics.com? Such things usually go viral before getting that kind of exposure.
As for House, he isn't commenting. The AP says it got no response to calls and emails.
The footage is an exceptionally improbable treat, but we have our doubts here too.
The first thing that raised our suspicions was the videographer thinking it was a “Lambo.” We've met third-graders who know a Veyron from a Lamborghini. The second is a little less obvious. The video begins with the Veyron at an angle that surely would be in the blindspot of the filming vehicle, which was overtaken by the Veyron within seconds. There's about a snowball's chance in hell the guy heard it coming, considering how loud he's got the stereo going. You’re telling us a guy who can’t tell a Lamborghini from a Bugatti decides to start filming practically before he even knows the car is there? Seems like a mighty big coincidence.
Call us conspiracy theorists if you will. Our own Joe Brown, who took a day-long Veyron test-drive, refuses to believe that anyone would commit such an act of heresy for a publicity stunt. We think he’s in denial.
So what if it was a hoax to bring more visibility and publicity to his company? Outside of ruining one of the best cars that ever was and ever will be, a car that some would trade their first and second born for, there is a bright side. If it was indeed a grand publicity stunt, at least House didn’t go the Balloon Boy route and claim his son had taken the car, sending authorities scrambling and wasting taxpayer money.
Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think using the Reddit Widget. Just a lot of coincidence or elaborate hoax?
UPDATE: 5:50pm EST
The video was pulled from YouTube citing a copyright claim by a Joe M Garza.
UPDATE: 8:10pm EST
Joe M Garza gave Wired.com expressed permission to run his video again.
Main photo of the Veyron in a marsh in Texas: Wrecked Exotics.
Enzo Video: YouTube via Jalopnik.
Veyron Video: Joe M Garza
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