The Barrett Jackson Palm Beach auction has been in the books for about a month. It’s fair to say that in the time since, owners of their new cars have taken delivery of their new toys and have been able to take their vehicles out for test drives. The owner of a 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition took his new purchase to the streets recently and ended up smashing into a palm tree in Boca Raton, Florida. He bought the car at auction for $704,000 USD.
According to a police report sourced by Road and Track the driver was 50-year old Robert J. Guarini who told police that he lost control of the Ford supercar when downshifting leaving his home and that his inexperience with a manual transmission played a role in ruining his newly acquired car. Guarini adds that old tires, and muddy roads were a contributing factor to sliding out of control. At the time of the wreck the vehicle was unregistered and Guarini had a suspended license so police issued him a citation.
This appeared to be a single car incident with no injuries to speak of. The damage to the vehicle however, was shared on Facebook by John Peddle. His pictures show that most of the destruction was found at the front of the car only although the impact was hard enough to deploy multiple airbags and force the vehicle off the road, blocking a sidewalk when it finally came to rest.
The Ford GT Heritage itself when purchased only had 2,147 miles on it. The Gulf Oil Heritage Edition GT was one of only 343 made in 2006 and could post a 0-60 time of 3.4 seconds. It’s powered by a mid-engine 5.4L V8 capable of 550 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque, this particular Ford GT also had a CORSA performance exhaust and Penske racing suspension. Inside is Ebony leather and aluminum trim. Per Barrett Jackson’s post-auction archive listing, the vehicle has been referred to as the “Ultimate American Supercar” for its time.
