Flaming Ferraris force recall of 458 Italia

By Guy Dinmore in Rome, Published: September 2 2010

Ferrari, a division of Italy’s Fiat group, is recalling all 1,248 cars of the 458 Italia model it had produced up to August after reports that five of the supercars caught fire because of glue in the wheel arch leaking on to the exhaust, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

The recall, possibly the biggest in the history of the luxury sports car maker, follows the posting of pictures and video on the internet of Ferrari 458s after bursting into flames across the world.

The five reported incidents from July onwards involved cars in California, Paris, Switzerland and China.

Ferrari, which is based in Maranello, said the five cars caught fire during “extreme uses in very high temperature”.

Some, but not all of the cars, were fitted wrongly with glue that could leak on to the exhaust, the company said. Those with glue will be fixed with metal fasteners.

The eight-cylinder 458 Italia, with a top speed of 325km/hour (202mph) was launched at the Frankfurt car show last year and costs €197,000 ($252,600) in Italy, including taxes.

“Designed to fulfil the expectations and ambitions of our most passionate clients, the 458 Italia continues the Ferrari tradition of putting the thrill into driving as a result of track-derived technological innovations,” Ferrari’s website says.