Investigators are trying to figure out why a luxury car exploded in flames in the middle of an empty housing development in Colwood Wednesday morning.

Fire crews were called after witnesses saw smoke pouring from a newer-model BMW parked on Delora Drive, near a Rayn Properties development, just after 10 a.m.

Witness Wayne Blumstengel first saw the flames when he was arriving home, and grabbed his camera.

“As I’m pulling in there were two Colwood city workers here and that car was already engulfed in flames, black smoke and everything,” he said. “I was amazed at how hard it was burning.”

In the video, the car is shown burning for a few moments before a loud explosion goes off, surprising those behind the camera.

There wasn’t much left of the car by the time crews extinguished the blaze. The cause is unknown, but officials say the incident is considered suspicious.

“Certainly from the way the car is looking now, it perhaps may have started on the front end of the car, perhaps the engine compartment,” said Colwood Fire Department Acting Chief John Cassidy. “It could be mechanical issues, could be electrical issues, could be an arson, an object that somebody just wanted to get rid of it. It could be revenge.”

The car’s owner is believed to be the subdivision’s developer, who lives in Calgary.

“He parks there regularly, and I usually see that car around all the time,” said Blumstengel.

No one was injured in the blaze, which remains under investigation.