Arizona authorities furious over 215 mph Bugatti video

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona police are seeing red over the driver of a Bugatti Veyron luxury car who seems to have given himself the green light to drive over 215 miles per hour on a public freeway.

A roughly three-minute video that surfaced this week purports to show the mystery motorist reaching those speeds during seven adrenaline-charged runs in 2009.

Bart Graves, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman, said on Friday the driver would be thrown in jail if caught trying to repeat the same "incredibly stupid stunt."

But although the video shows the driver having been pulled over in Arizona at one point, it was not clear if the high speeds were reached in that state or in Mexico. Text at the end of the video states it was "shot south of the border."

A video of the sleek Bugatti Veyron speeding on a freeway has generated more than a million views since it was posted on video sharing site YouTube on Monday. The European luxury car model costs at least $1.5 million.

Text for the video describes the Bugatti as making seven runs, clocking speeds of 215 mph to 225 mph. Cameras placed at ground-level capture the event, and the frame occasionally shakes as the car goes by in a blur.

"No birds, reptiles or mammals were harmed," the video text said. "Everyone involved got the 215 mph ride of a lifetime."

The unidentified driver could be seen in a white racing jumpsuit with the side of his face shown. Authorities believe the video, although it just recently went viral, was captured in winter 2009 as its YouTube entry states.

"We have these clowns do this from time to time," Graves said. "They don't care about what could happen. They just want to toot their own horn."

The end of the video shows the driver at the side of the road, talking to an Arizona Highway Patrol officer. Text posted alongside the video states that the driver was not cited because at the time he was only going 80 mph. Graves confirmed those details in the stop of the unidentified motorist.

Graves said extreme speeding has no place on the roadways.

"If he's rich enough to own a car like this, he's rich enough to rent a racetrack in Tucson or Phoenix," Graves said. "The fact is, this is a criminal act."

He said a reckless driving conviction could result in jail time and the loss of the offender's driver's license.

(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Cynthia Johnston)