And the car drives off. In the sky.
Over the weekend a crystal encrusted Mini Cooper flew high over Piccadilly Circus on the way out of the top attraction of London, back to the USA.
Covered in more than one million coloured Swarovski gems, the £1 million ‘American Icon’ Mini will travel a 5,000-mile journey to its new home at the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! in Baltimore, USA.
Westminster Council gave special permission for the streets around Piccadilly Circus to be closed in the early hours of Saturday morning (4 February 2012), so a giant crane could be put in place for the intricate lift.
“The American Icon Mini Cooper is one of Ripley’s most prized possessions, so the pressure was really on to get it out without a scratch,” explained Tim O’Brien, vice president with the Orlando, Fla. – based Ripley Entertainment Inc.
As the Swarovski encrusted car exists our city of London, car fanatics in Britain will have a new and softer replacement with a life-sized hand knitted Ferrari, made from 12 miles of wool, created by British artist Lauren Porter.
So, next time you’re caught short for winter wear in the Piccadilly area, you know where to head to.
www.ripleyslondon.com
