Car hit by lightning?

bibbly

The night before last i awoke to the sound of an explosion, moments before that crazy lightning storm. (north dublin city area)

I live in an appartment block and looked down to what appeared to be a car on fire.. altough car park spaces are not designated, residents generally park in the same old spot, the car parks, are above ground in wide open areas.

This spot was were a jeep of some sort parked, a little sazuki i think. It is a safe area, and i would have thought, car thefts are unusual, or vandalism of anykind.

although vandalism is more likely, is it possible that the car was struck by lightning? it just seems strange you would target one car in a car park full of cars while it was raining, would a lightning strike cause the car to burst into flames?

any thoughts..

pfk-0p

a car wouldn't go on fire from being hit by lightning i don't think, in fact they're one of the safest places to be during a thunderstorm

nilhg

Trust Top Gear to have tested this

brettmirl

Did the car not go Back to the Future when it was hit by lightning then?

biko

It's not likely for a lightning to strike a car next to a higher object with metal, such as the drains on a apt block.
The lightning is "lazy" and wants to find the shortest way down.