(Part 1)
Where, Oh Where Is Stefan Erikssen? - With no car registration, no driver’s license and no red Enzo, can he still be in “California Dreaming”?
If you be a-wondering whatever happened to that California Swedish ex-convict, Stefan Erikssen, the last I read is that he was cruising around Mexico on the missing yacht and that no one, including the police, was particularly concerned with his whereabouts, saying that his normal habitat ranges from Sweden to the UK to California, according to Pepperdine University’s “Graphic”. Erikssen is the fabulously rich playboy whose red Enzo sports car spectacularly split in two on the Coastal Highway near Malibu. The driver and suspected Ferrari Enzo murderer, mysteriously ran off into the Malibu hills, leaving Erikssen, the owner of the car who just so happened to be a “passenger”, virtually uninjured.
No one has been charged with any law violations in the accident, as the Ferrari was airborne at the time it came in for a landing on the famous highway. Tragically for the flying car, it “undershot” the roadway and returned to earth in front of a utility pole which split the car in half. Miraculously, passenger/owner Erikssen walked away with only a scratch on his mouth. Law enforcement continues to search the Malibu bush for the “runaway” driver, while at the same time researching California law to find if any charges can be brought when a $1 million sports car turns into an airplane. To date, police officials have found no laws that were violated, proclaiming that California highways were originally designed for the more mundane vehicles that stay earthbound, such as Fords and Chevys.
The dedicated playboy car, the Ferrari Enzo, is a limited-edition vehicle, designed by its manufacturer with 650 horsepower, reaching cruising speeds up to 225 mph. The company owners have been terribly embarrassed that their flagship sportscar became an airborne spaceship at the relatively poky speed of 163 mph. Their chagrin has been heightened by the fact that the Italian engineered vehicle came apart like a sack of potatoes. Yet, they have found cause for optimism, bragging that “the passenger-safety system alone is worth $1 million, for it most obviously performed well”
Supposed owner Stefan Erikssen was not at all concerned about losing his red Enzo Ferrari because he has another, a black Enzo. However he was quite concerned about becoming Ferrari’s poster boy and living testament to Ferrari automobile safety innovations, as Mr. Erikssen prefers to live his life in the shadows, rather than the glint and gleam of infamy.
When the Enzo first came upon the market the list price was more than $650,000, however a super-rich playboy could not just walk into a showroom and plunk down the cash. No, this car was so special, that if one were not a really important VIP, such as a Pope, one was required to already own a Ferrari. Now that the car is no longer being made, it has become a collectors’ item, usually fetching over $1 million on the used car market. The Malibu loss sadly leaves the Southern California community of Enzos with but fifteen remaining in the entire region.
The Twists and Turns of Stefan Erikssen and his Ferraris
(Part 2)
Enzo aficionados and dealers grouse privately that Erikssen was an serial abuser of such Ferraris. Because the automobiles are such rare jewels, they should not be driven on the roadways where they come into contact with the riff-raff vehicles of working men and women. An Enzo Ferrari should not be driven at all, as it exists for the prestige of ownership not for transportation. The sports car should not even be raced, as everyone already knows how fast it can go. One buys this car for its status. One owns an Enzo to show the world that one can afford the latest thing, or that one has an ‘in’ with a Ferrari dealer, or that one is a mobster.
Of course, everyone knows that in Erikssen’s case, he did not really own the Ferrari as it was in the process of being repossessed, but that is neither here nor there. The super-rich are different, as any taxpaying Honda driver can tell you. Enzo Ferrari owners can tool about Beverly Hills in their unregistered and unrepossessed vehicles and no police officer would dare be so brazen as to ask for proof of anything upon noticing the lack of California tags. They drive without California drivers’ licenses, and when they are finally found out, the police release them so they can take their yachts out on cruises. When the breathalyzer registers their alcohol level as intoxicated, as it did with Erikssen, they can claim, without raising an eyebrow, to not be the driver, even when their own blood is found upon the deployed driver’s side airbag. This is because they have access to the scores of Beverly Hills attorneys who specialize in “DWI Not by Alcohol” cases. “DWINBA” lawyers are skilled in proving beyond a reasonable doubt that merely sitting behind the wheel of such an awesome vehicle, just knowing that you control the power to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, that you can take off from standing still to 100 mph and come to a full stop in just 10 seconds, causes immediate intoxication in anyone, even teetotalers and, most importantly, even jurors and judges.
Although the crashed Enzo that Stefan Erikssen does “not” own looks destroyed, the Ferrari factory says that it can rebuild the vehicle to its former splendor for a mere $200,000 to $300,000. Since that would put the repaired car into the buying range of the non-super-rich, Erikssen does not want it back. A Bugatti dealer, Ehren Bragg, has revealed that the Californian-Swede has a Veyron on order. Veyron, the car world’s new top dog, arrives this year from France, claiming 1,001 horsepower from 16 cylinders, a top speed over 250 mph and a sticker-shocker price of $1.2 million. Erikssen claims that he is just doing his part to save the environment. By exporting the vehicle from France, there will be one less car available for the Paris youths to burn and explode for fireworks, he explains.
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Ex-con Erikssen’s Enzo
The L.A. Times has been following this strange tale of former Gizmondo exec Stefan Erikssen and his severed Enzo fast car….
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