The Ferrari 458 Italia, a mid-engine 560-horsepower sports car that debuted 2009 to superior reviewers is now even hotter — but not the kind of heat the Italian automaker expected.The Ferrari, which cost $230,000, is now being recalled because several of the high-end Italian sports cars have caught on fire.
A Ferrari spokesman said the source of the problem is a wheel-arch heat shield that comes too close to an exhaust pipe. The adhesive that secures the shield can smoke or catch fire due to excessive heat.
Dealers have contacted Ferrari 458 owners, the spokesman said, and have asked them to bring their cars in as soon as possible for modification.
Ferrari said the 458 Italia cars released since the end of the July had been modified at the factory to resolve the issue. Since the vehicle wasn’t introduced to the U.S. market until June, only a handful of Ferrari 458s in the U.S. are subject to the recall.
The Daily Mail newspaper in England reported five Ferrari 458 Italias have caught fire as a result of the flaw. The Ferrari spokesman confirmed that “four or five” fires had been reported in 458 models but added that only one had occurred in the United States. He said that the destroyed vehicles would be replaced at no charge to the owner.
Article Last Updated: September 7, 2010.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
