On September 16, a car collector in Florida named Ernie took possession of a gorgeous yellow and black McLaren P1. Based on some recent comparable P1 sales, it's my guess that Ernie spent more than $1.5 million but probably a little under $2 million to acquire his new toy, which is one of only 375 in existence.
We know about this purchase because just 13 day ago, on September 16, Ernie took to Instagram to announce his new acquisition:
"Only 300 miles on it… Time too add to it!":
https://www.instagram.com/p/CikrcFWu5h2/
View this post on Instagram
Following along via Instagram account, @lambo9286, we can see how over the next 11 days Ernie went everywhere in the new P1.
On Saturday morning he drove the car to downtown Naples for brunch:
View this post on Instagram
Ernie proudly showed off how the McLaren looked in his garage next to his $500,000 Rolls Royce Phantom (this will be important in a minute):
View this post on Instagram
On Monday September 19, he used the P1 for a "Whole Foods run."
View this post on Instagram
On Tuesday night, September 20, Ernie drove the P1 to dinner.
On Friday night he showed the P1 off, once again in downtown Naples.
Ernie doesn't appear to stray very far from his home area:
View this post on Instagram
As you know, alarm bells about Hurricane Ian's looming impact on Florida's gulf coast began to ring earlier this week. Evacuations were recommended.
To prepare, Ernie took the P1 to the store on Tuesday afternoon. He once again captured the moment, with the caption:
"My hurricane supply car"
View this post on Instagram
What you see in the above photo is how Ernie's P1 looked on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 27.
Here is how the Ernie's P1 looked less than 24 hours later after Hurricane Ian laid a direct hit on the Naples:
View this post on Instagram
I did a little bit of digging and found Ernie's home in Naples. It is oceanfront. As Hurricane Ian made landfall, the water level in places like Naples and Ft. Myers rose SIX FEET above the normal high tide. For any home near the ocean, disaster was unavoidable.
Here's what Ernie's garage looked like as water rushed in:
I feel sorry for this guy man, He just bought that McLaren P1, 300 miles on it, and it got washed out by the hurricane pic.twitter.com/lBDNIdykEK
— Thunder! (@ThunderStreamer) September 29, 2022
According to subsequent Instagram posts from Ernie, the water level rose to the point where it created enough force to physically suck both the Phantom, which I just learned is also brand new, and the P1 straight out of the garage and onto the streets of his neighborhood:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
And here's a video showing the P1 after it was pushed out into the streets:
A McLaren P1 floating in Florida during the hurricane pic.twitter.com/PmEnHiBh0k
— Giuseppe Mercadante (@itsmercadante) September 29, 2022
Late on Thursday Ernie added one more photo to Instagram. The caption says it all:
"My P1 being held up by a toilet"
View this post on Instagram
Ernie. My man. Judging by your Instagram account, you appear to be quite wealthy. Even so, as the great Sean Connery exclaimed in the extremely great 1996 film, "The Rock":
I hope you're insured!
