We knew the Jaguar F-Type is one of the hottest sports cars of the year, but we didn't think it would catch on fire! (cliche opener but we couldn't resist.)
A Jaguar F-Type caught on fire and was lost in a great inferno in Herentals, Belgium.
This is likely the first F-Type to burn to the ground given the car had only hit the market earlier this summer. In fact, only eight F-Type models have been delivered to Belgium at this point.
According to Carscoop, a driver reported a "defect in the vehicle" and decided to pull off the highway and stop the car. The situation quickly escalated when the Jaguar F-Type ignited. The entire aluminum platform was reduced to molten metal before the fire department arrived to the scene.
Jaguar spokesperson Isabelle Michiels says that a case like this has never happened before and the engineers at Jaguar are puzzled. A team will be sent to investigate the burned Jaguar F-Type to understand what caused to problem.
While the cause of the fire is unknown, high temperatures from performance exhausts systems are notorious for increasing the risk of fires. Ferrari notoriously encountered similar incidents when the company first introduced the Ferrari 458 Italia. 5 particular incidents were reported from all over the world.
According to Ferrari, the fires were caused by a defect in the bonding adhesive for the heat shield protecting the wheel arch. The exhaust pipe will get exposed in the wheel arch should the adhesive fails.
"Heavy usage of the car, such as driving very fast down a twisty road or up a mountain, will increase the temperature inside the engine bay," said a Ferrari representative. "If that is combined with extremely high ambient temperatures, which has been the case throughout Europe especially this summer, then this will cause the deformation of the wheel arch, bringing it closer to the exhaust and causing the car to smoke or ignite."
Be sure to check out all the shocking images of the torched Jaguar F-Type at Gazet Van Antwerpen
