The car was seen engulfed in smoke after a test drive (Picture: Phil Kwak/SWNS)

These pictures show the moment a McLaren £1.75m prototype supercar was engulfed in smoke as it battled to stop bursting into flames at a petrol station forecourt.

Boasting over 1,000bhp and a top speed of 250mph, the British manufacturer’s fastest-ever road car, The McClaren Speedtail, is due to be released next year.

But it experienced a few bumps in the road after it started smoking out and narrowly averted a major catastrophe on Thursday.

Two McLaren employees were pictured dousing it with fire extinguishers, before the driver luckily managed to move it away from the petrol pumps.

The car, capable of doing 0-186mph in just 12.8 seconds, was spotted at a BP garage near Guildford, Surrey, where firefighters were in attendance.

McLaren suspects the incident happened as a result of an electrical fault but is investigating further.

Petrol station workers ran to close the pumps (Picture: Phil Kwak/SWNS)

The driver narrowly missed a major catastrophe (Picture: Phil Kwak/SWNS)

Roger Ormisher, head of global and North American communications for McLaren, said: ‘A prototype version of the McLaren Speedtail experienced what we believe at this stage to be an electrical fault, whilst stationary at a fuel station near Guildford in Surrey, UK.

‘As a precautionary measure, having seen a small amount of smoke emanating from the vehicle, McLaren employees moved the car away from the fuel pumps and discharged dry powder extinguishers over the rear of the car.’

He added that the car was sent back to McLaren and nobody was injured in the incident.

An eyewitness who watched the scene said: ‘It was a bit a drama with the petrol station closing the pumps.

‘The two owners pushing the car away from the pump and then putting it out with fire extinguishers and a fire crew attending.’

The 2020 Speedtail has already sold out ahead of its release to customers – with reservations taken for each of the limited 106 designated for production.

No one was injured in the incident (Picture: Phil Kwak/SWNS)

It is described as a ‘pioneering petrol-electric hybrid powertrain’ which places the driver in the centre of the vehicle with two chairs to the left and right.

The 5.2m-long Speedtail is described as ‘the spiritual successor to the iconic McLaren F1’.

Its driving position is among a number of key design features linking the two cars over two decades apart.

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It is the first of 18 new cars to come from McLaren before 2025 as part of its ‘Track25’ business plan.

To reach its impressive top speed it features a driving mode named ‘Velocity’ which adjusts the car’s idle speed to charge the batteries, adjusts the active aerodynamics, lowers the car’s ride height by 35mm and retracts the rear-view cameras.