Zahir Rana is a good sport. How else do you explain his nonchalant reaction after having driven his $1.5-million Ferrari Enzo into the Atlantic Ocean?
The Calgary entrepreneur was participating in a charity driving event as part of last week's Targa Newfoundland rally when he ran out of talent on a tight corner on the Marystown waterfront.
"It could have gone a lot worse," Rana, who owns ZR Auto in Calgary, told the Toronto Sun. "I was lucky to have a soft landing."
Watch the video:
He and navigator Roland Linder took a tight corner when the back end of the 840-horsepower supercar - one of only 400 made - began to skid on some gravel. The low-slung car went through a railing, over an embankment and into the water.
The incident was captured on video and has garnered more than a million hits on YouTube, including a heavily re-tweeted link on BBC's popular Top Gear site.
"It's not a negative thing that happened to me, it's just a boo-boo," Rana explained.
An expensive boo-boo, apparently. Rana estimates the body damage, not to mention what the salt water has done to the car's electrical system and interior, will cost about $100,000 to repair.
"When you have an expensive car, that's normal," he said.
Rana was driving in an event to raise money for the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador as part of the 2,200-kilometre Targa event.
The crash hasn't put him off.
"We loved it so much, next year we're coming back and I'm sure we'll take 20 cars."
Wonder if anyone quoted him that memorable line in Risky Business, when Tom Cruise and friends go swimming in a Porsche 928. You know, the one that goes: "Who's the U-boat commander?"
228 comments