Costly carnage as annual Ferrari Cavalcade kicks off in Italy
07/06/2024 07:00 PM
Ferrari's annual rally has begun in disaster for several owners, with myriad crashes and near misses.
The annual Ferrari Cavalcade rally has begun in disaster for several Ferrari owners after a LaFerrari was rear-ended, a 296 GTB caught fire, and several other cars had near misses with other traffic.
Held as an invite-only road rally event for Ferrari's top-spending customers, the Ferrari Cavalcade takes place in a different Italian region each year as an experiential tour of Ferrari's home country.
Ferrari owners transport themselves – and their cars – from all corners of the globe, including clientele from Australia and New Zealand, to participate in the exclusive event.
Italy is known for its fast and loose driving character, but no owner expects the worst to happen on day one – which was exactly the case for some unlucky Ferrari owners this week.
This year's event had barely kicked off from its launch in Venice, Italy before a Ferrari 296 GTB caught fire on the side of a freeway. Photos on social media showed a black 296 GTB's engine bay ablaze as emergency services attended the scene to douse the flames.
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According to reports, the fire brigade arrived quickly enough to ensure the fire didn't completely engulf the car – fortunately for the owner. However, it's undoubtedly set to be an expensive fix. The Ferrari 296 GTB's plug-in hybrid powertrain is capable of producing 610kW and 740Nm – good enough to send the car from zero to 100km/h in 2.9 seconds. But, that performance doesn't come cheap – the Ferrari 296 GTB starts at just over $600,000 in Australia.
The black example wasn't the only car to come unstuck on the first day. A Ferrari 296 GTB and an SF90 Stradale were both spotted on social media under tarps on the freeway, bound for the next stage in Northern Italy. Exact details of what happened aren't clear, but the poor weather might have had something to contribute to the situation.
But, the most expensive crash we've seen out of the event so far concerns a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari. Images on social media show a car that succumbed to a rear-end collision, and while it doesn't appear like much damage from photos, the fact the damage extends across multiple panels and components points towards a costly repair.
Values of the ten-year-old LaFerrari have skyrocketed since new, with recent examples selling at auction for between $US3,500,000 and $US4,000,000 ($AU5,200,000 and $AU5,940,000).
Plenty of other near misses and antics from the event can be seen on Youtuber Varryx's channel.
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