Incredible reports out of Japan have detailed Carlos Ghosn's James Bond-style escape from house arrest - and from the country - with media there claiming the former automotive heavyweight "hid in a musical instrument case" before being smuggled to the airport where he flew to Lebanon.
The story has all the makings of a Hollywood crime caper, and involved special forces soldiers, prrivate jets and a hired Gregorian band.
According to media reports, the diminutive former Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi chief hired the band to play at his Tokyo home, where he has been under house arrest on strict bail condition since being released from prison. At the end of the performance, Ghosn allegedly hid in one of the instrument's cases, before being smuggled to a local airport to make his escape.
A series of private planes then took him first to Turkey and then on to Lebanon, where Ghosn remains.
His escape baffled Japanese authorities, and even his own legal team, who told media: “His act is unforgivable and a betrayal of Japan’s justice system.”
Ghosn was arrested by Japanese authorities in November 2018 after allegedly underreporting his salary by around five billion yen ($61m) over a five-year period from 2010 to 2015. He also faced allegations of using company assets for personal use.
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold.
But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul.
And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard.
When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House.
But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others.
More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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