Located in an affluent community of Galveston County, Texas, the owner of this Bugatti Veyron was apparently distracted and lost control of his 1001hp hypercar, leaving it beached in the shallows of a salt water lake.
The owner of the video states this is the "third or fourth Veyron crashed" in the area. The driver was uninjuried but now the question of insurance coverage emerges for the $2 million vehicle.
One of the biggest destroyers of an automobile is water, no less the salty kind, in large quantities and for most high volume vehicles, it's a one way ticket to the salvage yard. Water causes corrosion and penetrates the smallest crevices. It especially likes to hide in electrical wiring which can create a multitude of problems at any given time, sometimes even years later.
But the Veyron is no oridnary car, and with such a price tag and lack of collision damage, it's highly unlikely this Bugatti swan is an insurance write off. The passenger cell and quarter panels are constructed of carbon fiber while the doors, front and rear frame extrusions or crash boxes are constructed of aluminum. The only major component constructed of steel is the engine cradle or sub-frame.
So, the biggest concern is not the body as it is impervious to corrosion by water, but instead other components such as engine, driveline, suspension, brakes, turbo system, complex cooling system with its 14 radiators and worst of all, the electrical/electronics are the big concern. Bugatti isn't exactly mass producing replacement parts available in the local VW dealerships, so look for a year or more for this tadpole to hit the road again.
[UPDATE] From Galveston County Daily News
The two-seater, with 16 cylinders and four turbo chargers, can reach speeds of more than 250 mph. New models sell for about $2 million.
The man, who refused to give his name, was looking at real estate in Galveston.
About 3 p.m. a low-flying pelican distracted him as he traveled north on Interstate 45 just south of the hurricane levee near Omega Bay.
The man jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and the car's front tire left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled his attempt to maneuver away from the lagoon.
The Veyron's powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died.
UPDATE: New video added showing the crash on 15th November.
