A Ferrari LaFerrari worth an estimated $6 million found itself at the center of an unexpected traffic snarl in Monaco this week after the hybrid hypercar reportedly broke down in the middle of Casino Square. The dramatic scene unfolded at one of the Principality’s most recognizable addresses, where a stranded yellow LaFerrari proved rather more difficult to ignore than the usual parade of supercars that passes through the area.
According to footage circulating online, the LaFerrari came to a halt close to the entrance of the Casino de Monte-Carlo and apparently ended up blocking what is effectively the casino’s only entry route for vehicles. With the exotic Ferrari sitting immobile in such a busy location, traffic quickly began to build around Casino Square, turning an otherwise routine breakdown into a small spectacle. Crowds gathered to watch as motorists tried to navigate around the stranded hypercar.
The situation eventually required the intervention of Monaco’s police. Officers arrived at the scene, secured the area, and took control of the traffic flow around the LaFerrari. Their presence helped bring some order to the increasingly chaotic scene while arrangements were made to remove the car. Once the recovery operation got underway, the Ferrari was carefully loaded onto a flatbed truck and taken away from the square.
The identity of the owner has not been officially confirmed, but the yellow LaFerrari appears to belong to prominent Saudi car collector Mohammed Orri. There is also a wider trail of sightings connecting a very similar yellow LaFerrari to the Saudi collector scene, although the ownership of the specific car involved in the Monaco incident remains unconfirmed. Older spotting records have linked a yellow LaFerrari to the collector account B14, with photographs and videos showing a similarly specified car in Monaco and London. (Autogespot.com)
Regardless of who was behind the wheel, the car involved is hardly an ordinary Ferrari. Revealed at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the LaFerrari was Ferrari’s first production hybrid hypercar and represented a major technological step for the marque. Its naturally aspirated 6.3-liter V12 produces 800 hp, while an electric motor adds another 163 hp, giving the LaFerrari a combined output of 950 hp.
The powertrain can rocket the LaFerrari from zero to 62 mph in less than three seconds and on to a top speed of more than 217 mph. Its V12 revs to an extraordinary 9,250 rpm, while the HY-KERS hybrid system uses electric assistance to sharpen the engine’s response and fill in gaps in its torque delivery.
Ferrari built only 499 LaFerrari coupes for its original customers, making examples such as the yellow car stranded in Casino Square exceptionally valuable today. Seeing one being driven through Monaco is hardly unusual, but watching one being escorted out on the back of a recovery truck is a very different kind of supercar sighting.
