[RC45]

So - is the first story posted in thsi thread true?

Or is it a bucket of tripe?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12012006...dan_mangan.htm

Looks like the repair shop crashed it - and their insurance is paying for the repairs.

FROM 440G TO A WRECK IN 1 SEC SHOP CRASHES BIG SHOT'S PORSCHE By DAN MANGAN BIG WHEEL: Robert Greenhill took his Porsche Carrera GT in for repairs. He'll never get it back. December 1, 2006 -- A renowned investment banker dropped off his precious half-million-dollar Porsche for some minor body work - only to learn that the mechanic plowed the spectacular car into a pole in Westchester while returning it. Robert Greenhill, a past president of Morgan Stanley and former chairman and CEO of Smith Barney, owned the rare, silver Porsche Carrera GT. The 604-horsepower auto is both frighteningly fast, with a top speed of 205 mph, and extremely expensive - it carries a $440,000 sticker price. Porsche expects to manufacture only 1,500 of the futuristic-looking speed machines over a three-year span. Christopher Numme, the owner of the body shop in the town of Port Chester, said he did minor repairs to the car's body - but while he was driving it back to a Greenwich, Conn., dealership the day after Thanksgiving, he lost control and crashed it. At 9:15 a.m., Numme, a married father of three, pulled out of his shop, with a buddy in the passenger seat, and headed toward Greenwich. Shortly afterward, Numme, 48, spotted a truck inching past a stop sign in Port Chester and realized they were on a collision course. Numme said it was too late to hit the brakes, so he swerved around the truck and upshifted to second gear. The car spun out of control and leaped onto the sidewalk. "That car just acted as if it were on a sheet of black ice and careened into that telephone pole," said Numme, adding that he had not been speeding when the auto lost control. The front end of the car wrapped itself around the pole. Witness David de LaRosa told The Post that the crash "was very, very loud. I thought those guys died. "But I [then] saw the two men come out of the car and start walking. It was surprising." "You have to count your blessings," said Numme, who suffered only a broken foot in the sensational smashup. "A car can be replaced, but a human life can't be." Numme - who would not reveal Greenhill as the owner of the car - was not cited by police for any violation. His passenger suffered neck and back pain. "To walk away from that, I'm thankful," Numme said. "I've been repairing cars for 30 years, and this is the first accident I've ever been in. "It makes you reconsider [how you appreciate] a lot of things - your wife, your family." Asked who would pay for the Porsche, Numme said his insurance company "is covering everything." Greenhill did not return several calls seeking comment. Greenhill, 70, founded the Park Avenue investment bank Greenhill & Co. after leaving Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney. Two years ago, the Greenwich resident and his wife, Gayle, endowed Harvard Business School, his alma mater, with $15 million to support its global research efforts. Asked how Greenhill reacted, Numme said, "We spoke to people, and their main concern was as long as everybody is OK, and as long as his car is being replaced," they were satisfied. [email protected]