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Rats blamed for a Ferrari's fiery demise

Alex Kaufmann

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2 2,782 views May 20, 2009

The car was purchased just half an hour before it burned to the ground

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Walking the tightrope of packaging, power and technology the way exotic carmakers like Ferrari and Lamborghini do is a delicate act. Sometimes that act comes tumbling down, occasionally in a ball of flame. This week in Moscow, however, it's rats that are taking the blame.

Yes, rodents are bearing the brunt of the burned-down Ferrari. Purchased in a Moscow showroom just thirty minutes before the fire, the car was a heavily modified 2006 model - which model was not disclosed - valued at $814,000, according to Russian news outlets.

The car had three previous owners before the young woman who would be its last owner bought the car. As she was driving through Moscow on Tuesday, witnesses reported a thick black smoke bellowing from under the hood. It burned completely within minutes. The owner escaped the incident without injury.

Speculation as to the cause is all there is to be had, as investigators don't yet know the cause with certainty. A dealership representative told the Russian paper Kommersant, "Anything could happen during these three years including rats gnawing the wires through."

The irony of a mere rat defeating a Prancing Horse is surely not lost in translation.