[Mike430]

The first Ferrari FF burned down at the German autobahn near Frankfurt recently. A 44 year-old man from the Frankfurt area was out in the Ferrari FF for a test drive when he heard a bang and saw flames, he managed to steer the FF to the safety of the emergency lane and get out of the car unharmed. The Ferrari FF burned down to the ground.

The driver noticed flames coming from the tail in his rear view mirror. So, since the FF has its monster V12 engine up front, maybe it's an exhaust issue?

[Source : Jalopnik & GT Spirit]

[champagne612]

Good news for the driver - bad news for the dealer and sellers like Neiman Marcus as they sold all 40 of their Xmas edition FF in a few hours.

Hopefully the potential custoner read Brian's recommendation for a Ferrari fire.

IIRC - exit car and find the nearest store - grab some marshmallows and let it burn.

[wetpet]

probably gas tank?

[lucca brazzi]

what and how in world ..could a brand new Ferrari catch fire,???,dont those FF s cost about 300,000..???,,

[Killer58]

Originally Posted by wetpet

probably gas tank?

Unlikely unless the fuel pump is IN the tank.

I seem to recall a while back there was an aircraft that had electrical arcing in or near its fuel tank, causing a wing fire. This sounds similar.

[tazandjan]

David- The fuel pumps are in the gas tank in most, if not all, late model Ferraris. Safest place for them since it takes air and fuel to make a fire.

[wetpet]

wouldn't be a new ferrari model if several of them didn't burn to the ground on the highway. wonder if the interior parts will get sticky over time?

[Killer58]

Originally Posted by tazandjan

David- The fuel pumps are in the gas tank in most, if not all, late model Ferraris. Safest place for them since it takes air and fuel to make a fire.

Well there you go then. I've never seen a gas tank that wasn't surrounded by air..... Electricity, pumps, fule, air; Just need something to bring them all together. Ed is probably correct.

[Saint Bastage]

Originally Posted by Killer58

I seem to recall a while back there was an aircraft that had electrical arcing in or near its fuel tank, causing a wing fire. This sounds similar.

I think your referring to the TWA flight 800 crash in 1996 just south of Long Island. A spark in an empty fuel tank caused an explosion that brought the plane down immediately and in pieces. The tanks were empty to save weight and therefore save fuel.

Most "over the road" gas tanks do not contain adequate oxidizers to sustain a fire. An external source would be necessary or the fire must be outside the tank. The atmosphere needs to be about 15% oxygen to sustain fire. Any oxygen in a gas tank would be immediately used and an alternative source found before a fire could continue. If this fire was started in the rear of the car, I would expect this was some sort of fuel leak outside the tank.

Wow.. I wrote that poorly. Is it understandable at all?

[tazandjan]

Lane- Yup, the 747 crew, with maintenance help, built themselves a bomb. None of the recent Ferrari fires have been caused by pumps in the fuel tank, however. Crud, Buick does it the same way. The 458 fires were an adhesive and high tempearature issue and most of the others have been something leaking externally combined with proximity to the exhaust system.

If nobody understands that owners do OT&E for Ferrari on most models, they have been hiding under a cabbage leaf.

[StefVan]

Some of the medias covering this story called the new FF "Ferrari Flambé" !

[Boxer]

Memories of early 458s............

[bgmix]

Originally Posted by Boxer

Memories of early 458s............

That's the first thing I thought of. As I recall, that was an adhesive in the rear wheel houses that caused the problem but I would assume that was due to the adhesive not being able to withstand the heat from the engine.

Odd that Ferrari would have fire issues in the last two new model roll outs... unless this is just a fluke?

[Andrew]

Does this get extra attention due to it being a Ferrari? Meaning does a new Toyota or Honda ever go up in flames?

[Jimmy Chen Shiba DDS]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Does this get extra attention due to it being a Ferrari? Meaning does a new Toyota or Honda ever go up in flames?

Never heard of such things with Japanese cars, not in flames at least. They have had other issues and now and then you hear recalls. w/ smiles Jimmy

[iainuk]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Does this get extra attention due to it being a Ferrari? Meaning does a new Toyota or Honda ever go up in flames?

Yes, they do BBC News - Honda recalls cars in fire danger

And Ford Ford Fire Recall: Update on Ford Fire Recall

And GM GM Recalling 1.5 Million Vehicles For Fire Hazard | Fox News

And BMW BMW recalls over 32,000 cars and CUVs over fire risk