Back in February 2023, YouTuber WhistlinDiesel let his millions of followers know that he’d bought a “$400,000 Ferrari.” Specifically, this was the latest V8 Ferrari mid-engined supercar, the F8 Tributo.
The Ferrari F8 starts from $330,000. However, the supercar featured upgrades like aftermarket wheels and a sports exhaust system. For most people, that would be a dream purchase, but everybody knew Cody Detwiler was going to abuse the vehicle for YouTube.
The Ferrari was going to be WhistlinDiesel’s most important purchase of 2023, the main focus of his channel. It was getting destroyed eventually, but Cody’s Ferrari adventures came to an abrupt end this week when it caught fire and burned to a crisp on a field in Texas. Specifically, this incident happened at 12th & Loop 340, Waco, Texas.
Ferraris are known for catching fire sometimes, usually when owners are too enthusiastic with the throttle while the car is stationary. However, Cody’s Ferrari caught fire on a freshly harvested cornfield, not in front of a Monaco hotel. So what exactly happened?
People want to know why WhistlinDiesel’s Ferrari caught fire. There isn’t going to be some ample federal investigation, and Cody probably couldn’t get insurance due to his frequent crashes. So we had to do our own investigation into the cause of the fire.
It’s actually quite a simple explanation. The cornfield is completely flat, perfect for some Interstellar-style hooning. However, it’s also covered in husks, stalks and leaves. This dried-up, fine material is perfect for starting fires, basically just like kindling.
At the beginning of the video, you can see the husks have completely filled out the wheel wells at the back and are stuffed into all the major air intakes. Several components of the car are then hot enough to ignite a fire. The V8 engine and exhaust are very hot, but we’re sure that WhistlinDiesel’s Ferrari caught fire from the hot brakes which ignited the corn husks.
Unlike a normal supercar fire where you have a fuel or oil leak, this is a slow, low-temperature fire. It could have been stopped with just a couple of fire extinguishers. However, it was left long enough to where other plastic components like the tires and fender liners also became ablaze.
At this point, the fire also starts under the Chrysler Pacifica minivan which had been rented out for this video. The car was also totaled by the fire, raising the total cost of this incident. We think the Pacifica started its own fire. When it stopped, the hot exhaust ignited the corn trash, something farmers are all too aware of, especially in drought.
What WhistlinDiesel’s Ferrari fire staged?
While Cody did plan to eventually destroy the car, it was supposed to be done over several videos, thus generating a lot more YouTube revenue. Also, the YouTuber may have wanted to beat up on his Ferrari but keep it drivable, as he did with the red Mercedes-AMG G63. In the words of Joe Exotic, he may never financially recover from this.
There’s no way to know for sure. After all, he knew that corn husks can catch fire from a previous stunt just like this, and the whole team conveniently forgot to pack a fire extinguisher.
But with high-dollar cars like the G63 or Lamborghini Huracan, Cody Detwiler likes to do gradual cosmetic damage to the point where they can still be driven and enjoyed. Anyway, it’s pretty clear that he’s going to buy another identical red Ferrari and do this all again.