Parts fly as pricey sports car hits pole

The McLaren 720S, with its roaring engine and sleek exterior is a guaranteed head-turner, but on Sunday it captured Capetonians’ attention for the wrong reasons when the mulitimillion-rand supercar was involved in a crash.

The man behind the wheel was on his way to Virgin Active in Green Point.

As he was driving down Helen Suzman Boulevard, the car in front of him apparently stopped abruptly.

His friend who witnessed the incident, while driving in his own vehicle, agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.

“There was a car that had braked in front of him, he tried to avoid that car and he turned into the pavement,” he said.

The sports car struck a pole on the side of the road before coming to a stop between the trees.

The back and right hand side of the vehicle were damaged.

However, dailyvoice.co.za had a different take, saying the owner of the “larney supercar saw his gat” after crashing his multimillion-rand ride “while dicing in Green Point”.

“Eyewitnesses say the McLaren was dicing with a red Lamborghini Huracan, also worth nearly R6 million, when the driver lost control of the car and hit a pole before hitting a tree,” dailyvoice.co.za alleged.

“These two were dicing, this guy’s lost control, he’s hit the tree,” a witness explains on one video, according to the site.

“When I saw the car losing control and all the parts flying all over the place, I was worried. I thought he was dead,” the friend said.

“It happened so quickly. I stopped to get him out of the car because these cars catch fi re easily.”

The driver walked away with only a stiff shoulder.

The friend was disheartened by snide remarks that some onlookers made.

“Shortly after the accident, I’m checking if he’s okay. And people were videoing and laughing. It’s no joke. The guy could have lost a leg or died,” the friend said.

“No one offered us a water or asked if we’re okay. It was only the policeman and the ambulance who checked to see if all is well.”

The man was reportedly doing well and on the road to recovery.

As for the car, the McLaren diagnostic team is assessing the extent of the damage.

When I saw the car losing control and all the parts flying all over the place, I was worried. I thought he was dead.

Friend of McLaren driver