Ferrari 488 Pista Stolen, Then Destroyed in a Fireball Crash Minutes Later

A high-performance Ferrari was destroyed in a crash and fire shortly after it was stolen from a dealership in southern France, turning a planned theft into a costly failure. The incident unfolded in the early hours of January 20 in Cahors, a small town in the country’s southwest, where two suspects broke into the ILM Auto showroom and targeted a Ferrari 488 Pista.

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According to published reports, the break-in did not unfold quickly. The suspects reportedly spent about 45 minutes searching the building for the vehicle’s keys before attempting to remove the supercar from the showroom. Instead of carefully maneuvering it out, they drove the car directly through a closed garage bay window to escape the building.

The getaway was short-lived. Within miles of the dealership, near Montpezat-de-Quercy, the driver lost control on a wet road. The Ferrari struck a guardrail and caught fire, destroying the vehicle. The suspects were able to flee before authorities arrived at the scene.

The Ferrari 488 Pista is powered by a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine producing more than 700 horsepower, making it one of the most capable road cars in the brand’s lineup. Controlling a vehicle with that level of performance can be difficult, particularly in poor conditions and for drivers unfamiliar with its capabilities.

While the theft ended without the suspects securing the vehicle, the resulting fire created another complication for investigators. The blaze eliminated most physical evidence connected to the crime. Police in Cahors are now relying largely on surveillance footage as they work to identify the individuals involved and piece together the sequence of events.

What began as a bold attempt to steal an exotic supercar ultimately left behind a destroyed vehicle and a challenging investigation, with authorities continuing efforts to track down the suspects responsible.

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Shawn Henry

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Shawn Henry has spent years writing about cars, and it shows—not in a resume kind of way, but in how he talks about them. He's the type who'll notice the weird trim option nobody remembers and actually know why it mattered. At Backfire News, he covers pretty much the whole spectrum: off-road trucks and trail builds, performance cars, racing, and the collector market. He's comfortable getting into the technical weeds, but he never forgets that most people read about cars because cars are fun, not because they want a spec sheet. His beat runs from classic and collector vehicles to overlanding culture, modified performance builds, new automotive tech, and the industry news that actually affects what ends up in your driveway. Mostly, though, Shawn thinks the best car stories are about people—the builds they pour money into, the road trips, the communities that form around a shared obsession. That's the stuff he likes writing about, and it's what you'll find in his work here.

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