1.8 Crore Sportscar Catches Fire in Mumbai

Mumbai: A 1.8 crore Audi R8 race car was gutted in a fire near the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra-Worli Sea Link, officials said.

Around that time, the Fifth Mumbai Parx Supercar Show-2013 rally of nearly 100 cars, which was passing by the area, screeched to a grinding halt to assist the hapless driver, said to be D. Thakker, 22.

The rally organiser and founder of the Super Car Club, industrialist Gautam Singhania, also stopped his vehicle and stepped out to help the driver of the Audi R8, who was unharmed.

The recently introduced model of Audi, which also features in the latest Bollywood movie "Race 2", costs around 1.80 crore and is among the premium products of the German car manufacturer available in India.

According to police and fire brigade, it was not immediately clear what caused the fire which was extinguished shortly after it started.

Though there were no casualties in the incident, the northern land side of the sea link was jammed for nearly two hours before traffic was permitted to cross the bridge.

Audi India head Michael Perschke told media-persons that preliminary investigations revealed that some modifications may have been carried out in the vehicle, but only a detailed probe would reveal more details.

Among the participating cars in the event were the country's only Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, costing nearly 5 crore, and Ferrari 458GT.

Also present was liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya's customized golden Lamborghini Aventador, several other Lamborghini Aventadors, Ferraris, BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes-Benzes.

The destroyed Audi R8 was not part of the two-day supercar event which culminated in a sleek rally in south Mumbai, wowing onlookers and impressing the youngsters gathered to witness the event en route.

The annual Parx Supercar Show is organised by the exclusive Super Car Club jointly founded by industrialist Gautam Singhania and Autocar India editor Hormazd Sorabjee.

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