E-Ray Corvette burns to ground in Europe

[teamzr1]

Something went horribly wrong this week with a Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray as the supercar went up in flames.
Scary images of the aftermath show it completely burned down, up to the point it's not recognizable anymore.

It's certainly not a pretty sight, but what matters the most is that no injuries have been reported.
The fiery incident took place while the E-Ray was being tested in Southern Europe

It certainly must've been a huge fire, as it even partially melted the wheels.
E-Ray was one of the two prototypes in the custody of Bosch, and they were the ones who initially noticed it had some technical issues.
A day before burning to a crisp, the mid-engined hybrid machine doing its best Ferrari impression had smoke coming out its rear. It was at that point the engineers noticed the car was leaking oil.

It didn't take too long for the prototype to lose the freshly added oil yet again. Some 24 hours ago later, things went south quickly as the C8 caught fire, and it was too late to save it.

 

[Roscobbc]

This electric vehicle/fire 'thing' is certainly a big worry. There was a posting on FB earlier todayalleging that a couple of european countries are 'pulling back' from using these due to a series of fires within the operators bus garage whilst charging, also destroying many of the other buses and vehicles parked. And one can see the issue with a bus (or commercial haulage truck for that matter) with the very neccesary oversized battery set needed due to, firstly the weight of the vehicle and then the potential payload. And when these thing catch fire there's no way to extinguish them effectively. You can see them limited to use on open road networks, the dangers of congested city use , ferries and tunnels is obvious........

 

[Oneball]

Petrol and diesels catch fire as well it’s just Daily Mail-esque scaremongering, every time something with a battery catches fire. And in this case it seems to be an oil leak which isn’t electrical at all.

 

[teamzr1]

The problem is when a vehicle with these batteries catch on fire for any reason
Once the battery goes, it is almost impossible to get the fire out, where it can be in most cases with gas with less damage

 

[Oneball]

The problem is when a vehicle with these batteries catch on fire for any reason
Once the battery goes, it is almost impossible to get the fire out, where it can be in most cases with gas with less damage

Most petrols will be completely burnt long before anyone gets chance to put them out. I’ve seen marshals get through a dozen extinguishers trying to put a car out to no avail.
Fast forward this and see how scarily quickly a petrol car turns to a cinder.

 

[Nassau65]

Frightening.

 

[Roscobbc]

With all fires its not so much the flammable liquid like petrol or diesel thats at issue its the 'wicking' surface the leaking liquid seeps into - a diesel fire can be all but impossible to put out - other liquids like brake fluid can also be a major issue. Oneballs 'Daily Mail-esque scaremongering' allegation relating to a fire created by oil leak rather than a battery totally misses the point. The vehicle itself is not too different in terms of potentially flammable surfaces and the presence of liquids like brake and hydraulic fluids (albeit minimal).......it is still the batteries that are at potential risk from impact damage in a collision and electrical/electronic/charging/discharging issues. The 'regimes' for charging and balancing Lithium cells are quite finite.....any changes to the charging protocols can have serious implications.

 

[teamzr1]

The BS about an oil leak turns out it was BS

GM was forced to make a statement :

Chevrolet has issued a statement regarding the fiery incident.
Trevor Thompkins, Senior Manager, Chevrolet Passenger Cars, Performance and Motorsports Communications at General Motors, said:

"A Corvette development vehicle undergoing extreme testing by one of our suppliers this week had a thermal incident.
All who were involved are safe as this is our top priority. We are investigating the situation with the supplier."

Whatever happens during the testing phase of a prototype, it's not indicative of the subsequent production model's reliability.

Work-in-progress cars break down all the time, and ideally, all issues are ironed out before shipping cars to customers.
In some unfortunate cases, the vehicle is well beyond the stage at which it could be rescued.
Something went horribly wrong this week with a Chevrolet Corvette test mule believed to be the E-Ray, as the supercar went up in flames.

Scary images of the aftermath show it completely burned down, up to the point it's not recognizable anymore.

 

[Oneball]

...it is still the batteries that are at potential risk from impact damage in a collision and electrical/electronic/charging/discharging issues. The 'regimes' for charging and balancing Lithium cells are quite finite.....any changes to the charging protocols can have serious implications.

No real difference to petrol. Accidents damage fuel tanks and cause fires. Fires due to incorrectly refuelling your car or the bad storage of petrol are pretty common too.