Police reduce Lamborghini to scrap metal

Taipei police have publicly reduced a $480k impounded Lamborghini sports car to scrap metal after its distraught owner lost a legal battle to have the car released.

A group of photographers and lookyloos crowded around the vehicle on Wednesday December 14 as a government operated machine ripped apart the Lamborghini Murcielago with ease.

The vehicle had been impounded in a police lockup for three years prompting the owner to launch a legal battle against authorities for its release.

In 2013 the driver, a commercial airline pilot with the surname Lin, was stopped while driving the sports car during a routine checkpoint.

Police found the registration did not match the vehicle and was instead linked to a different car in an attempt to mask the driver's identity from the law.

The car was immediately impounded.

Lin started a legal battle for its release in 2014 but lost an appeal after two years.

Despite sending a friend down to stop government officials the demolition went ahead.