This car was destroyed by a small mistake.
It’s always a great sight to see a car go up in flames. Even though it’s a special car like the Mustang Shelby GT350 that is in flames, it’s still quite disheartening. This is because we don’t see flames. At the 1:20 mark in this long video from , we see a reflection on the windshield of a cell phone that was attached to the car. The driver quickly left the track. The Shelby then puts on a smoke show but it isn’t the kind that causes tire destruction.
This video, which was uploaded to YouTube May 13, shows the precarious destruction of Adam’s 2017 Mustang Shelby GT350 and the minor mishap that caused it to catch fire. Collete Davis, a professional racing driver, was behind the wheel and turning laps at Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park. Things went wrong on her fourth lap. After downshifting from second to second, she described a loud bang and white smoke. Flames briefly appeared before she left the track.
The first vehicle arrived on the scene quickly with a fire extinguisher. A second vehicle followed with additional fire extinguishers. Although the fire started on the left side, firefighters arrived with water and hoses to extinguish it. The track was quick to mobilize resources and the engine bay was effectively destroyed. However, the rest was saved.
What happened? It seems that the GT350 oil filters are not working properly. Ford launched a customer service program to address the issue. It even provided GT350 owners with a complimentary package that included a new oil filter and a special wrench to tighten it to 16-18 pound-feet (22.2-24 Newton-meters). The filter could come loose and spray oil onto the engine if it is not tightened properly. Insufficient torque could also lead to the oil filter gasket blowing out.
This is exactly what happened. To show the oil pressure gauge, the video zooms in at 1:09. The oil pressure gauge drops just a second before Davis lifts. A subsequent investigation revealed that the oil filter gasket had failed. Curiously, however, the filter was still tight. According to the video, a Ford dealership had changed the oil recently and tightened it to specification.
The car owner, Ford, and the insurance company reached a mutually satisfactory agreement on the issue. However, details of the settlement are not disclosed. Moreover, no one was hurt. The car’s owner is still in possession of the vehicle and may attempt to have it restored depending on the extent of the damage. It’s a decent end to an awful ordeal that could have been much worse.