Moscow is known for its supercars, its street racing, and its street drifting. All that went wrong, however, when an Audi R8, drifting for the camera, smashed another car in what has now become — in just two days — one of the highest-watched car videos on YouTube.
On Saturday afternoon, the R8 drifted around a corner and into the side of a passing Lada Samara, flipping the other car. The Audi, which costs 5.2 million rubles ($172,723), then fled the scene of the crime, running a red light.
The crash occurred in Sparrow Hills, in front of Moscow State University. The corner itself is a popular meeting place for street racers and a common site for street drifting.
There have been allegations that the crash was staged, based on the fact that the cameraman does not seem shocked or surprised when the cars collide.
The police are still looking for the R8 driver, dubbed "Недодрифтер," which Google translates as "Nedodrifter." Erik-Davidych Kituashvili, the founder of the popular Russian auto club Smotra.ru, told Life News that Russia's streetracing community is angered by the crash and are looking for the R8 driver themselves.
The original video is up to 281,691 views, and the comments show considerable anger against the rich supercar driver, who appears to completely disregard the life of someone who is obviously much poorer. Russia has a notoriously deep gap between the rich and the poor, and this video strikes a chord in the charged atmosphere.
The state of the driver in the Lada is unknown.
