The distributor of Ferrari motor cars in Australia was last night negotiating with police to get one of its half-a-million-dollar supercars back after it was confiscated for being driven at excessive speed.
The brand new, bright red Ferrari California convertible, one of only two in the country, was seized for seven days under West Australia's anti hoon laws after its driver was reportedly clocked at 231km/h in a rural area about 100km north east of Perth.
The Fairfax journo, in the Ferrari by himself at the time, was detected by an unmarked highway patrol car with mobile radar that happened to be heading towards him on a section of single-lane road in the wheat belt of WA.
The police officer who stopped the Ferrari was on his way back to his base at Northam police station for a break. The officer used the back road, Julimar Road, near the town of Toodyay, as a short cut after patrolling the main highway earlier that day.
The 57-year-old, Perth-based male driver of the Ferrari was charged with reckless driving as well as the speeding offence and faces a minimum six month licence suspension.
WA Police issued a statement quoting a spokesman who said: "The incident should serve to remind drivers that, regardless of a car's capabilities, excessive speed is a contributing factor in about 60 people dying on our roads each year."
The distributor of Ferrari motor cars in Australia is yet to comment on the matter.
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