Tragedy: ninth Ferrari 458 dies

Fridays used to be full of excitement and happiness; a certain joie de vivre.

Now they are emblematic of Supercar Death. Why? Another Ferrari 458 has died. And today is Friday.

The ninth 458 to perish in gory circumstance, this one is reportedly the first in the States (Costa Mesa, California), the result of an engine fire which, as you can clearly see, mullered the Italia quite liberally.

(Thanks to wreckedexotics.com)

A spokesperson from wreckedexotics.com told TopGear, "I've never seen a new model crash this many times in such a short period". He's someone who's seen many crashed supercars.

Has a wretched curse befallen the Ferrari 458? Has a mysterious voodoo baron cast a spell over one of Maranello's finest products? Will we find a third question to end this story?

Nobody knows. Don't forget however, the 458 is the car which sent Jezza into a mild crisis when he nailed it on TG telly, proclaiming it to be "one of the all-time greats", and "mesmerisingly brilliant".

Through no fault of their own, nine poor Ferrari 458s have perished in the past three months. And a McLaren F1. Click through for all the gory pics...

California, USA, August 2010

California, USA, August 2010

Poland, May 2010

Spain, June 2010

Czech Republic. June 2010

France, July 2010

Switzerland, July 2010

Maranello, Italy, August 2010

UK, August 2010

Ok, not a dead Ferrari, but a yellow one just like this was stored at Heathrow Airport, when a fire broke out and killed it. With fire.

(Also an opportunity to remind yourself how glorious the 458 looks when not on fire/in a tree)

McLaren F1, Germany, August 2010