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Modified BMW i8 Confiscated for Street Racing After Driver Shares Video Online

File this under “don’t brag about doing illegal stuff on social media.” Or, you know, just do any illegal stuff at all, if possible.
Modified BMW i8 confiscated for illegal street racing in Germany 14 photos
Photo: Police Headquarters West Palatinate
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Police in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, were able to track down the owner – and driver – of a modified BMW i8 and confiscate his vehicle for using it in illegal street racing. Damning evidence came from the man’s social media, as he had posted a video on Facebook some months before.

Die Rheinpfalz reports that the video popped up online about half a year ago, but police only got wind of it in February. At the end of March, they tracked down the owner and had his car impounded on the grounds of using it for illegal races.

An October 2017 amendment to the penal code allows police to permanently confiscate a vehicle if there’s evidence that it was used in an illegal street race. While this particular driver was by himself on the road, which means the race didn’t involve a second vehicle, what he was doing was still racing.

As per the same report, the 40-year-old driver filmed himself doing 200 kph (124 mph) on the state road between Mackenbach and Ramstein, where the speed limit is set at 100 kph (62 mph). To boot, tuning experts from the West Palatinate police headquarters were called in to evaluate the vehicle, and determined that it had been heavily – and also illegally – modified.

Police estimate some €160,000 ($173,000) worth of modifications had been made to the hybrid, bringing its total value to about €350,000 ($378,000). It took officers almost an hour to load the BMW onto a truck because it was sitting too low on the ground.

Police believe the driver had raced or conducted in reckless behavior on the road before. In addition to having his very expensive ride confiscated, the driver also had his license revoked for an unspecified period.
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
Elena Gorgan profile photo

Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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