Employees of an exotic dealership watched a nightmare unravel before their eyes when the car elevator broke down, causing extensive damage to a Ferrari Roma. While the aftermath sure looks costly, it could’ve gone much worse as the Italian sports car began to leak fuel. Firefighters from the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue department arrived at the scene and their first order of business was to cut the building’s power to avoid a potential fire.
The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon at Ferrari of Palm Beach when the car elevator malfunctioned while the dealer was moving the Roma, an Italian sports coupe priced at nearly $250,000 before options. To reduce the risk of fire, PBCFR installed a portable standpipe system on the first and third floors of the building to have a constant water supply should the fuel ignite.
To extract the helpless Ferrari left hanging in the elevator shaft, a towing company brought its wrecker rotator. These specialized vehicles have a crane-like arm that can rotate 360 degrees, and in this case, a 45-foot (14-meter) extension. According to PBCFR, multiple 50,000-pound winches were used to rescue the Italian stallion in distress.
Join owners and enthusiasts discussing this topic at FerrariChat.com!
The Roma was successfully extracted from the elevator shaft during a difficult process that took no fewer than four hours. While the Ferrari has certainly seen better days, what matters the most is no injuries were reported. PBCFR and the towing company were able to clear the area without causing further damage to the front-engined sports car, building, or other vehicles.
It’s unclear what caused the car elevator to malfunction. The silver Ferrari with a red interior appears to be in a pretty rough shape and we wouldn’t necessarily count on seeing the Prancing Horse on the road anytime soon.
