YouTuber reveals his dream $98,300 Porsche was on doomed cargo ship that is now adrift and on fire

‘My car is now adrift, possibly on fire, in the middle of the ocean,’ Mr Farrah tweets

Matt Farrah hosts the YouTube channel ‘TheSmokingTire’ (YouTube / TheSmokingTire)

As a cargo ship carrying hundreds of cars caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, one YouTuber learned his Porsche was among the doomed vehicles.

“I just got the call from my dealer,” Matt Farrah tweeted on Wednesday. “My car is now adrift, possibly on fire, in the middle of the ocean.”

The Portuguese Navy has said the ship, named Felicity Ace, caught fire somewhere near the Azores Islands, about 1,400km from the shores of Lisbon. All 22 crew members were evacuated safely, the Navy said, but the ship was left to drift and burn.

Mr Farrah, who reviews cars on his YouTube channel TheSmokingTire, says last summer he ordered a Porsche 718 Spyder, which typically sells for about $98,300. On Wednesday, he retweeted a photo of the cargo ship carrying it, engulfed in flames.

“Oh s***,” he reacted.

On Twitter, followers offered their condolences.

“Dude, that sucks,” one person commented. “Do you reorder or just move on?”

“The Boxster Spyder with Deman 4.5 motor and shorty gears is the best sports car of all time, hands down,” Mr Farrah replied. “I had it specced exactly as I wanted it. There is no moving on.”

Later, he said his car dealer had promised to replace the Porsche.

“For everyone who is asking, the dealer has promised to keep me posted with any updates on how Porsche decides to sort this out,” the YouTuber reported. “Odds are a new build and hopefully not another 8 months wait for it.”

Portuguese authorities say the 200-metre cargo ship was on its way from Emden, Germany to Rhode Island, USA when the fire started. The cause of the blaze is still unclear.

Porsche told its customers to check with their dealers for more information.

“We are aware of an incident aboard the Felicity Ace, a specialized cargo ship carrying certain Porsche vehicles,” the carmaker said. “Your dealership will provide you with additional information on how this impacts you as soon as we have additional information and know the full scope of the issue.”