A Terrifying Incident on the Road: Chevrolet Corvette C8 Catches Fire While Driving
Imagine the situation: you’re driving a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, enjoying the powerful car and your favorite music. Suddenly—an explosion in the engine bay, and the car bursts into flames. This is exactly the nightmare that happened to one driver of an eighth-generation Corvette.
Key facts of the incident:
Details of the Event, Captured on Video
A recording of the incident appeared online. The driver, who was filming the event using smart glasses, was traveling at about 130 km/h, then reduced speed to 97 km/h on a turn. At that moment, a muffled explosion was heard from the engine side.
The driver immediately looked in the rearview mirror and saw flames erupting from the back. He quickly pulled over to the shoulder, put the car in park, and jumped out, barely turning off the engine.
Upon returning to the car, he saw that the fire had already engulfed the rear. The flames spread instantly. The driver managed to quickly grab a few items from the passenger seat and run away from the burning vehicle.
Is the Incident Related to Known Corvette Problems?
Last year, Chevrolet announced a recall of over 23,000 Corvette cars that could catch fire during refueling. However, this only concerned models with the flat-plane crank V8 engine—the Z06 and ZR1. The Corvette Stingray that caught fire was not on that list.
Some experts suggest the cause could have been a fuel leak onto the hot exhaust system. However, this does not explain the presence of an explosion. The true cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
We can only hope the driver’s insurance will cover the damages from this unforeseen incident. Such cases, even with cars not included in official recalls, always draw attention to safety and quality issues. For owners of powerful sports cars, this is a reminder of the importance of regular maintenance and paying close attention to any unusual symptoms, even in new models. The incident may also prompt an official investigation by the manufacturer to rule out systemic problems in other vehicles of the lineup.