Foxtons billionaire sues garage after £1m Lamborghini blew up with his son at the wheel
The billionaire founder of Foxtons estate agents is suing a top garage which serviced his £1million Lamborghini - after the car blew up while his son was at the wheel.
Property tycoon, Jon Hunt, says his son had driven less than a mile from the garage in his Lamborghini Miura SV after picking it up from a routine service in April 2013 when it exploded in flames.
Mr Hunt’s son was not hurt, but the rare 1971 supercar, which was worth almost £1m and was the world’s fastest road car when it was first built, was reduced to a fire-blackened wreck on the A40 in Acton.
Now Mr Hunt, whose wealth was rated at £1.07bn by the Times Rich List this year, is suing luxury car specialists, H.R Owen Dealerships Ltd, trading as Lamborghini London.
He is claiming £700k compensation for the wrecked car, plus additional damages for storage and “loss of enjoyment” of the vehicle - one of only 764 ever built.
The British property entrepreneur is best known as the founder of UK estate agency Foxtons, which he sold for £390m in 2007.
The father of four, 61, a well known classic car enthusiast, reportedly refused an offer of £300m for his palatial home in Kensington Palace Gardens in 2012.
He also owns a Suffolk estate, Heveningham Hall, near his childhood home. It is an 18th century Grade I listed Palladian country house with 25 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, 12 receptions, set in 460 acre.
In a writ lodged at the High Court, Daniel Scarrott, for Mr Hunt, says that H.R Owen “held itself out as having particular expertise in the repair and servicing of Lamborghini motor vehicles.”
The company “agreed to inspect, assess and service the vehicle” the writ states, adding that they owed Mr Hunt “a duty of care to exercise the reasonable care and skill of an expert Lamborghini repairer and service.”
Mr Scarrott continues: “On December 19, 2012 Mr Hunt delivered the vehicle to the defendant’s garage on School Road, North Acton.
“The defendant thereafter purported to perform the services and in particular carried out a service of the vehicle and replaced the engine oil, filter and spark plugs.
“The defendant notified Mr Hunt that the services had been completed and the vehicle was ready for collection.
“On April 5, 2013 Mr Hunt, by his son, attended the garage to collect the vehicle.
“Mr Hunt’s son was then provided with the keys to the vehicle. He then proceeded to drive into London along the A40.
“As the vehicle proceeded it did not appear to be running smoothly. Within less than one mile of the garage, the vehicle’s engine gave off a puff of white smoke”.
Mr Scarrott says that, at this stage, Mr Hunt’s son, who is not named in the writ, pulled over and was advised by a garage employee who was nearby in another vehicle to drive the car back to the garage “Mr Hunt’s son then proceeded to drive off with a view to returning to the garage. As he did so he noticed a smell of an old car and a further wisp of white smoke and an unexpected noise.
“There was then a deep percussion noise and the engine of the vehicle caught fire. In that fire the vehicle was substantially damaged,” Mr Scarrott says.
The lawyer goes on to allege that mechanics at the garage had put in the wrong type of spark plugs when they serviced the car.
