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'World's Most Expensive Car Crash' results in 10 charged [w/video]

Justice is slowly being served to those drivers who were involved in a 10-car pile up in Japan last year that saw eight Ferrari models, one Lamborghini and three Mercedes-Benz vehicles hauled off for scrap. As you may recall, the lead driver lost control of his machine, pin balling into those following behind and doing some $4 million in damage in the process. Now the 61-year-old lead driver and nine others have had their cases sent to prosecutors.
The group are currently being charged with suspicion of violating traffic laws. We'll take a moment to wait for the laughter to die down before continuing.
Prosecutors claim the drivers were exceeding the speed limit and not paying attention to the road when the incident happened. Six people were injured in the dust up, but everyone survived. The group was on their way to a supercar event in Hiroshima. Feel free to watch the original news reports below.

Volkswagen Group's Vision 2030 strategy could bring revolution to the brands

One would expect a corporate plan called "Vision 2030," looking 11 years ahead through wildly tumultuous times, to involve great change and numerous forks in numerous roads. According to Automobile's breakdown of Volkswagen's path forward, though, the plans contain some lurid potential surprises. The ultimate aim is return on investment, and that means ruthless reorganization of a conglomerate with eight primary car brands, two car sub-brands, and Ducati motorcycles. The first two Vision 2030 cornerstones Automobile mentions are near boilerplate: Production network restructuring, and "streamlining of key technologies." The latter two are the ones that could upend what we know as the Volkswagen Group: focusing on the Group's core brands — meaning Audi, Porsche, and VW — and transitioning to EVs, autonomy, and other mobility solutions. Based on the report, a quote from Audi's CTO referring to the Audi brand could cover how the Group plans to handle all of its brands: "We need to find a sustainable solution for the indefinite transition period until EVs eventually take over." The boutique divisions adjacent to carmaking, Ducati and Italdesign, look likely to be spun off. For the halo car brands — Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini — apparently shareholders want double-digit returns on investment, and the trio doesn't have long to hit the target. One eyebrow raiser is when the report states, "Bugatti is tipped to be gifted to [ex-VW Group Chairman] Ferdinand Piech." Piech fathered the Veyron during his tenure at VW, and it was thought he commissioned the La Voiture Noire, but he's lately stepped so far back from VW that he sold all his shares in the Group. Automobile quoted a senior strategist as saying of money-losing Bentley, "Why invest on a backward-looking enterprise when you can support a trendsetter? A proud history and excellent craftmanship alone don't cut it anymore." We guess no one at Ferrari, McLaren, or even Porsche got that memo. Bentley is reportedly close to being put in time out, and if brand CEO Adrian Hallmark can't right the Crewe ship, the hush-hush Plan B is to prop the Flying B up enough to lure a buyer. As for Lamborghini, caught between two masters at Audi and Porsche, even record-breaking numbers at the Italian supercar maker barely staved off sacrilege. It's said that VW brand CEO Herbert Diess considered putting a 5.0-liter Porsche V8 into the Aventador successor.

Do you want a cheap amphibious Lamborghini Countach?

James Bond famously dove under the waves in a Lotus Esprit submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me. Elon Musk now has the car in his collection, but you can have the next best thing by buying this amphibious Lamborghini Countach. It needs a lot of work to be seaworthy or even roadworthy again, but the floating Italian supercar is currently on eBay Motors in the UK for the equivalent of $26,790. While the vehicle looks like a Countach, don't expect to listen to a sonorous Italian V12 on the open seas because power now comes from a Rover V8. In the water, a twin-prop drive runs from a power takeoff on the engine, and twin rudders allow for navigation. Hydraulics lift wheels when it's time to get wet. For wannabe Bonds, there's even a button inside to activate a smoke screen. Some digging online shows that Mike Ryan of SeaRoader originally built the water-going Countach. Both the eBay ad and Ryan's page assert the supercar briefly went to Hollywood for various roles, but the Internet Movie Car Database only shows the Lambo appearing briefly in Top Gear's Season 8 amphibious cars episode. Ryan also helped the guys build their own floating vehicles. Get ready for some hard work before setting sail. According to the listing, the carpets and seats are gone. The engine still turns, but the fuel pipe that goes to the tank needs replaced. It also requires new tires and brake work. If you're up to the challenge, this could be an amazing project. Related Video: News Source: eBay Motors, SeaRoader, Internet Movie Car Database via The DriveImage Credit: Top Gear via YouTube Aftermarket Design/Style Weird Car News Lamborghini Auctions Coupe Special and Limited Editions Performance Supercars Lamborghini Countach amphibious car