Mahindra Thar is as popular on social media as it is among offroaders and explorers. We see people put out thousands of Thar reels every day and bag millions of views. A recent incident from Kerala’s Kasargod shows a reel attempt gone terribly wrong. A brand new Mahindra Thar caught fire while performing stunts in a private ground- reportedly for reel creation- and got charred almost completely. Reports say that the occupants of the SUV had close calls, but made it out of the mishap without major injuries.
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The Incident
This accident occurred in Kumbla town in Kasargod. The vehicle was brand-new and wasn’t even registered. The owner and his friends took it to a public ground for performing stunts so that they could film the same for Instagram reels. The driver was performing donuts with the SUV when it caught fire. Within the next few minutes, it was gutted in fire. Luckily, the occupants could make an escape before the fire escalated. Fire and Rescue services soon arrived at the scene and brought things under control.
Nobody suffered major injuries in this case. The fact that these guys were doing the stunts on public ground, with little to no people around, also played a role in keeping the larger damages under check. Previously, we have seen stunts being performed on busy public roads and some end badly for the people involved.
What Could Have Happened Here?
We lack clarity on what exactly happened in this case. There are several rumours being circulated. Some reports say that the tyres caught fire due to excessive friction while performing donuts. There are as many reasons to dismiss this claim as there are to believe it. You can smoke tyres, but it is nearly impossible for someone to make them catch fire that would further burn the (stock) vehicle down, just by spinning the wheels.
The White smoke you see when someone does a donut with their car, is essentially the vaporised oil and chemicals from the rubber, that condenses upon rapid cooling. When you spin the tyres rapidly, the friction between it and the ground/ asphalt would heat the rubber to over 400 degrees, causing it to vaporise. These, upon condensations, forms the white smoke. In other words, this alone will not cause a fire!
More authentic reports from a local source say that the occupants saw smoke coming from under the bonnet. This soon turned into a fire that later burnt the Thar down.
If we look at this incident in more detail, we could speculate a few other possible causes as well. To pull off the manoeuvre, the driver could have pushed the engine to high rpms for sustained periods of time. This might have made it overheat ( though uncommon for a brand-new vehicle) and ultimately catch fire. Another possibility could be fuel spillage of some sort. Faulty seals or a faulty car itself could also have led to this plight.
Finally, the Thar being a Thar is more prone to modifications than to body roll! People often spec these SUVs with so many aftermarket accessories and kits. Not all of these would be mechanical or cosmetic. Improper installation of electrical/ powered accessories and parts could lead to short circuits, which in turn can cause fires as well. We don’t know if such modifications were done on this vehicle, as no media sources have yet mentioned the same.
The Insurance Company Could Deny This Claim!
You hear that right! The SUV has almost been totalled in this incident, and the only resort for the owner to not burn a hole in his pocket is to rush to the insurance company. In this case, however, the insurance company could easily deny him reimbursements. Most companies include a clear clause in their documents that the policy doesn’t cover damage caused by ‘abnormal or improper usage’. Doing stunts with the vehicle falls under abnormal usage for sure. This owner could thus have a hard time fighting with the policy vendor.
