Authorities have confirmed they are investigating a viral Internet video that shows a driver in a Lamborghini who claims to be driving at 219 mph on an Arizona highway.
“This is still an ongoing investigation,” Lt. James W. Warriner, a spokesman for the Airzona Department of Public Safety, told ABC News. “We will not be commenting until the investigation is complete.”
The video, originally posted on YouTube, runs more than four minutes long and appears to be professionally produced.
In the nighttime footage, an unidentified thrill seeker in a gold Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 appears to be pushing the vehicle to within 1 mph of the its 220 mph maximum. At the tail end of the clip, an unseen man is heard claiming the achievement as a new record.
“I'm the driver, and this is a world speed record for an LP640,” the man says — “219 mph, try to beat that.”
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Before the driver speaks, a man identified by the name of Christian, whose face is visible, claims that he was in the passenger seat when the car hit 219 mph along an Arizona freeway traveled by thousands of motorists each day.
“To the nonbelievers out there, 219 is possible,” Christian says.
The video, introduced with graphics claiming the Web sites www.205mph.com and www.azstreetscene.com as sponsors, contains footage shot from both inside the moving Lamborghini as well as from a stationary post along the road.
Several runs are filmed in which the driver and a passenger can be seen hitting higher and higher marks, first 211 mph, then 214 mph before the finale. At one point the car can be seen in a parking lot with characteristic gull-winged doors opened.
In the final run, the car approaches a straightaway after bending into a curve at 170 mph. “Here we go,” a voice says over the purr of the luxury car's engine. The dashboard camera reveals the speed: 219 mph.
The Web site www.205mph.com featured in the Lamborghini clip has been pulled down. Lee and Aaron Benson, founders of the other Web site, www.arizonastreetscene.com, a car club formed in April 2006, did not respond to e-mails sent by ABC News.
KPHO, a CBS affiliate in Phoenix, reported that the Lamborghini featured in the video is owned by a dentist named Robert Simyar, who also operates an online modeling agency. A photo of a brown Lamborghini is featured on his Web site www.simyar.com under the caption “My new daily driver.”
Simyar did not respond to an e-mail sent by ABC News.
Warriner, the spokesman for the Arizona Public Safety Department, did not confirm they are investigating Simyar but said they are reviewing the video closely.
