A top-of-the-range Ferrari which was famously crashed by Cristiano Ronaldo in a Manchester tunnel three years ago is being sold for just £40,000 – because it is still a wreck.
The Portugal and Real Madrid striker, who was then playing for Manchester United, smashed the 205mph Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano into a tunnel wall outside Manchester in 2009.
And no efforts have been made to repair the smashed-up sports car since the embarrassing incident.
Lucky escape: Ronaldo, then a Manchester United player, was fortunate to escape injury when his 205mph sports car crashed into a safety barrier and bounced off a wall
Superstar: The Portuguese, seen here on his return to Manchester with Real Madrid this week, had bought the Ferrari new for £200,000
It was shipped out of the UK and has now come onto the market in France through an agent in Alsace.
Agent Autos, based in the small town of Duppigheim, are asking £40,000 for the wreck – a fraction of its £115,000 value.
A four-year old model in decent condition is worth nearly three times as much as the asking price, though the seller describes it as ‘repairable’.
If fixed, the Italian sports car will offer blistering performance thanks to a six-litre V12 engine capable of 612bhp.
It is capable of a top speed of 205mph and does 0-60mph in just 3.7 seconds.
Needs work: The sports car, on offer in Alsace, France for a third of its book price, needs extensive repairs – including a new front wing and front left wheel
Cockpit: The Ferrari is capable of 205mph and 0-60 in just 3.7 seconds, thanks to the six-litre V12 engine
The engine, if repairable, is potentially valuable having covered just 1,860 miles. Ronaldo bought the car new, spending £200,000 on it.
But any prospective buyers will need to replace the windscreen, wing mirrors and front body panels – or they could sell the remaining parts.
Ronaldo lost control of the rear-wheel drive car in January 2009 on his way to training at United’s Carrington base and crashed into a roadside barrier before bouncing off a wall.
The accident happened on a stretch of the A538 that takes traffic under the runways of Manchester Airport between Wilmslow, Cheshire, and Hale.
No charges: Ronaldo was breathalysed by police but was not charged with any dangerous driving offences
Luckily for manager Sir Alex Ferguson, he emerged without a scratch and after being breathalysed by police, completed his journey with teammate Edwin Van Der Sar, who was travelling behind in his Bentley Continental.
An eye-witness said at the time: The front of Ronaldo’s car was completely mangled.
‘There was metal all over the road, and debris. We had to dodge our way through it.
‘Ronaldo was just standing at the side of the road looking forlorn and bewildered.’
Officers from Greater Manchester Police investigated the incident but no charges were pressed.
HERE’S WHAT CRISTIANO RONALDO BOUGHT
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano was released in 2006 amid great fanfare and intended to be the successor to the Maranello line of powerful front-engined two-seaters.
It was named after the Fiorano circuit where Ferrari test their new models.
It completed the overhaul of the Ferrari range to all-aluminium shells but retained the same V12 six-litre engine as its predecessors.
The ‘F1-Superfast’ flappy paddle transmission, which changed gears in just 100ms, was lauded as a huge improvement.
With the engine and chassis weight reduced, the 599 was capable of 205mph and 0-100 in about seven seconds.
The price straight out of the factory was £193,234.
VIA DAILY MAIL