A devastating incident has left the owner of a Ferrari 458 Speciale reeling with despair. While cruising along a Los Angeles highway, his vibrant yellow supercar was engulfed in flames, leaving it destined for the scrapyard.
This ten-year-old Ferrari, seldom driven and cherished in a garage, met its unfortunate fate on the very day its owner decided to take it for a spin through the canyons. However, the decision to push a car that had spent most of its life dormant proved catastrophic.
The 458 Speciale erupted in flames while in motion, prompting the driver to swiftly pull over and alert emergency services. Despite the prompt arrival of firefighters, little could be salvaged from the inferno. The once-potent heart of the car, a 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine, now lay consumed by the blaze.
Prior to the fire, this engine boasted an impressive output of 597 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque, propelling the 458 Speciale from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 3.2 seconds. Now reduced to charred remnants, its performance figures are a distant memory.
Once capable of reaching speeds of up to 206 mph, the Ferrari now sits motionless, destined for a fate in the scrapyards. Despite having only 1,500 kilometers on the odometer, this ten-year-old supercar, affectionately dubbed a garage queen, has met a tragic end.
This unfortunate incident harks back to a troubled past for the Ferrari 458 series. In 2010, Ferrari North Europe acknowledged a series of fires that plagued early examples, earning the car the unfortunate moniker of being “jinxed.”
Reports at the time suggested that high exhaust temperatures, particularly in hot ambient conditions, could cause the adhesive used in the wheel arch assemblies to overheat, leading to potential fires. While Ferrari took measures to rectify the issue through recalls and replacements, the cause of this recent fire remains undetermined.
