Ex-Gizmondo CEO Totals Rare Ferrari

[fitbabits]

You can check out the story (http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3108&date=20060222) over at The Local (http://www.thelocal.se).

A rare one-million-dollar Ferrari sports car belonging to a Swedish game industry mogul slammed into a pole during a high-speed street race on Tuesday, reducing it to scrap metal, US police said.

Police in the plush Los Angeles district of Malibu said the 2003 Ferrari Enzo, only 399 of which were ever made, was owned by Stefan Eriksson, 44, a controversial former executive of the failed handheld gaming company Gizmondo.

The driver lost control of the Ferrari at around dawn when it careened up an embankment, probably became airborne and then slammed into a pole, slicing the vehicle in half, police said.

Eriksson, who was slightly injured in the crash, told police he was a passenger in the vehicle and that the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Sergeant Philip Brooks told AFP.

"Whoever was driving the Ferrari and a Mercedes came out to Malibu for a little race," Sheriff's Department Sergeant Philip Brooks said. "The other car racing was a (500,000-dollar) SLR Mercedes," he said.
Editor's Note - Thanks to TheUnknownSoldier for the head's-up.

Dude!

[bapenguin]

Yeah, I've trashed my Enzo many times....in PGR3! :D

[AntB]

My theory is:
He must have gotten completely destroyed and got drunk after the company fell apart and went for a joyride.

[absolut taco]

This thread is useless without pictures!

[drakkarim]

too bad they didn't die, less shit in the gene pool.

[RevGored]

That's fucking awesome. They apparently subscribe to the 'go hard or go home' philosophy laid out by Plato and Socrates in thier seperate, yet very similiar, dissertations regarding racing chariots into the walls of the Collosseum and snorting crushed coca leaf residue from the backs of the wily Nubian asp.

[bean19]

Maybe he had a huge auto-insurance policy.

[Grimmjow]

i saw this on the news the other day i think....the shyt happen lile early hours of the wee morning

[overdrivechao]

I heard about this on local news yesterday, didn't know he was Gizmondo connected.

He was drunk when they picked him up, and he was saying the actual "driver", some german guy, had run away and he was the driver. He had blood on his face. There was blood on the drivers side airbag, but not the passengers side. Methinks this guy has lost it.

[Librum]

Yeah, blame it on the non-existent German guy who fled the scene. That's a good one.

And forget insurance paying out - they'll chuckle and shred his policy if he wrecked it in some street race stunt. What a moron.

[Eric_T_Cheng]

Video report (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/specials/videolineups/index.html?SITE=CAVAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&videoName=0221dv_ferrari_crash) of said crash.

[ruprect]

A German guy fleeing the scene, eh? I can understand that. It would be embarassing to be involved with anything having to do with Gizmondo.

[ezzkmo]

"I'm driving my enzo too fast...honey take a good picture, I'm dead! What a freak." :p
At least he's okay. I'm really hoping for Gizmondo 2.

Here's a pic by the way. And more here. (http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/more-on-the-enzo-incident-on-pch-with-photos-156121.php)

http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/pch_enzo_2_1.jpg

[LiquidRain]

Curses, I was beaten to link the photos! :(

*slams fist on desk* Next time, ezzkmo...... next time...

[Nite_Moogle]

Enzowned .

[jacktion]

"It was... a german guy! Yeah that's it! One of the evil germans! Did you hear what they did in World War 2? Yeah he totally wrecked my car! But I'm a good guy. It is not my fault the Gizmondo was a horrible failure but we still managed to all get very rich."

[MasterKwan]

Think of the Enzo's!

That's my "goto" car in PGR3. Konnigsegg if I need more top end.

[F3nyx]

That's fucking awesome. They apparently subscribe to the 'go hard or go home' philosophy laid out by Plato and Socrates in thier seperate, yet very similiar, dissertations regarding racing chariots into the walls of the Collosseum and snorting crushed coca leaf residue from the backs of the wily Nubian asp.If it was the Colosseum, it was obviously Tacitus and Seneca who espoused that philosophy, not Plato and Socrates, you upstart Greek homo :mad:

[Mortis]

Damn he had an Enzo, I loved it in PGR3.

[sflufan]

Street race? I'm guessing more like suicide attempt.

[51|RandoM]

A German guy fleeing the scene, eh? I can understand that. It would be embarassing to be involved with anything having to do with Gizmondo.

I think he only had one leg too.

[Valkyrist]

Wow, I saw this on the news earlier and had no idea it was an ex-gizmondo exec... Small world.

[Claus DuBois]

I'm sure that the Dietrich will turn himself in after he's stashed his load of hashish back on his pirate ship.

[Liquidize105]

He got lucky. If it was a McLauren F1 where the seat is in the middle...

[aversion2k]

too bad they didn't die, less shit in the gene pool.

Jeez its not like he raped someone :P

[Sensei-X]

To call him the world's luckiest bastard would be an understatement. I really wouldn't have expected anyone to walk away from that, let alone come out relatively unscathed. Still think the Dietrich bit is a load of shiat, probably the result of too many illegal substances combined with a good dose of stupidity.

