Strange But True . . . Valet gives Lamborghini a R3.5m parking ticket

A VALET at a five-star hotel in the Indian capital New Delhi caused $335 000 (about R3.58-million) damage to a Lamborghini Gallardo when he crashed it into a concrete wall in front of horrified guests.

A photograph of the aftermath at Le Meridien Hotel, published in the Times of India newspaper, showed the severely crumpled front end of the sleek supercar with its hood forced up.

“We get all kinds of luxury cars and important guests and hold outstand- ing events, and this was something completely inadvertent,” said a hotel spokeswoman. She said the valet appeared to have lost control of the speedster on the slippery forecourt after an afternoon rain shower.

CCTV footage shows the valet bring the car from the parking area to the porch of the multistorey hotel and then briefly get out. After climbing back behind the wheel, he then lurches forward inexplicably, sending a colleague diving for cover before piling head-on into the wall.

The car had been borrowed from its owner, a Mumbai-based businessman, and driven to the hotel by a cousin. “The car had been parked by valets a number of times before,” a friend of the owner, Nipun Miglani, was quoted as saying.

A police case was filed against Le Meridien, which refused to accept responsibility, as well as the valet.

The Gallardo sells in Europe for about $250 000, but import duties on supercars normally double their sale price in India. — AFP