IRWINDALE, California: Eddie Griffin crashed a rare Ferrari Enzo worth $1.5 million (€1.1 million) into a concrete barrier Monday, destroying the car but escaping without injuries.


The comedian was practicing for a charity race to promote his upcoming film, "Redline," when he drove too fast around a curve at the Irwindale Speedway and smashed into a divide. Video footage showed the red sports car screeching before it ricocheted off the barrier with heavy damage to its front.


"Undercover Brother's good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can't drive," Griffin, referring to one his past films, told reporters after the accident.


The film's publicist, Wendy Zocks, said Griffin was "doing OK."

"He walked away completely unscratched, but probably a little shaken," Zocks said.


The Enzo was owned by the film's executive producer, Daniel Sadek, whose exotic car collection was featured in the movie. Sadek said the car was beyond repair and that he had "mixed feelings" about the wreck.

"I'm glad Eddie came out of the crash OK, but my dream car got destroyed," Sadek said. "I went to my trailer for about 15 minutes and I thought, there's people dying every day. A lot of worse things are happening in the world."


Only 400 Ferrari Enzos were ever produced, all between 2002 and 2004.

Griffin's credits include the comedies "Undercover Brother," "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" and its sequel, "Date Movie," and "Norbit."

 

Criminal, absolutely criminal

 

Duh... don't loan your Enzo!?

 

Should be a felony.

Save the Enzos, save the world!

 

Too funky for myself, ow!!

 

Please, please, give to the "Save The Enzos" fund. Only you can prevent the senseless extinction of the Enzo Ferrari! Let's all do are part!

 

I'm kinda glad this sort of thing happens to exotic hyper cars; it shows some people actually drive them like they should, rather than just putting them into a collection or cruising around town at 30mph.

 

I am glad they are driven. I know of people in the PNW that drive them daily or almost daily.

As for beyond repair, it is my understanding Ferrari can fix any Enzo...for a price. The Enzo that was destroyed on Highway 1, Ferrari said they could put it all back together...for 400k or something like that.

 

There's no reason that a professional driver couldn't have done all of the high-speed stuff... and just use Eddie for the close-ups.

Putting a genuine (non-mockup) exotic car in the hands of an actor was pure stupidity. It's a shame to see an awesome car like that bite the dust, but the producer owner deserves it for the dumb decision.

 

i just watched the video looked like eddie took that turn with a little to much heat. looks like the car should be repairable as long as the (is it a carbon fiber frame?) isn't cracked or structurally messed. car just needs a new front end, haha.

 

I won't even let my own mother drive my Mini. Why, if you have a 1.5 million dollar car, would you let a comic actor drive it? Sheer, utter, total stupidity.

 

 

 

yahoo news has a story with a link to a video newsreport on the left hand side
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070327/...E9T4UhzJADW7oF

 

better than getting hit by one.

oh well. they're rich. just get another one, i guess.
although it was stupid for the owner to let someone
else than him drive it.

 

The Yahoo video also said that they totalled 2 Carrera GT's while filming . I for one am protesting the movie Red Line. Anyone with me??

 

Famous last words, "Trust me, I'm an actor."

 

Not easily done with only 400 (okay, 399) in existence. You'd have to find someone willing to part with theirs, first. Guaranteed it will cost more than the original price.

 

Not to try to move the blame from idiot #1 (Enzo driver) and #2 (Enzo owner), but I do have a few items to mention.

I know if it was my car and for some reason I was going to let an inexperienced driver borrow it to practice driving the practice course would definitely not be anywere near a concrete barrier. Hopefully, it would be an infinite slab of pavement without any thing that the practicing driver could possibly hit. However, since concrete barriers are a pain to move, I may not have a choice. In that case, I would definitely ensure that the concrete barriers are not bordering the hairpin turn that my practicing actor/driver has to learn to negotiate. Oh well, another masterpiece of engineering and automotive design can be parted out for spares....

 

is that 399 or 398?

 

Yeah, don't forget about the one that got wadded up on the Pacific Coast Hwy.

It's a tragedy when a fine and rare car gets destroyed through pure stupidity. It's as bad as using a Van Gogh for a placemat, or playing catch with a Patek Phillipe....

Rawhyde

 

Or when Steve Wynn elbowed the Picasso he had just sold for $139 Million, poking a hole into it, and dropping its value almost in half!

I do not understand why the producer of that film, who owned the Ferrari, let Griffin drive it! OY VEY!! :impatient

 

Makes me wonder how people with so much money can be so stupid.

It's not totalled, looks like it's repairable. Still should be flogged.

 

I'm most impressed with the guy behind the barrier. He didn't even flinch as the car hit. I want to be that calm cool and collected

 

Or frozen with fear!