The story of the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 911 GT3 that were caught on camera speeding through a Beverly Hills neighborhood, ignoring stop signs and narrowly avoiding pedestrians, has taken another turn for the weird. Having been confronted by a video journalist, the cars’ owner — who’s name has not been released — reportedly told the man he had “diplomatic immunity” and could have him “killed and get away with it.”According to Jalopnik, who has spoken to the Beverly Hills police department, the owner of the LaFerrari — who is rumored to be part of Qatar’s royal family — does not have diplomatic immunity at all, and has cleared his $10 million rented home and disappeared. Police do not know where he is.
The whole incident began last Saturday when a pair of drivers in the LaFerrari and GT3 tore around the neighborhood before returning to the house with the Ferrari billowing smoke. While police have identified the owner of the cars, the actual people who were behind the wheel are still unknown. Police passed the owner’s reported claim of diplomatic immunity on to the U.S. State Department for clarification, which was soon returned confirming the claim was in fact untrue.
What occurs next remains to be seen. Jalopnik reports that under California law no charges can be made unless the drivers are identified. And with the cars' owner now apparently fleeing town, answering that question just got a whole lot harder.
Update: Police said late Thursday that the LaFerrari owner is Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, owner of a drag-racing team and a member of the ruling family of Qatar. According to the Associated Press, Police state Al Thani has left the country and confirmed the cars were also gone. The investigation will continue.
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