This is the terrifying moment an £8.5million supercar designed for Lewis Hamilton crashes into a tunnel.
The unique Pagani Zonda 760 LH – which stands for Lewis Hamilton – was sold for the huge sum by the Formula 1 star last year.
Its new owner lost control and crashed at the Penmaenbach Tunnel on the A55 motorway in Conwy, North Wales on Tuesday.
Dashcam footage from the moment of the crash was captured by a motorist who had just been overtaken by the purple supercar.
Lewis Hamilton’s former £8.5million supercar, which was made exclusively for him and can go up to 217mph, has crashed in a tunnel – eight years after he too broken after a week of celebration in Monaco
Lewis Hamilton’s former £8.5million Pagani Zonda LH supercar was badly damaged following a crash in Conwy, North Wales
The car was sold by the 38-year-old Formula 1 driver last year for £8.5million.
The retired driving instructor told MailOnline: ‘The accident was so dramatic. It hit one wall and spun 360 degrees before bouncing off the other. There was a huge group and sparks everywhere. I was afraid the car would explode.
The witness, from Altrincham, said: ‘My wife and I were on our way to a caravan to start our holiday and were driving down the dual carriageway.
“The speed limit there is 70mph and I was going just under it when the purple car passed me. It was making a very loud booming sound as it passed.
“There was light rain and the surface may have been slippery.
“I saw the car accelerate through the tunnel, then suddenly it seemed to lose control. It hit one wall, slammed into the other, bounced off it, and finally came to a stop.
“It was a spectacular and quite terrifying accident. My wife was pretty shaken up and I was afraid the car would explode so I pulled over and waited to check on him.
“A young man in his twenties got out of the car and he looked absolutely fine. He was just worried about the damage to the car. Once we knew it was fine we continued on our way and it wasn’t until later that I found out it was a famous car.
Ethan Gale, a supercar photographer, posted photos of the damage on Instagram and wrote:
‘Very sad day in the automotive world tonight. A car I never thought I’d see.
“Ever since I saw this on YouTube driving around Monaco back then, this has always been a dream car to tick off the list.
The Pagani Zonda 760 LH – which stands for Lewis Hamilton – was sold by the Formula 1 star last year, earning him a whopping £7million profit after buying the flashy purple vehicle for 1 £.6 million.
The 38-year-old’s former vehicle now has a shattered windscreen and damage to its right-hand lights following the crash at the Penmaenbach Tunnel on the A55 motorway in Conwy, North Country of Wales.
“This Pagani Zonda 760 LH previously owned by Lewis Hamilton had crashed in the Penmaenbach Tunnel, Conwy, North Wales.
“Hopefully the car will get a full restoration and be back on the road in the future. »
The photographer added that the owner of the vehicle “is unharmed and shaken”.
“What exactly happened must be a mystery,” he said. “But the rumors go; he accelerated through the tunnel and lost control at the rear hit the wall and spun it.
“But the main thing is that the owner is fine. Cars can be repaired, people’s lives cannot.
The Italian car was ordered from Horacio Pagani by the driver seven years ago.
The Zonda 760 LH can reach up to 217 mph and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. It was one of the very Zonda models that has a manual gearbox.
Ethan Gale, a supercar photographer, posted photos of the damage on Instagram and wrote: ‘Very sad day in the motoring world tonight. A car I never thought I’d see’
When he first bought the car, Hamilton showed his gleeful pride as he posed next to the AMG-powered Zonda in front of a picturesque view.
Hamilton himself crushed it once – after a festive week in Monaco. In 2015, just under a year after first buying the car, Hamilton smashed the whip into three stationary vehicles while in Monaco.
The crash came after the rider had been celebrating for a non-stop week since winning the world championships.
He said: “It was the result of big parties and little rest for a week and a half.
‘I’m a bit exhausted. I was non-stop and tried to train at the same time and didn’t get much sleep.
“The last two days I slept pretty much all day. I couldn’t believe how much I slept. I slept on the flight here. I usually sleep four or five hours, but when you train , you need more than that.
