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Leith Cars Blog

Overboard: Incredible Photos of Cars Resting On the Seafloor

It’s a little insensitive to write about cars that sit at the bottom of the sea when you know they’re there because a ship capsized and sank. For that reason, we want to start by saying we share these photos – as beautiful as they are – with a deep understanding of the tragedy some of them represent.

The SS Thistlegorm

Measuring in at 128-meters, this British merchant ship was bombed in 1941 by German aircraft during the Second World War. It now rests nearly 100 ft. beneath the Red Sea.

The SS Thistlegorm was carrying motorbikes, armored military vehicles, ammunition, and 41 crew members. Starting all the way in Glasgow, the crew sailed down the coast of Africa, and back around to the Red Sea, en route for Egypt. In the last stretch of their journey, tragedy struck, and four of the 41 crew members perished in the Red Sea. Below are the photos, courtesy of medavia.co.uk.

The Cougar Ace

In 2006, the Cougar Ace set sail from Japan en route to Vancouver when the ship lost stability, and quickly tipped on its side, sending the crew and everything on board sliding across the deck.

Luckily, the entire crew survived with only one injury among them. The 4703 Mazdas on board, however, were not so lucky.

Lake Maggiore’s 1925 Bugatti

Our last photo gallery didn’t take place in the sea, but it’s still worthy. For nearly 70 years this 1925 Bugatti Type 22 was like the Loch Ness monster of Lake Maggiore. There were rumors of its existence, but nobody knew for sure until divers discovered and raised the legendary Bugatti. Not long after breaking the surface, the aquaticar was auctioned off for $360,000.

How’d a Bugatti wind up at the bottom of a lake? Two words: tax evasion. Legend has it the Bugatti was purchased in 1925 by a French architect who moved to Switzerland with his car and failed to pay the import duty. When he left, he decided to leave the car with his hosts in Switzerland to again avoid import fines. Those hosts, who also didn’t want to be fined for failing to pay taxes on the Bugatti, decided to dump it in the lake. Can you imagine dumping a Bugatti in a lake? It’s blasphemy!

We hope you enjoyed the photo galleries. If you’re looking for any cars on dry land, be sure to check out our inventory at Leithcars.com! We’ve got tons of inventory, and we can guarantee they’ve never been fished out of the ocean.