Test drive chaos as ?190K electric McLaren bursts into flames mile …
This is the moment that a GBP190,000 car was left crumbled into pieces after setting on fire in Leeds. Around 2.28pm on Sunday, October 15, a McLaren Artura supercar engulfed in flames on a roundabout near the M1, at junction 44. West Yorkshire Police[1] officers and firefighters from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service[2] rushed to the scene in Pontefract Road, Stourton, around 2.35pm. The hybrid motor – which can race to 60mph in just 2.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 205mph – was around a mile away from the McLaren Leeds dealership during the inferno.
A person had taken the 23-plate vehicle out for a test drive before it was left completely ruined after suddenly catching alight. Pictures show the once shiny and brand new black McLaren turned into a wreckage of ash and rubble. Both passengers in the car were left unharmed.
The quick-thinking driver pulled the vehicle off the roundabout and was able to escape unharmed. Emergency services rushed to the scene and extinguished the fire, but the car was already completely destroyed. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Witnesses have said that the fire started in the engine area at the rear of the car.
The McLaren Artura went up in flames in Pontefract Road, Stourton, in Leeds (Image: Geoff Buys Cars)
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received a call from the driver at 14.28pm on Sunday 15 regarding a Hybrid McLaren which went up in flames during its demo drive in Leeds on the roundabout near the M1 Jct 44. “We sent crews from Hunslet, which arrived on the scene at 14.35pm. We also sent a Hazardous Material Officer to dispose of the electrical battery.
The fire was put out at 15:02 with no report of injury.”
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References
- ^ West Yorkshire Police (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
- ^ West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
- ^ All the mobile speed camera locations in Leeds this week (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.leeds-live.co.uk)