Lamborghini Rented Out for $5,000 Bursts Into Flames in Fiery Video

A luxury supercar rented out for thousands of dollars "self-immolated" when a Lamborghini burst into flames as the driver cruised along a city street.

The moment was caught on camera by a passer-by who spotted smoke begin to billow out from the rear of the vehicle in downtown Moscow. Within moments, the driver's door slid up vertically and a baffled looking man emerged to watch on in horror as flames flickered through the bodywork then turned into a raging inferno. A 48-second video clip of the incident shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, has been viewed more than 1 million times since it was posted on Saturday.

The Italian supercar's cheapest Huracán model costs an eye-watering $209,409 new, according to the MotorTrend website, but some models, such as this year's Aventador SVJ Coupe are listed at $949,640 and a one-off model made to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary costs a cool $117 million. Lamborghini marketing boss Federico Foschini told Newsweek in 2021 that the brand is popular with wealthy individuals in the United States because of its association with high status. Consequently news of such vehicles being damaged or crashed often hits extra-hard for car enthusiasts. Last July, a freak accident saw a Lamborghini end up on the roof of a Florida home before it slid off and became a fireball as it hit the ground.

Following Saturday's incident in Russia, X user Igor Sushko, a Ukrainian race car driver, posted the footage with the caption: "Russia: Lamborghini self-immolated in downtown Moscow." In an apparent dig at Russian President Vladimir Putin, he archly added: "This Italian car chose death over life in a dictatorship."

The clip opens with the blue vehicle revving as it heads along a road, filmed by an onlooker on the sidewalk. The footage then cuts to the cameraman approaching the car, which is now stopped just after a speedbump and has smoke emitting from the back. The driver's window is open, and the witness calls out to alert him that the Lamborghini is on fire.

The driver emerges and stares at the flames before taking a step back. The next shot shows how the fire has taken over much of the car, which still has its hazard lights vainly flashing as a small explosion rocks the vehicle. A man then tries to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. The next cut in the footage shows the fire brigade at the scene as the car now lies in ruins within a huge fire pumping a thick plume of black smoke into the sky.

The incident involved a Lamborghini Aventador and happened on Saturday evening, according to St. Petersburg news outlet Fontanka. The luxury car was burned down completely within minutes, the outlet reported, adding that the driver did not notice the flames until he was warned by a passer-by. It is not thought the driver was injured, but his morale is unknown, the outlet stated, noting that the car costs between 26 to 50 million rubles ($270,833 to $520,833).

Russian website Mash reported that the driver was named Cyril S. who had rented the vehicle by shelling out 200,000 rubles ($2,083) to drive it for the day, plus a further 300,000 rubles ($3,125) as a deposit—which he is now demanding be returned, according to the news outlet. The vehicle was brand new and had only been registered a few weeks ago, Mash added. Footage shared on social media platform Telegram reportedly showed a grim-faced Cyril S. at the scene as he simultaneously spoke into his cell phone and to a police officer.

It is not known why the vehicle erupted into flames. Some reports suggested the fire broke out after the vehicle hit the speed bump it was pictured next to, but Newsweek has been unable to independently verify this.

Newsweek reached out to Lamborghini by email on Monday seeking further information and comment.

In 2021, the company recalled some Lamborghini Aventador models over fears that some internal screws may have been improperly tightened during assembly, which could cause the oil lines to detach, according to Cars.com.

While 5,900 of the Lamborghini Aventador were recalled worldwide over a risk of fires in February 2017, as reported by motoring website AutoExpress, some 1,453 cars were likely to have been affected by the recall in the U.S.

The cars can reach incredible speeds very quickly, such as the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, which can hit up to 217.5 miles per hour, and have previously been involved in a string of crashes during illegal street car races. In October 2020, an Instagram star was arrested after his Lamborghini crashed into a Skoda killing the occupant in Germany.

In addition, a 5-year-old boy was killed in Rome in June when YouTubers filming a video slammed into the little boy's family car. The social media personalities in the Lamborghini were reportedly taking part in a challenge to spend 50 hours straight inside the vehicle.

Lastly, a 17-year-old teenager was charged with vehicular manslaughter after the Lamborghini he was driving ploughed into a car being driven by a 32-year-old woman who was killed instantly in Los Angeles.