http://www.autoblog.com/2010/07/17/f...ity-of-lights/

Ferraris have been known to have the fire inside, and sometimes the coupes like to give their owners a baptism by fire. Literally. The gent in the photo was cruising through Paris in his new 458 Italia when he noticed that the rear fender was on fire. While he bolted from the driver's seat and left the car burning in the middle of the street, a passerby happened to have a fire extinguisher and put the flames to rest before the 458 got an even blacker paint job.

We presume that was a different passerby than the one with the camera, who just took lots of photos of the car-b-que. Click the link for more of them, and watch out for flaming stallions in Paris.

 

Does anyone have any further information? I'm very surprised to see two examples of Ferrari's latest car have already caught on fire. What is Ferrari's policy regarding fires? Will they replace the cars? I would be pretty upset if my new 458 burned to the ground.

 

That s***'ll buff out.

All joking aside, that sucks.

J

 

Horrible..........wondering what might the cause of fire? Does anyone has the story on this?

 

Hi I am from a neighbour forum ( the Aston Martin one), just wanted to say hi,

I think upset is the least I am worried about.. My cousin passed away in a 360 spider that burst into flames exactly the same way those pictures show.

but really, all Ferrari cars from the 360 then the 430, now the 458, all have this problem, I have seen numerous videos on Youtube where 360s and 430s parked at the side of the highway in flames.. I don't know what to say.. and whether or not this issue is dealt with or not..

 

First, while it's true that a few cars have obviously burned, and this may be indicative of a design or manufacturing issue, let's also be honest. Burning Ferraris are a BIG event. I don't see pictures of burned out Fords, Toyotas or VWs much. That may be because they are perfectly designed. Or, perhaps, it's because they don't get a second look and aren't photographed and plastered all over the web.

Don't get me wrong. Ferrari may have an issue that needs to be addressed. I've witnessed a 360C burn after a spin into the armco at Watkins Glen. This was 10 years ago. There may be an inherent problem with locating the fuel tank where it is (I assume these are fuel fires and not oil). However, I wouldn't rush to judgement that the 458 (a similar design in many ways to the 430 and 360, which have been on the roads for over 10 years, now) is a death-trap based on a couple of photos. Statistically, I don't know if two burned up 458s add up to anything. Could be nothing. Could be something. But, it's certainly worth follow-up investigation by SpA.

Sorry, donahdi, for your family's loss, though.

CW

 

Yeah it's a surprisingly common problem among Ferraris. Interesting that it keeps happening with each new generation...obviously they haven't figured it out yet.

 

Thanks CW..

RIP Cousin.. this is him and in the background was his car

 

wow. that's bad. Brand new Ferrari just spontaneously burn up.

 

I wouldn't have let the guy put it out. I wouldn't want it fixed after that much damage. I'd rather just have it totaled.

 

Not sure if this is really design issue and the problem exists among all 360/430/and now the 458. Media also tend to publicize these type of incidents since these are exotic vehicles. I've seen various cars caught on fire on the side of the freeway and they dont make it to the news.

Not specifically related to these 458s, but I've know a few real stories behind some of the fire incidents of 360s and 430s. One particular one was a Challenge Stradale, which was improperly repaired after an accident, by a bodyshop and mechanic who had no clue on working on F-cars. Since it was not put back the way it should be, there was fuel leak and therefore it triggered the fire. Another one was a 430 that the owner tried to save cost by bringing to a shop that are inexperienced working on the f-cars. I think there are two sides to every story...

Just my 2 cents.

 

I thought I heard that the 458's were recalled, and hopefully, this issue is resolved.

Anybody heard of this, and know what was replaced/repaired?

 

A heat shield is riveted rather tha glued on (the factory glue can catch fire if hot enough).

That's all

 

OOOK.....not disputing that...ur comments was just kinda random though.

 

Really? Random. Wow . . . I answer your question directly in as short a sentence as possible and that is random?