Lamborghini burns as bar patrons watch

PETERBOROUGH, England, July 6 (UPI) -- A rare Lamborghini Gallardo automobile burst into flames as stunned bar patrons in Peterborough, England, gaped at the spectacle, witnesses said.

The bright orange 2005 Lamborghini was thought to be one of only 400 of the Italian sports cars in Britain, and was worth $122,000, the Daily Mail reported Monday. The British newspaper said the vehicle caught fire outside a nightclub Sunday as two men, believed to be test-driving the car, jumped out when smoke billowed from its engine.

"It was engulfed in flames and there were loud popping noises all over the place as the windows and the tires exploded," one witness, Colin Jeffery, assistant manager of the Solstice bar in Peterborough, told the Mail. "There was no end of people gathered round, something like 150 people. A lot of them were stood there filming it on their mobile phones."

Fire officials said it took 20 minutes to extinguish the Lamborghini.

"It was a bit of an unusual one for us because it was quite different from the usual Fiestas or Escorts that we get called to," quipped chief volunteer fire officer Tony De Matteis.