Influencer's $400K Ferrari Burns Minutes After Purchase

A popular YouTube video creator saw his brand-new $400,000 Ferrari catch fire and burn to ashes minutes after he took it on its first ride—and he kept filming, leading some to speculate the whole thing was planned. Read on to find out what really happened. 

Cody Detwiler, 25, had taken the new luxury car offroading in a cornfield surrounded by dry grass, when both the Ferrari and a nearby van caught fire. "I regret to inform everyone that my $400,000 Ferrari F8 and rental minivan with only 5,000 miles on it [have] recently burned down to a pile of ash," he told his 6 million subscribers in the caption to a video titled "The Fastest Way to Lose Half a Million Dollars."

"This was a complete accident and I originally intended on filming so many more things with the car, but this was a great lesson to do even more crazy things before your car catches on fire," he added. "Tis But A Scratch! We will be back Ferrari…"

The video shows Detwiler speeding through the cornfield in the car when the right tire appears to catch fire. His friends, sitting in a nearby van, scream at him and he comes to a stop near that vehicle. 

Attempts to put out the flames are unsuccessful, and the blaze soon spreads to the van. Within seconds, both vehicles are completely engulfed. 

"We are off road, we were going into a cornfield the vehicles are on fire, we need a fire department immediately," one of Detwiler's friends can be heard saying on a call to authorities. 

Within five minutes, both vehicles have been reduced to charred fragments.  "I don't care about the cars, it's fine." Detwiler is heard saying. "Just keep it from spreading onto the field."

"Do I even have insurance on this car?" Detwiler can be heard asking his friend. "I think if I do, it's like the most minimal — like we'll pay for other people's damage. I don't have full coverage on anything. They won't give it to me."

"They're like, 'he's gonna cause an accident, burn the car down,'" Detwiler said. "Yeah, that's what happened. The insurance companies were right," his friend replied.

The only thing salvageable from the $400,000 vehicle seemed to be the $8,000 titanium exhaust pipe. "It was a total loss." Detwiler said. "We f–ked up."

The video quickly spawned speculation that the whole thing was a stunt. "No this wasn't staged. Anyone that can read human body language can tell this was real," Detwiler said in a statement. "Why would I also burn up a RENTAL van with all of our stuff inside? My shoes, headphones, sunglasses, sentimental Polaroid photos, tools, spare wheels and tires, and cameraman's gear also burnt. Sure I make money destroying things, but I don't lie. Not everything is a conspiracy." Detwiler can apparently afford to take the financial hit: His net worth is reportedly over $5 million.