Former Gizmondo exec's crashed $1m Ferrari Enzo
By Ryan Block 
posted February 22nd 2006 12:47PM
posted February 22nd 2006 12:47PM
We're already on the phone with our friends
at Merriam Webster to get the definition of poetic justice revised: Stefan Eriksson -- the former Gizmondo executive who stepped down amidst allegations of his
involvement in the Uppsala Mafia Swedish organized crime ring, and who perhaps most embodied the internal corruption of
Tiger Telematics -- no longer has his 2003 Ferrari Enzo, of which 399 were made, and each cost a million dollars. You
see, apparently while racing a Mercedes SLR the car careened off an embankment and hit a pole at about 125MPH, which
literally split the thing in two right down the center (don't worry, he lived to see this post). Without giggling too
much longer at the unbelievable irony of this incident, it's worth noting that some more deets have surfaced about just
how how much money Gizmondo hemorrhaged last year before filing for bankruptcy:
between January and September of 2005 Tiger Telematics lost £140m (about $244 million), up another 33m from the
$210 in the hole they were when
we reported on their operating
losses last year. So without getting too schadenfreude up in this piece, let's just say this post goes out to all
the disenfranchised Gizmondo owners and former employees of Tiger Telematics, and we'll leave it at that.[Thanks, Ryan, via Pocket-Lint]
The best part is, he claims that someone known only to him as "The German" (or in my head "Ze German") was driving, and that he "disappeared after the crash." He also had a blood alcohol level of .09.
Oh man, I heard about this on the local news the other day and wondered why a Ferrari crash is such a big deal that it deserves its own news story. They didn't even mention the Gizmondo connection, but based on the sales of it, I guess they figured no one would care.
Fishes,
narco.
Cuz there's only 399 Enzos in the world? Just because 400 people wanted one.
"Telematics lost £140 (about $244 million)"
my my, the US dollar is really dropping nowadays...
At least he went out in style- I saw one of those at the San Francisco Auto show: that car is REAL small, but tight
Here it is aswell:
http://sybarites.org/2006/02/21/ferrari-enzo-crashes-in-malibu/
Maybe he should stick to console race games.
Before we laugh at him, is he OK, cos its not nice to laugh at dead people.
A 125mph crash must have seriously damged him, if he isn't dead.
Max,
Actually, he took off running for the hills, and a helicopter search of the area didn't find him.
Interesting, eh?
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/02/21/ferrari-enzo-half-off/
Later,
Randall
The Enzo never costed $1 million.
As a gizmondo owner im happy to say, HA HA MR.ERIKSSON, BURN IN HELL!!!!!!!!!!111111111111111TW0
Although if he really died i think thats a little to far....
no, it's ok to laugh...another story I read said he was "only slightly injured".
Not only was he drunk (0.09), but he claims he wasn't driving....that a german guy named Dietrich was driving and fled after the crash.
"The passenger suffered a cut lip, but besides that, the only casualties were the car and the driver's ego."
To #5. He was fine. The story is weird though. He blew a 0.09, so was legally drunk. But he stated he was the passenger. His German friend, which he only knew his first name, was supposedly driving and took off running up the hill and has not been found. Stefan had a cut lip and the only blood in the car was on the driver side airbag, not the passenger.
that poor poor car. he should be shot for crashing such a fine automobile.
that quote was from the autoblog article, so now we can commence the guilt-free mockery.
NOOOOOOOOOO!
Why did such a wonderful car have to go in such a sad way.
What a prick, first the Gizmondo and now the Enzo, this guy is going to burn in a small firery corner of hell...
Did the passenger airbag deploy? If it did then there was a passenger, and I want to believe that the airbag system on an enzo will deactivate the passenger airbag if there's no one sitting there.
Why is it that a dumbass like him can survive a crash like that? Where's the divine justice?
you said schadenfreude!
How about fixing the typos? There are two at least. Engadget standards are slipping...
"9. The Enzo never costed $1 million."
MSRP of around $650,000, actual street price is/was much higher. I've heard of them selling for closer to 2 million than 1.
...and 'costed' isn't a word.
wat wud u call an enzo owned by a gizmondo employee??
Enzmondo..??
Gizmenzo..??...
blah...guess we'll never know :(
I believe the price of an Enzo was in the $600,000 range. But you couldn't just call Ferrari and buy one--purchase was invitation only, to select Ferrari customers. Of course, with a single crash destroying at least .25 percent of the entire Enzo fleet in existence, the aftermarket price has nowhere to go but up.
#3: That's an exchange rate of $1.74 per Pound Sterling; the exchange rate has been dropping steadily since its high over $1.90 in late 2004.
