It's a story worthy of an action movie, mixing luxury cars, international scams and suspense right up to the last scene. In 2016, British YouTuber Mark McCann bought a Lamborghini Flamboyant Huracán Spider in lime green. A £200,000 (approx. €235,000) coup de coeur... but also, in his words, "one of the worst decisions of his life".
A Lamborghini turned into a business... then into the air
Mark's aim wasn't just to have fun. With his partner Mo, they launched a supercar rental business. The plan was simple: to make the car profitable quickly by renting it out for around £800 a day. For a few months, the gamble worked. The phone rings non-stop, the Lamborghini goes out almost every day.
But a customer asks to rent the car for a whole month. They accept, do the checks... and deliver the car. And that's when the trouble starts.
From Heathrow to Bangkok
Two days after rental, the GPS tracker shows that the car is stationary at Heathrow airport. Curious, Mark and Mo go there. But too late: the Lamborghini is already on its way to Thailand. Panicked, Mark sends two colleagues to Bangkok in the hope of recovering it. They find it... in a local showroom, for sale, with new bodywork, foreign plates and a spoiler.
Even with a second spare key, they can't do anything: thai policemen demand bribesand threaten them if they insist. One of them warns: "This guy is dangerous, don't go out at night". The team returns to England...
A network of stolen cars
The case could have ended there. But thanks to an investigation by NAVCIS (National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service), an entire network of stolen cars was uncovered. Thirty-five vehicles stolen via fraudulent financing in the UK were airfreighted to Bangkok, with a total value of £6.5 million.
The alleged mastermind of the operation is now in prison in Thailand, awaiting trial. And in the midst of this sprawling affair, Mark's Lamborghini.
An eight-year wait... and an "improved" car
Eight years later, justice has done its work: the Lamborghini has finally been repatriated to the UK. Surprise: it's in better condition than before it was stolen. New bodywork, a mechanical overhaul... but also 15,000 miles covered over the years, even though the authorities claimed that the car was at a standstill in a warehouse.
Mark, who had never driven it before (the car was only used for rental), finally climbs aboard. And despite the bitterness of this misadventure, the emotion is there. The Lamborghini roars to life again, and this time it's Mark behind the wheel.
A true story, and a lesson for the rental car business
Today, Mark McCann admits to having lived through one of the most difficult periods of his life, with financial stress, and the impossibility of insuring the loss.
The moral? Sometimes, even the most desperate stories can have a happy ending. But if you too want to get into the supercar rental business, a simple signature can also take you... to the other side of the world.
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