Ferrari 430 Scuderia veers off motorway in South Yorkshire and bursts into flames an hour after new owner had collected it

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A driver in South Yorkshire has written off a £200,000 Ferrari he had owned for just an hour.

The Ferrari 430 Scuderia veered off the M1 motorway near junction 37, careered 50 metres down a bank and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Ferrari 430 Scuderia at a car show. Photograph: Dan Chung/The Guardian

Police said the driver escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, and “officers do not believe excess speed was a contributory factor in this collision”.

“Road conditions were wet at the time and as officers arrived on scene it became clear there was a vehicle well alight and colleagues from South Yorkshire fire and rescue were in attendance squirting water all over some kind of sporty motor some 50 or so metres down a banking,” read a post from South Yorkshire police on Facebook.

“Officers asked the driver what sort of car he had to which he replied: ‘It was a Ferrari.’ Detecting a sense of damaged pride, he then said: ‘I’ve only just got it, picked it up an hour ago.’”

Police said the driver had been very lucky. “Over the past couple of weeks there has been a number of collisions where driving styles have not reflected the road and weather conditions,” they said. “Please take more care!”