We have recently seen several media reports about vehicle fire. Many of these are vehicles that have not been well maintained, others caught fire in horrific crashes – and some caught fire from some engine malfunction.
Few vehicle owners pay much attention to these fires – but will confirm that entrapment in a burning vehicle remains the biggest fear for most of us!
When these reports are related to specifically to luxury vehicles – and even better – have video footage of such a fire, it does grab the attention! Earlier today I came across a story on Wheels 24 pertaining to several Ferrari’s 458 Italia vehicles that have burn-out! The report reveals that 10 of these 458s have been destroyed since the car was launched last year.
This has warranted Ferrari’s attention and the company’s engineering department has been commissioned to investigate.
“We are taking all the reports very seriously and are looking into them, but are treating them all as separate incidents,” a spokesman said.
Ferrari is not ruling out driving error at this stage, yet something is seriously amiss as the four cars that burnt-out were not involved in collisions.
It is however also believed that the rather exotic and unique structure of the 458 could also have contributed to these fires. Aluminium and magnesium are materials which burn with alarming ease once ignited, yet are key to the 458’s very low kerb weight (less than 1.5t). Powered by a sophisticated 4.5l V8 engine that is mounted amidships and spins to 9 000r/min, the engine-bay’s heat signature could perhaps be too much for the rubber houses routing fuel to the V8.
Ferrari says it will release the findings of its investigation once reports into each and every incident have been finalised.
On the Arrive Alive Website we have made available information to vehicle owners about vehicle fires. We would like to urge all vehicle owners to view the following sections: