Mystery surrounds this photo of the damaged car, posted on a mainland microblog site.

It is thought to be owned by a mainlander, and has a list price in the UK of GBP1.4 million (HK$16.7 million).

Only 77 of the One-77 model have been built and they have all been sold, making the car one of the most sought-after on the planet.

A spokesman at Aston Martin's headquarters in Britain confirmed that an Aston Martin One-77 crashed in Hong Kong.

But he said the accident happened two months ago. 'I don't know why it's suddenly in the news now,' the spokesman said.

'The picture just appeared on a website and it's just been picked up by the media since then.

'It's just the nature of the internet. Any repairs it needs will be done here in the UK.'

The British dealership would not release details of the car's owner.

Aston Martin dealers in Hong Kong and Shanghai also made no comment, while police said they could not provide any information on the incident. A source in the local motoring industry said the owner was rumoured to be from Shenzhen and the damage was the result of the car hitting the kerb at high speed.

Wesley Wan, chairman of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, agreed that the car was most likely mainland-owned. Judging by the picture, he said, the damage was repairable but the car would have to be shipped back to Britain.

Wan said he was not surprised that the crash occurred.

'This type of supercar is made for the track, not for normal road use,' he said. 'Many drivers who buy them can't handle the car, as it has too much horsepower for them.

'They don't have the skills or experience to control them. It's more than likely this was the reason behind this crash.'

3.5

The number of seconds it takes the Aston Martin One-77 to go from 0 to 60mph. It made its first appearance at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show