Watch a Car Accidentally Catch on Fire During a Surprise Baby Gender Reveal Burnout

Gender reveal burnouts have become commonplace with car-loving parents who seek to use their existing hobby to announce additions to their families. Some tire manufacturers produce compounds designed to emit colored smoke when used for drifting or burnouts, and this Australian couple bought a pink pair to portend the birth of a baby girl. However, partway through the burnout, onlookers shrieked and pointed toward the car which a few seconds into the burnout began to emit fire from beneath its rear axle.

The video cuts to an extinguished fire and absence of smoke, though a large burned patch is visible beneath the presumably immobilized car.

We speculate the fire's culprit to be a failed differential, probably caused by the tremendous stresses of performing a burnout. Not only did the rear axle have to transmit enough torque to keep the tires spinning for a long period of time, but it also did it with the brakes applied to keep the car stationary. All this stress was likely more than the factory differential could take, so it probably spit its guts and fluids on the ground. This could also explain the rapid spread of the fire, as the gear oil found even more heat once it reached the tires, as well as the oxygen with which to combust.

The price of this misadventure? Colored tire manufacturer Highway Max lists Australian dollar prices at $260 for a pink set. Used differential and rear axle prices are all over the map, but not cheap, eaning this escapade likely comes at a cost anywhere between $400 and $1,000 AUD—so about $300 to $735 USD—for the baby's gender reveal.

While we'll never knock a good burnout, this isn't one of them, and that money could have bought one heck of a cake—or a lot of diapers.