Ferrari recall 1200 458 Italia supercars worth £212m

Ferrari have recalled over 1,200 supercars worth £212,160,000 after it emerged they have a design fault which can cause them to burst into flames.

A spate of Ferrari 458 Italia models have been gutted by fire since rolling off the production line this year.

And yesterday it emerged that a flaw in the wheel arch on the rear of the £170,000 supercar is fitted with an adhesive which is prone to melting.

The fault causes the bodywork to sag onto the exhaust, which can cause the bodywork to heat up and catch fire.

All 1,248 owners have now been written to by Ferrari and offered to have the glue replaced with metal rivets for free in order to make the vehicle safe.

And the Italian supercar giant is even offering those who can prove their car has been destroyed by the fault a brand new car – completely free of charge.

A Ferrari spokesman said: ”Dealers are contacting clients to ask them to take their cars in to carry out modifications to the wheel arch assembly and heat shield.

”This modification has been decided after the analysis carried out by Ferrari technicians investigating the thermal incidents since July involving five 458 vehicles of over 1,000 delivered.

”The wheel arch assembly and heat shield which incorporates both mechanical fasteners and adhesive may, in the case of particularly high temperatures and as a result of heat produced by the exhaust, cause the deformation of the assembly itself.

”Such deformation brings the assembly excessively close to the exhaust causing the adhesive used to overheat and produce smoke or, in the case of particularly high temperatures, ignite.”

Ferrari technicians are now offering to fix all 1,248 made this year free of charge – meaning £212,160,000 worth of car is being recalled.

Last month it emerged that the supercar is curse after 11 of the vehicles had either crashed or burst into flames for no apparent reason.

The 458 was only launched in the Spring to high acclaim from the motoring world – Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson described it as ”one of the all-time greats”.

Supercar crashes are rare but the new Ferrari suffered an unusually high number of incidents, with four coming a cropper in the space of ten days last month.

In July a customised 458 which featured a £65,000 Dolce and Gabbana interior was wrecked in a warehouse blaze at Heathrow Airport after being flown in from Saudi Arabia.

Ferrari immediately launched an investigation following the fires and this week discovered the design flaw may have caused five to burst into flames.

They wrote to all the 458 buyers and offered to fix the fault free of charge.

Designed by famed styling house Pininfarina, the 458 has a 4.5-litre V8 engine which gives it a 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 202mph.

Ferrari sells the 458 for £170,000 but, thanks to its three-year waiting list, used models are sold at a £50,000 premium with lucky owners including DJ Chris Evans and rock legend Eric Clapton.

The spokesman added: ”Obviously, the work will be carried out free of charge and those customers whose car has been destroyed as a direct result of the fault will be offered a free vehicle as soon as possible at no cost to them.”