Terrifying moment Lewis Hamilton’s old supercar crashes in a tunnel
- The car crashed in the Penmaenbach tunnel, Conwy, north Wales
- The Pagani Zonda 760 LH was sold by Lewis Hamilton last year for £8.5million
This is the terrifying moment when an £8.5million supercar made for Lewis Hamilton[2] crashes in a tunnel.
The unique Pagani Zonda 760 LH – which stands for Lewis Hamilton – was sold for the huge sum by the Formula 1 star last year.
Its new owner lost control of it and crashed at Penmaenbach Tunnel on the A55 expressway in Conwy in north Wales on Tuesday.
Dash cam footage of the moment of the crash was captured by a motorist who had just been overtaken by the purple supercar.
Lewis Hamilton’s old £8.5million supercar, which was made exclusively for him and can travel up to 217mph, has crashed in a tunnel – eight years after he too smashed it following a week of partying in Monaco
Lewis Hamilton’s former £8.5million Pagani Zonda LH supercar has been badly damaged following a crash in Conwy, north Wales
The car was sold by the 38-year-old Formula 1 driver last year for £8.5 million
The retired driving instructor told MailOnline: ‘The crash was so dramatic. He hit one wall and spun round 360 degrees before bouncing off the other. There was an enormous band and sparks everywhere. I was worried the car was going to explode.’
The witness, from Altrincham, said: ‘My wife and I were on our way to a caravan to begin our holiday and were driving on the dual carriageway.
Pagani Zonda 760 LH
Original price – £1.5million
Resell price – £8.5million
0-60mph – 2.6 seconds
Top speed – 217mph
BHP – 760
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‘The speed limit there is 70mph and I was going at just under that when the purple car overtook me. It was making a really loud booming noise as it overtook.
‘There was a light rain and the surface may have been slippery.
‘I watched as the car sped into the tunnel and then he seemed to suddenly lose control. He hit one wall, span round into the other, which he bounced off before finally coming to a halt.
‘It was a spectacular crash and quite terrifying. My wife was quite shaken and I was concerned the car might explode so I drew to a halt and waited to check that he was ok.
‘A young man in his twenties got out of the car and he seemed completely ok. He was just worried about the damage to the car. Once we knew he was ok we went on our way and it wasn’t until later that I discovered that it was a famous car.’
Ethan Gale, a supercar photographer posted pictures of the damage on Instagram and wrote:
‘Very sad day in the motoring world this evening. A car I never thought I would see.
‘Ever since seeing this on YouTube driving around Monaco back in the day, it’s always been a dream car to tick off the list.
The Pagani Zonda 760 LH – that stands for Lewis Hamilton – was sold by the Formula 1 star last year, which saw him make a huge £7million profit after buying the flashy purple vehicle for £1.6million
The 38-year-old’s former vehicle now has a smashed windscreen and damage to its right-hand lights following the crash at Penmaenbach Tunnel on the A55 expressway in Conwy in north Wales
‘This Pagani Zonda 760 LH previously owned by Lewis Hamilton had crashed in the Penmaenbach tunnel, Conwy, North Wales.
‘Hopefully the car gets a full restoration and is back on the road in the future.’
The photographer added that the owner of the vehicle ‘is unharmed and shook up’.
‘What exactly happened is to be a mystery,’ he said. ‘But rumours go; it accelerated in the tunnel and lost control to the rear hit the wall and spun it.
‘But the main thing is that the owner is okay. Cars can be repaired, people’s lives can’t.’
The Italian car was ordered from Horacio Pagani by the driver seven years ago.
The Zonda 760 LH can reach up to 217mph and can go from 0-60mph in an eye-watering 2.6seconds. It was one of the very Zonda models that has a manual fitted gearbox.
Ethan Gale, a supercar photographer posted pictures of the damage on Instagram and wrote: ‘Very sad day in the motoring world this evening. A car I never thought I would see’
When he first bought the car, Hamilton showed his pride of joy off, posing next to the AMG powered Zonda in front of a picturesque view.
Hamilton himself once crashed it – following a week of partying in Monaco. Back in 2015, just under a year since he first bought the car, Hamilton crashed the whip into three stationary vehicles while in Monaco.
The crash came after the driver had been celebrating for a week non-stop since winning the world championships.
He said: ‘It was a result of heavy partying and not much rest for a week and a half.
‘I am a bit run down. I have been non-stop and trying to fit training in at the same time and not getting a lot of sleep.
‘The last two days I have slept pretty much all day. I couldn’t believe how much I slept. I slept on the flight here. I usually sleep four or five hours but when you are training you need more than that.’
References
- ^ James Fielding (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Lewis Hamilton (www.dailymail.co.uk)