Ferrari 430 Scuderia Destroyed 1 Hour After Purchase

South Yorkshire Police posted on Facebook a story of every car enthusiast's worst nightmare—crashing your newly acquired pride and joy just after receiving it. This time, it was an ultra-rare Ferrari 430 Scuderia that got smashed up and doused in flames. 

"Officers were deployed to a single vehicle collision with reports that the vehicle had left the carriageway and burst into flames," read the post. The department's Twitter post about the crash states that the vehicle "Lost control, went airborne & burst into flames." The Scuderia in question was owned by an unidentified man. It was one of just 499 in the world, worth $288,000, according to Fortune.

"Colleagues from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue were in attendance squirting water all over some kind of sporty motor some 50 or so meters down a banking," continues the Facebook post. "As we are an inquisitive bunch we found the driver and were amazed to see he only had minor cuts and bruises!" The lucky driver told police, "I've only just got it, picked it up an hour ago."

Surprisingly, police determined that speed was not a factor in the crash. But the M1 motorway on which he was traveling was wet at the time—not exactly the best conditions to drive a 503 horsepower Ferrari for the first time. It's easy to imagine how a little too much throttle on the slippery surface could lead to this crash. It's yet another reason why every performance automaker needs their own high-performance driving school.

Fortunately, the driver managed better than the Ferrari.