diff --git a/mercurial/httprepo.py b/mercurial/httprepo.py
--- a/mercurial/httprepo.py
+++ b/mercurial/httprepo.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ class httprepository(wireproto.wirerepos
         self.path = path
         self.caps = None
         self.handler = None
+        self.urlopener = None
         u = util.url(path)
         if u.query or u.fragment:
             raise util.Abort(_('unsupported URL component: "%s"') %
@@ -42,9 +43,10 @@ class httprepository(wireproto.wirerepos
         self.urlopener = url.opener(ui, authinfo)
 
     def __del__(self):
-        for h in self.urlopener.handlers:
-            h.close()
-            getattr(h, "close_all", lambda : None)()
+        if self.urlopener:
+            for h in self.urlopener.handlers:
+                h.close()
+                getattr(h, "close_all", lambda : None)()
 
     def url(self):
         return self.path
diff --git a/tests/test-url-rev.t b/tests/test-url-rev.t
--- a/tests/test-url-rev.t
+++ b/tests/test-url-rev.t
@@ -200,4 +200,8 @@ Pull -u takes us back to branch foo:
   date:        Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
   summary:     new head of branch foo
   
+Test handling of invalid urls
 
+  $ hg id http://foo/?bar
+  abort: unsupported URL component: "bar"
+  [255]