The dream of owning a Ferrari is one that many of us follow. When that dream goes up in flames- quite literally – must be the most devastating feeling. That’s what happened to the owner of a Ferrari 348 – finished in the requisite red – in Wickham, Hampshire just recently.
The Ferrari seemingly burst into flames as pictures show, the reason why has yet to be discovered, with fire engulfing the back end of the car and destroying the bodywork in that area. The blaze took two crews from the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, who confirmed the Ferrari was clearly a write off. The driver managed to escape the car unhurt.
Not a Testarossa!
Curiously, at least two UK newspapers – The Sun and The Daily Mail – reported the destroyed car as being a very rare Ferrari Testarossa. At Supercartribe, we like to get things right! The confusing comes about due to the dramatic side air intakes that mimic the Testarossa, which is an altogether different car!
The 348 was introduced in 1989 and was produced up until 1995, and was among the most popular Ferraris of all time with almost 9000 built of all variants. Powered by a V8 3.4litre engine, the Ferrari 348 could touch 166mph (267km/h) and reach 60mph in 6.0 seconds.
In contrast, the Testarossa was powered by a mighty flat-12 4.9-litre engine that gives it a top speed of 180mph and takes just 5.4 seconds to get to 60mph. Along with the Lamborghini Countach and Porsche 911 Turbo, the Testarossa was the car most likely to be seen on a poster in an teenage boys room during the era.
While the newspaper reports label the destroyed Ferrari as a £100,000 supercar, the reality is not quite so grand. A Ferrari Testarossa would indeed be worth such a figure; a Ferrari 348 could be yours for little over half that figure, with several on sale in the UK right now for less than £60,000.
