The moment the BMW X2 smashes into a Porsche 911 in Durban. Screenshot: Vivian Reddy on Instagram
A supercar meet as part of a Father’s Day luncheon outside a mall in Durban on Sunday was memorable for the wrong reasons for the owner of a Porsche 911 after an incident with a BMW X2.
According to the video posted on Instagram by Vivian Reddy, the developer of the Oceans Mall in Umhlanga that hosted the event, the grey 996 generation Porsche 911 is seen leaving the impromptu parking space from behind what behind looks like a McLaren 650 S.
As it was moving into the open space, the Porsche is shunted into another 911 parked in front of the McLaren by the BMW X2 that seemingly continued without stopping.
The impact is likely to have left its mark on the BMW X2 and the 911, whose front suspension suffered the most, along with the entire right-hand front corner.
A pedestrian was also lucky to escape the carnage as he passed the 911 seconds before it was hit by the X2.
“Someone rushing to a Father’s Day luncheon and nothing was going to slow him down. The pedestrian is so lucky to escape injury,” Reddy’s caption of the incident read.
In a statement to TimesLIVE, the mall remarked, “the Oceans Mall piazza has become the gathering point for supercars over the weekend and attracts hundreds of viewers. This accident serves as a reminder of the pressing need for drivers to prioritise road safety to prevent future incidents.
“We were told there were no injuries to pedestrians or drivers involved. The local authorities, metro police and police were on the scene shortly thereafter.”
Introduced in 1998, the 996 generation 911 signalled a massive departure from previous 911 models as it featured not only a brand-new platform, but also a water-cooled flat-six engine for the first time.
In the case of the Turbo, the engine displaced 3.6-litres and produced 309kW/560Nm fed to all four wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox or five-speed Tiptronic S gearbox. The claimed top speed was 305km/h with 0-100km/h taking 4.2 seconds.
A sought-after model today, a quick price search on AutoTrader revealed pricing from R749 900 to R999 900 for a low mileage example fitted with the less desirable but also more convenient Tiptronic ‘box that featured buttons on the steering wheel as opposed to paddles that came with the latter and present dual-clutch PDK transmission.
Unsurprisingly, the estimated damage wasn’t disclosed, but given the 996’s value, chances are that the owner won’t be happy with the driver of the X2.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.