‘Lambo guy’ says he would rather pay thousands in legal fees than a fine for hooning

Melbourne multi-millionaire businessman Adrian Portelli says he would rather pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees than a fine over an alleged Diggers Rest hooning incident.

Multi-millionaire Mr Portelli says he would rather pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees than a fine for hooning.

Multi-millionaire Adrian “Lambo guy” Portelli says he would rather pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees than a fine for hooning.

The luxury car enthusiast fronted Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, facing three driving charges including careless driving over an alleged hooning incident on Licence Road in Diggers Rest in 2020.

Prosecutors offered to withdraw the more serious offences of carelessness and improper control but Mr Portelli’s lawyer Warwick Walsh-Buckley said his client would fight the charges on “principle”.

Speaking outside court after the brief hearing Mr Portelli, 34, said he had instructed his legal team he would not accept any plea deals.

“No, I won’t be copping a fine. I’d rather cop tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers and barristers than pay a couple hundred dollar fine,” he said.

“It doesn’t make real sense to fight them but lucky I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to fight them just for the principle.”

The luxury car enthusiast fronted Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. Picture: Instagram

Mr Portelli (left) said he had instructed his legal team not to accept any plea deals. Picture: Instagram

Asked if the police had a case against him, Mr Portelli smiled and said: “We’ll soon find out won’t we.”

Earlier in court, Mr Walsh-Buckley said Mr Portelli slightly lost control while driving around a roundabout in heavy rain but did not believe he had done anything wrong.

The lawyer said Mr Portelli was not recorded by police in-car video technology but he was pulled over.

He added an expert witness would be called to give evidence at a contested hearing, with the issues in dispute relating to distances and what could be seen in the rain.

Flanked by his lawyers as he left court, Mr Portelli was picked up by a large Mercedes-Benz SUV.

In July, he posted a selfie to his 210,000 Instagram followers from inside the court building captioned: “Victoria – The place where you can get off lighter committing armed burglary than a driving offence.”

Originally from Melbourne’s western suburbs, Mr Portelli is estimated to be worth more than $500m. Picture: Instagram

It is a condition of entry to Victorian Magistrates’ Courts not to take photographs or video inside buildings.

Originally from Melbourne’s western suburbs, Mr Portelli, who is estimated to be worth more than $500m, made his fortune through his successful auto enthusiast club LMCT+ which has become one of Australia’s largest car communities.

The company makes money by offering subscribers discounts, offers and events from partners including UltraTune, Beaurepaires and Prestige Auto Works.

He made headlines earlier this year when he had a $3m McLaren sports car craned to his $39m penthouse on the 57th and 58th floors of the Sapphire by the Gardens building near Carlton Gardens.

Mr Portelli was dubbed “Lambo guy” after he appeared on reality TV show The Block last year where he placed a record-breaking bid on a home renovated by two contestants.

He will return to court next June for a contested hearing.