"I'm gonna have a reprimand on your desk" - When Mario Andretti recalled getting pulled over for speeding in a Lamborghini with a sergeant friend

Over the years, Mario Andretti has shared multiple incidents of him overspeeding or being the passenger while some friends did the same. One such instance happened in Las Vegas when Andretti was pulled over in a Lamborghini with a sergeant friend sitting shotgun. The former F1 champion detailed the same in 2013.

The American featured on the InDepth with Graham Bensinger show which aired across the nation in 2013. A clip from the show was later uploaded to the Graham Bensinger YouTube channel. The host questioned Andretti about the overspeeding in Las Vegas with the Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant.

Mario Andretti said, “There was a sergeant from Nevada who shall remain unnamed. He befriended one of my good friends at the Lamborghini dealership in Las Vegas. He called me and said, ‘The sergeant would like to do 200mph in a Lamborghini’. I said, ‘Where?’ to which he replied, ‘On the road’. So it was Sunday morning, 9 o'clock, light traffic, so we had the best shot. We're on route 15 and I get it up to about 190-192 on the speedometer and then I just ease out of it because I was closing in on the traffic.”

“As far as my eyes could see, I saw this Mustang, it was a trooper patrol car. I pulled right over and this young trooper, he had his hand on the gun actually. He came over and said, ‘What in the world are you doing’ and I asked the sergeant to say something. They knew each other by name but the youngster was serious. He said, ‘sergeant, I’m going to have a reprimand on your desk Monday morning.”

The sergeant asked the trooper to calm down and explained that it was just a test run for the running of the bulls. He explained how the bulls contributed a lot for the highway patrol’s funds. Before taking off, Mario Andretti asked the trooper about how fast the speed gun clocked him, to which he replied, “183 mph”. The former F1 driver said, “I was doing 190+ just before the rise.”

F1 Grand Prix of United States - Practice & Qualifying - Source: Getty

Later in 2015, Andretti shared a story from 1977 where a police officer pulled over Vince Granatelli with the former F1 champion as the passenger. Granatelli was pulled over for overspeeding as the officer said, “Who do you think you are? Mario Andretti?” followed by hysterical laughter from the duo inside the car.

Regardless, Andretti's Lamborghini from this sergeant incident went up for auction in 2022.

---

Mario Andretti’s Lamborghini Diablo Sold for $250,000

The American racer’s 1991 Lamborghini Diablo went up for auction on bringatrailer.com in 2022. The car was sold by Auto Street USA. The bid reportedly started at $125,000 and after 18 bids it was sold for $250,000. The car had 23,000 miles on the odometer when it was sold.

The car was offered in (via bringatrailer.com):

“Tequesta, Florida, with factory books, service records, an Alpine 7390 cassette stereo, a copy of the Pennsylvania title in Mario Andretti’s name, signed Mario Andretti memorabilia, period literature, a car cover, and a clean Florida title in the name of the seller’s LLC.”

The car features a 5.7L naturally aspirated V12 mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. ZA9DU07PXMLA12162 is the chassis number for the said vehicle. The Diablo is painted Red with tan leather upholstery. The car was “mechanically refreshed in 2021.”