Port Irene, Phillipines - If you’re a sports car lover, it’s best to avert your eyes.
Watching more than 60 luxury cars and motorcycles getting crushed by a bulldozer is a painful experience to anyone who appreciates precious wheeled metal, but that’s exactly what happened in the Phillipines on Monday 30 July.
The vehicles, which included Lamborghinis, Porsches, and Harley Davidsons, were destroyed as part of Phillipines president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-crime campaign. Among the notable models were a 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo, a 2003 Porsche 911 and 2001 BMW M5.
Making a statement
The vehicles, collectively valued at an estimated $5.5 million (R72 million), had been seized after being illegally imported to the country and the crushing ceremony was to demonstrate Duterte’s tough stance against smugglers. This was the fourth mass crushing of smuggled cars in the Phillipines this year.
Wearing a hard hat, the president was on site on Monday to witness the latest destruction, and in a speech afterwards said it was necessary "to show to the world that we have a viable place of investment and business."
It’s quite a spectacular way to make a statement, though you can’t help thinking the government could have sold the cars instead and used the money to help improve the lives of its citizens.
Watch the video below, if you have the stomach: