The Principality of Monaco is often called a playground for the rich and famous - A place where everything is larger than life, even accidents. For how else can you explain the fact that what began as a simple fender bender ended up being a massive pile-up of some of the world's most expensive cars.

The rather freaky incident took place on Wednesday morning outside the Monte Carlo's Place Du Casino. An unidentified blond woman was trying to negotiate her way through the heavy summer traffic crowd of humans and vehicles when her Bentley Azure ($363,000) scraped the rear of a white Mercedes S Class ($120,000 USD).

To avoid further damage the driver tried to steer away, only to smash against an Aston Martin Rapide ($228,000) that was coming up on her right. If that wasn't enough, the impact caused her to swerve straight into two valet-parked cars - A Ferrari 430 ($186,000) and a Porsche 911 ($77,000)!

And, it gets even more embarrassing - The driver of the convertible Bentley and her two hapless friends were so entangled in this pile-up, that they could not even open the car doors until it was cleared. They just had to grin and bear it, as hundreds of tourists rushed over to see the cause of the commotion.

While initial estimates for repairing the damage done to all the cars came in at a paltry $76,000, it may be a little low given that all of them are going to need new front wings and bumpers and the Bentley, even a new door! Puts a new spin on the saying 'arrived with a bang' doesn't it?

Resources: nzherald.nz, dailymail.co.uk