It's a highly unusual sight - a fleet of luxury cars lying mangled and wrecked along a highway. The 14-vehicle supercar pile-up happened in Japan on Sunday when a driver of one of the eight Ferraris in the smash lost control of his vehicle. With so many upmarket cars involved, the accident is thought to be the most expensive car crash ever.

An accident on a highway in Japan on Sunday involving a bunch of supercars has been dubbed ‘the world’s most expensive car crash ever.’

Eight Ferraris, one Lamborghini Diablo, a Nissan GT-R Skyline and three Mercedes Benz were involved in the smash. The Wall Street Journal reported that the total value of the cars involved could be as much as $4 million.

Oh, and there was a Toyota Prius caught in the 14-car pile-up too.

According to reports, the crash happened on a rain-soaked road during a day out for the luxury-car drivers, an event the executive officer of the region’s Traffic Police Unit Mitsuyoshi Isejima called “a gathering of narcissists.”

Isejima said the incident, which happened on a curve on a major highway in the western part of the country, was caused by a 60-year-old male driver of one of the Ferraris losing control and swerving into the central barrier before spinning across the road into the path of the other sports cars. It’s been suggested the cars were traveling at speeds of around 150 km/h (about 90 mph). Debris was spread across a distance of some 400 meters.

Apparently the drivers of two Mercedez Benz were heading in the opposite direction on the highway but were hit by flying debris.

Despite the carnage, no one was seriously injured in the accident though about 10 people suffered minor injuries.

The crash involved a whole heap of pricey cars, including a Ferrari F-360 worth more than 18 million yen ($230,000).

The driver who is thought to have caused the accident could receive a three month jail sentence or a fine of 100,000 yen ($1,285). If he can afford a Ferrari F-360, you can bet the $1,285 fine is looking like the more attractive of the two punishments.

[Source: Bloomberg, WSJ] [Image: Kyodo News/AP]


Showing 13 comments

  1. Eon J. Trebor at 9:25am 6th December 2011 I don't have figures, but I would guess that the famous multi-car/truck pileups in the fog or on the ice of the Autobahn were just as much if not more expensive.
  2. jesterking at 7:17am 6th December 2011 yeah... I saw this last night... These pictures made me lose 5 years of my life...
  3. Will Goshen at 12:19pm 6th December 2011 This would be a great time to use one of those fancy Japanese animations.
  4. Daron Gildow at 9:19am 6th December 2011 I perfer the title "Traffic Police Unit calls a gathering of narcissists.”
  5. Chris Todd at 6:30am 6th December 2011 Subtitle of the story should be: A funny thing happened on the way to Hiroshima.
  6. Giacomo Casanova at 10:21pm 5th December 2011 i hope the Toyota prius is ok. hahahh
    1. Ian Bell at 11:37pm 5th December 2011 haha no doubt, that is probably the only normal dude that got caught up in that accident! Bet his car didn't blow up...
  7. Geoffrey Shauger at 5:42am 6th December 2011 DWA
  8. TechFreak at 8:08pm 5th December 2011 Ooooh man, what a super sad story. I know there are probably a ton of people laughing at this (and thinking of the owners as snobs), but these cars are truly beautiful and it's sad to see them destroyed. I'm sure the owners worked really hard to be able to afford them.Or not. :)
    1. ClySuva at 10:36pm 5th December 2011 I'd bet my money on the "or not". :)
    2. jesterking at 7:18am 6th December 2011 Trust fund babies!
      1. TechFreak at 10:55am 6th December 2011 haha probably. Wish I was one though :P
    3. dang206 at 1:04pm 6th December 2011 It did bring a tear to my eye seeing those ferrari's smashed up.
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