A wealthy Brazilian businessman stirred a wave of negative reactions when he announced on hisFacebook page that he plans to bury his belovedBentley Continental Flying Spur.
Chiquinho Scarpa, 62, said he would bury his £310,000 (€367,220) Bentley so that he would be able to drive it in the afterlife. He explained that he has taken inspiration from Egyptian Pharaohs, who were buried with their most precious belongings, and promised he would…entomb the Bentley by the end of the week (September 21-22).
He even posted photos of himself digging a hole for the car in the yard of his Sao Paulo mansion, triggering a wide range of reactions on the social network website. Obviously, most of the reactions were negative towards the eccentric Scarpa, labeling him as a crazy person who wants to do something absurd instead of donating the car for charity.
However, on Friday, September 20, the story took a very different twist, as he posted a photo of him during a press conference promoting Brazil’s national week of organ donation. With a banner behind him that read “It’s absurd to bury something much more valuable than a Bentley: your organs”,the businessman held a card saying “I am an organ donor. And you?”
It turns out everything was an ingenious publicity stunt to promote organ donation. For all those wondering whether he had buried the Bentley after all, the description of the photo explained everything:
“I have not buried my car, but everyone thought it absurd when I said I'd do it. It is absurd to bury their bodies, which can save many lives. Nothing is more valuable. Be a donor, tell your family”.
Well done, Mr. Scarpa!