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Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan racing
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31-Year-Old Racer Crashes $30,000,000 One-Off Vintage Ferarri at LeMans Classic This Weekend

On some dark level, the car people on the internet enjoy seeing a YouTube goofball bust up their dad’s multi-million-dollar hypercar. However, when these sorts of things happen to classic, irreplaceable pieces of racing and automotive history, nothing is left but sadness. At the LeMans Classic race this past weekend, a 31-year-old racing driver crashed …
by Peter Corn
Published on
2 min read

On some dark level, the car people on the internet enjoy seeing a YouTube goofball bust up their dad’s multi-million-dollar hypercar. However, when these sorts of things happen to classic, irreplaceable pieces of racing and automotive history, nothing is left but sadness. At the LeMans Classic race this past weekend, a 31-year-old racing driver crashed a nearly $30,000,000 Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan in a brutal fashion. The car might still be salvageable, but it will take a lot. 

Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan racing
Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan | Wikimedia Commons

What happened to the Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan? 

This bizarre and beautiful one-off vintage Ferrari is the definition of a show stopper. According to CarScoops, the 250 SWB Breadvan is estimated to be worth upwards of $30 million. Although the wildly expensive crash resulted in significant damage to the Ferrari, thankfully, the driver was not harmed. 

The footage doesn’t show the entire crash, leaving us to fill in the blanks from eyewitnesses at the LeMans Classic. However, the footage does show a bit of the Ferrari crash. The Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan’s passenger side and rear end slammed into the tire barrier with shocking force. The impact briefly lifted the car up onto two wheels. 

How much damage did the Ferrari Breadvan take? 

The footage available only shows the front and side. The rear damage is yet to be seen. However, we can assume that at the very least, bodywork, suspension, and potentially the front axel are relatively trashed. While this is a major blow to the collector car world, it really isn’t all that uncommon in the world of classic car racing or racing anything, for that matter. 

As our friends at Road & Track pointed out, if you’re going to race, you have to be ok with crashing. Racers understand that crashes happen. If you do it long enough, you will crash. It sucks that the Ferrari Breadvan paid the price, but this won’t be its first time going into the shop for some post-crash bodywork. 

The Ferrari Breadvan has crashed before

Historic racing drivers, particularly the European variety, routinely risk the many millions of dollars (pounds, Euros, whatever) they have invested in these cars for a chance to follow their idols by podiuming in a classic. No excuses, no aid, just them, a driveline, and some wheels. This style of racing is the most commanding and the most rewarding. 

To that end, despite this car’s effective pricelessness, it crashed before. According to Road & Track, the Ferrari 250 SWB Breadvan intersected with another car in 2015 during the legendary Goodwood Revival. This event, maybe more than any other racing event, showcases both enormous racing talent and enormously expensive cars. 

Crashes at Goodwood and LeMans are, by definition, some of the most costly in the sport. Despite the known risk, racers from all over the world show up every year to push their museum pieces to the limit. Unfortunately, some push it just past that limit. 

While we momentarily grieve the Breadvan, don’t fret. As with all cars of this caliber, you can rest assured that no expense will be spared to bring it back. Don’t be surprised to see the Ferrari Breadvan ripping the same track in short order. 

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Staff Writer

Peter Corn

Peter Corn joined MotorBiscuit as an Autos Writer in 2020 and brings his quippiest Southern drawl to our table. Having, in his words, “helped” rebuild his dad’s 1959 MGA as a small child, Peter grew up loving vintage cars and trucks, adding motorcycles and all things 4×4 as he went.

Peter earned a Bachelor of Archeology and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and has since melded his love of driving with storytelling. His voice, full of pleasantries and witticisms, can be enjoyed in The Gentleman Racer, The Vintagent, Gear Patrol, Iron & Air Magazine, and Classic Car Club Magazine.

Peter is a co-founder of both The Colloquial Magazine and The Fire Escape, the official podcast of The Colloquial. In an effort to increase his abilities in “ramping anything with wheels,” Peter has taken track training from Classic Car Club Manhattan and attended Rally School at Monticello Motor Club, where he was coached by eight-time Performance Rally motorsport champion Chris Duplessis.

On a lucky day, we get to hear Peter tell the story of his first car, a jewel of a 1958 Ford Fairlane, into which he dumped more time and money than made sense, but he has no regrets.