[outontheporch]

Oh come on, it's an enzo. Those things would do 120 like most cars do 65. It's designed for high speed, they've got traction control, that the guy lost it means he's either a moron (likely), impared (true), or probably both.

Jesus, these people are idiots, crashing beautiful cars. I hate them forever.

[Metal Jesus]

Lots of bad stuff happening...Could a nasty meth addiction be too far behind?

[Grimmjow]

Wow, I saw this on the news earlier and had no idea it was an ex-gizmondo exec... Small world.

very small world indeed...i saw this on the news didnt know it was this guy u just put 1 and 1 together...not many people driving an ENzo on the streets :p

[51|RandoM]

Jeez its not like he raped someone :P

No, it is more like he murdered somebody.

Anyways, you know how the old saying goes, "A fool and his car are soon parted."

[Atorak]

Oh come on, it's an enzo. Those things would do 120 like most cars do 65. It's designed for high speed, they've got traction control, that the guy lost it means he's either a moron (likely), impared (true), or probably both.

I don't think you truly appreciate what a car like an Enzo is capable of, no offence. Not unless you've driven something even half as performance-oriented as an Enzo, and even that feat is beyond most people's wildest dreams. The fact of the matter is, you don't have to be an idiot to lose control of a car like a Ferrari Enzo.

Although, I will agree that this guy was an idiot on the grounds that he was street racing in a car with 660 horsepower, after he was drinking.

Even sober, that car could kill you.


Ferrari Enzo Specs:

Standard Engine: 6.0L 660 hp V12
Horsepower: 660 @ 7800 RPM
Torque (lb-ft): 657 @ 5500 RPM

0-62: 3.3s
0-100: 6.6s
Top Speed: 218mph

[Grimmjow]

i luv those numbers:)

[Cubfan]

Jeez its not like he raped someone :P

How do you know he didn't rape the German? Perhaps thats why he ran? Hmmm...

[boratika]

Anyways, you know how the old saying goes, "A fool and his car are soon parted."
I think you meean a fools car is soon in parts.

[Megalith]

Why would anyone take the Enzo out on the road at all? The thing is meant to be kept in your garage under spotlights.

If I had the money, I'd have an Enzo, Carrera S and WRX STi in a showcase garage. Then I'd buy the shittiest Hondas and Toyotas for actual use on the road.

[Zeal]

This was actually a Microsoft sponsored test for the next Project Gotham.

[Stryfe01]

this was all over the cable news networks last night. local ones too here in philly\s. jersey area. i'm just surprised that that old stinker jack thomson hasn't pounced on this as..."video game creators living out their fast life fantasies in reality."

[Grimmjow]

Why would anyone take the Enzo out on the road at all? The thing is meant to be kept in your garage under spotlights.

If I had the money, I'd have an Enzo, Carrera S and WRX STi in a showcase garage. Then I'd buy the shittiest Hondas and Toyotas for actual use on the road.


lol a wrx sti in showcase garage :confused: LOL wow

[Atorak]

lol a wrx sti in showcase garage :confused: LOL wow

Heh, if I had that much money, I'd probably keep it at the starting line of my autocross track.

[lost]

Hah the truly amusing thing is (if I wanted to/my medication ran out) the only thing I can buy a Gizmondo as is as a GPRS system for my car.

...actually, perhaps thats where he went wrong.

[LilAbner]

too bad they didn't die, less shit in the gene pool.

Couldn't agree more. I have no sympathy for people who die street racing and/or drunk driving.

[Sensei-X]

this was all over the cable news networks last night. local ones too here in philly\s. jersey area. i'm just surprised that that old stinker jack thomson hasn't pounced on this as..."video game creators living out their fast life fantasies in reality."

Maybe it's because even he doesn't buy into the whole Stefan Eriksson being called a "game industry mogul" shiat. I would consider the guy who owns the crackhouse/arcade down the street more of a "game industry mogul" than anyone who was involved with Gizmondo.

[bjornbarspingvinen]

The Gizmondo guys was ran by convicted criminals, some of them are famous from the criminal underworld here in sweden. So Gizmondo was a huge scam from the beginning. Those fukkers got away with serious money, that´s the sad part.

[Wrongway]

Hope they spend the cash for a DNA test of the blood on the driver side air bag. Ten to one says it matches his. 'Passenger' my ass.

[BloodPack]

The Gizmondo guys was ran by convicted criminals, some of them are famous from the criminal underworld here in sweden. So Gizmondo was a huge scam from the beginning. Those fukkers got away with serious money, that´s the sad part.
One of the podcasts from gamingsteve.com explains the probable fakeness that Gizmondo was. Liek they would get investors to invest in a possibly large product (you tell an investor to invest in video games and I am sure $$$ are in there head) then they just put out a half ass product and then take all the invested money to the bank.

I mean common how do you think a guy of a multi million dollar losing compnay can afford a $1,000,000 car?

Also look at the Phantom, probably a very similar business model...

[Beelzebud]

Ferrari - It won't make your penis bigger, or make you a driving expert.

:)