The latest Ferrari supercar is being plagued by a mysterious jinx – after TEN of them were crashed or gutted by fire.
In the last three months, six Ferrari 458 Italia models have been involved in accidents, three have caught fire, and one was wrecked in a warehouse blaze.
There is no apparent technical fault with the £170,000 supercar – it appears the owners are simply the victims of bad luck.
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 has suffered an unusually high number of incidents, with four coming a cropper in the last ten days alone.
The ‘jinx’ emerged on website www.wreckedexotics.com, which documents all supercar crashes and contains details of £300million worth of wrecked Lamborghinis, Porsches and Bugattis.
Website founder Greg Carlson said: ”The 458 Italia is Ferrari’s latest high-production vehicle so I knew there would be many crashes but I didn’t expect there to be so many so soon.
”It’s not uncommon for new exotic models to start off with a few crashes – owners are getting the feel for the new car, some are taking it beyond their skill level, although the 458 does have a higher than normal crash count so far.”
The first crash occurred in Poland on May 20 when the driver – thought to be in his 20s – swerved to avoid a bus, veering into a Volkswagen family saloon and suffering frontal damage.
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.
Last week Britain suffered its first crashed 458 when a black model hit a barrier on a wet stretch of road in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and suffered a smashed bumper.
A Ferrari spokesperson declined to comment on whether there was a fault with the 458 while it was investigating the fire-related incidents.
The firm would not reveal how many have been sold but it thought to be just a few hundred so far.
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.
How the Ferrari 458 Italia should look
Timeline of Ferrari 458 Incidents:
Wreck 1: May 20, Poland – Red 458 involved in collision with VW Bora
Wreck 2: June 1, Spain – Red 458 spotted on the back of a tow truck
Wreck 3: June, Czech Republic – Red 458 crashes on wet race track
Wreck 4: July 8, Paris – Black 458 catches fire with passerby putting blaze out with extinguisher
Wreck 5: July 9, London – Yellow bespoke 458 model transported from Saudi Arabia to London burns to bits in Heathrow warehouse fire
Wreck 6: July 14, Switzerland – Red 458’s engine catches fire on a mountain pass
Wreck 7: August 9, Italy – One day old red 458 crashes into tree outside Ferrari factory in Maranello
Wreck 8: August 11, England – Black 458 hit roadside barrier during wet weather in Buckinghamshire
Wreck 9: August 18, California – Red 458 catches fire in California
Wreck 10: August 21, Czech Republic – Six hour old car with 200 miles on the clock ran into ditch
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Video: Footage of the 458 which hit a tree in Maranello
Dzień dobry P. jestem pod ogromnym wrażeniem tych samochodów. życzę jeszcze większych sukcesów
pozdrawiam dziękuje za poświecenie mi czasu na przeczytanie tego meila
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