World's Most Expensive Car Crash

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: December 5th, 2011

Some claim the Japanese don’t import enough cars. After what happened on Sunday near Shimonoseki, Japan, high value imports should experience a sudden blip.

On a freeway in southern Japan, at least 10 supercars were involved in what The Telegraph calls “likely to be the most expensive car crash outside of a car racing track.” Total damage is estimated at around $4 million.

Eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini Diablo two top-of-the-range Mercedes-Benz, a Nissan GT-R and a lone Toyota Prius hybrid crashed into each other.

The drivers were members of a car collectors club with eclectic tastes. The Ferraris include a F512, F355, F430 and a F360. The Toyota Prius was collateral damage.

A report in Mainichi Press says the accident occurred on 10:15am on Sunday. The club members were en-route to a dinner in Yamaguchi. The lead driver lost control on a wet road and hit the center divider. This caused a very expensive chain reaction.

Ten men and a woman were brought to hospitals, the injuries are described as not serious.

Mitsuyoshi Isejima, the executive officer of the Yamaguchi Prefecture Expressway Traffic Police, described the drivers as “a gathering of narcissists.”

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Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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2 of 41 comments

Fred schumacher on Dec 06, 2011

A group of some of the most nimble vehicles on the road driven by enthusiasts can't get out of each others' way. Hubris caused this mess.

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Dvp cars on Dec 06, 2011

.......cause of crash....they're on the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!....a dozen narcissists tailgating each other on the left side of the road in left hand drive cars was a recipe for disaster in the first place.....toss 100mph into the scenario and bingo.....worldwide notoriety. Look for an inquiry into the importation of wrong-handed vehicles soon........and not only in Japan.

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Parkave231 Should have changed it to the Polonia!
Analoggrotto Junior Soprano lol
GrumpyOldMan The "Junior" name was good enough for the German DKW in 1959-1963:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKW_Junior
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