So, in relative value, as I assume you meant, no, it isn't dropping; the Pound is.
its funny how everyone in here is hating on the dude. Just because its a ferrari doesnt mean its not prone to crash...come on, the guy can be bankrupt, but he'll still have more money than all of us readers (except bill gates)
AW MAN! Now there are only 398. As far as I know no other enzo has been crashed. They weren't originaly sold for 1 million but now they are worth that because of how rare they are. Maybe now they will be worth more. Sad about the enzo being smashed but laughing that it was that gizmondo dude's enzo. LOL! That dude is such a loser!
#9: Yes, it did. It was never listed with Ferrari for a million, the Ferrari price started at $643,330. But with most cars that are in high demand, the dealer sets the price much higher.
Furthermore, the list of buyers for this car was restricted to "heritage buyers"; you and/or your family had to have owned Ferraris before to purchase this vehicle. Many people did it as an investment.
#23: ----
25 Is Mr.Gates watching us?
Carl was driving the slr. Dont worry about the enzo, stephan has another but in black.
I wish I'd been there - I would have suffocated him with his own deployed airbag (the one on the driver's side, of course). Then I would have staked my claim to some salvageable piece of the Enzo - a $3000 rim, let's say - and sold it to recoup the money I'm still owed in back pay and expenses.
#25 - and THAT (among other reasons) is why we're hating on the guy.
#30 - If you're talking about who I think you're talking about, Karl was most definitely NOT driving the SLR. If he was, he would have finished the job.
I often let friends whom I only know their first names drive my million dollar car in street races.
There is no way I could have gotten into a car accident during a street race then jump in the passenger seat and blame a non-existing friend. No way.
He was probably distracted playing an exciting game of Sticky Balls on his Gizmondo.
"the driver was a German man called Dietrich who had fled the scene"
ahhahaha!! what a scam! "Dietrich" fools Erikkson, Erikkson fools LAPD, we get fooled. everybody's duped!
I think KITT was driving..."But Michael, you're driving too fast". Or was KARR the evil one? Maybe in Germany the translated Knight Rider name for KITT was Dieter.
Interesting:
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1162144&tw=wn_wire_story
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185694,00.html
"A three-hour search failed to turn up anyone, and officials said they were skeptical of the account. Only the driver's side air bag deployed, Brooks said."
Something is fishy!!...
I'd say hes going to jail but I'm sure he could buy his way out screaming "I'm Gizmondo" all the way. What's a couple million to stay out of jail for the man that just throws his Ferrari into a pole.
The Enzo cost 500,000 euros, not 1,000,000 USD…
ATTN:Stefan Eriksson!
did you think that you and the "german" guy paying the old lady 2000usd to drive you to beverly hills was going to stay quiet? and the flashing of the badge and saying you arnt spose to be here...... geez you would think you had more of a brain if you were under investigation by an undercover..... anyway i sure hope you enjoyed your time in malibu and the drive was worth the 2 grand you both paid.
oh yeah, i have sent this off to a "few" of my friends too so if ya read this in time dont answer the door!
hb.
He should have went with the FXX that comes with track time and lessons....
May the ghost of Enzo Ferrari haunt him to the end of his days the stupid drunk bastard!
the real question is who won the race.
"What a prick, first the Gizmondo and now the Enzo, this guy is going to burn in a small firery corner of hell..."
Yah because I'm sure a prerequisite for burning in hell is mistreating a hunk of metal and raping a company into the ground.
Some amazing pictures of the crash site:
http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/news/more-on-the-enzo-incident-on-pch-with-photos-156121.php
Precisely, #41. Anyone know who would/should have won?
Precisely, #40. Anyone know who would/should have won?
The Enzo given to the pope sold for a little over 1 million, and that was definitely a special circumstance.
@ 42/John Doe: "Yah because I'm sure a prerequisite for burning in hell is mistreating a hunk of metal and raping a company into the ground."
Would the ex-CFO of Enron like Andrew Fastow or ex-accountants of WorldCom/MCI like Bernard Ebbers or Scott Sullivan be liable for burning in hell? IIRC, a lot of people lost their jobs due to Stefan Eriksson's Gizmondo failure.
42:
Well. This guy and his minions at Gizmondo (his fellow Swedes) was known as the "Uppsala mob" in the mid ninties here in Sweden. They spent their time doing an assortment of crime related activities including fraud and embesslement. A couple of them actually spent a year or two in jail. At least according to the Swedish national rag "Aftonbladet"...
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy then :)
What I do not get is how they have succeeded in getting the kind of positions in the business world as they have. Or is it as I have always supected that the big companies are all run by psycopaths and criminals?
A few tidbits:
Pope's Enzo (that sounds funny -give's new meaning to poe mobile) sold at charity auction for 1.25M
this is the 2nd Enzo wreck this year, believe it or not one was crashed in Texas by the owner's daughter who was street racing another spoiled teen in a Lambo Murcielago...UNBELIEVABLE, must see pics how can I post them?
Value of car is most likely at or above 1M due to exclusivity
I have seen pics of one or two other wrecked Enzos so there are less than 398 out there for sure