480 minutes — that is approximately the length of time it took one new Mustang owner to turn a perfectly good 2012 GT/California Special into the mangled insurance write-off you see here.


These pictures posted on TheMustangSource.com this past week show what can happen when you choose to turn off the traction control in the 412 horsepower V8 muscle car you've owned for eight hours before a high speed drive on public roads.

Apparently the owner of this car was traveling approximately 80 miles per hour through a corner when the Mustang lost traction and got cozy with a tree. Luckily the driver was the only one in the car and escaped with minor cuts and bruises. It certainly doesn't appear anyone sitting in the passenger seat would have been so lucky.


We completely understand the obvious temptation to find out exactly what your new Mustang GT is capable of. However if that quest for knowledge involves high speed cornering without the aid of traction control in a powerful car you aren't used to driving these pictures should be more than enough to reconsider.

[TheMustangSource via StangTV]