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Paul Walker Died in 'Most Dangerous Car on the Road'
Newser ^
| 12/03/2013
| By Evann Gastaldo
Posted on 12/03/2013 9:31:33 AM PST by Responsibility2nd
Even professional drivers are wary of Porsche Carrera GT
(Newser) – Paul Walker died in a Porsche Carrera GT, a car that a former manager at the car company has called "crazy" and "the most dangerous car on the road," Jalopnik reports. And that's not the only eerie quote the site rounded up: A well-known Porsche test driver said the car was the first to actually scare him, and a Top Gear presenter noted, "You need to be awake to drive this car fast." It's been involved in a number of other headline-making incidents, including a fatal crash at the California Speedway. More on the car and Walker's crash:
- The car is so sensitive to road conditions, Porsche sent a memo to dealers before it went on sale in 2004 warning that the Carrera GT is "as close to a racecar as we will ever get," and thus "has all the disadvantages of a racecar"—so dealers shouldn't let just anybody drive it. The memo specifically notes that the car can't even drive over a Foster's beer can on its side without being damaged, and TMZ notes that the road where the crash occurred is covered in reflective dots.
- Meanwhile, some fans aren't exactly mourning Walker safely: Police have been sent to the crash site so they can ask fans to stop burning rubber, spinning their tires, and doing something called a "drifting maneuver" that involves purposely losing traction in the back tires so they slide all over the place, Fox News reports.
- The neighborhood where Walker died is a popular place for street racing, but authorities are now saying that though speed was likely a factor in the crash, eyewitnesses say Rodas and Walker were "traveling alone" at the time, Fox adds.
- A curve may also be a factor: A source tells NBC News the car was only traveling around 45mph when it crashed, but it was at a curve where the speed limit drops to 15mph.
- One thing is clear: The sports car community considered Walker one of its own, the Los Angeles Times reports, and he liked to go fast: In a three-year period, he'd gotten five speeding tickets, Radar reports.
TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: automakers; carrera; moralabsolutes; paulwalker; porsche
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I've always heard the Dodge Viper was very dangerous. Photo of a pile of Carrera at the link.
To: Responsibility2nd
The Chevette, Yugo and Pinto fan clubs thank you for posting this.
2
posted on
12/03/2013 9:33:09 AM PST
by
NormsRevenge
(Semper Fi)
To: Responsibility2nd
Some say the brain is connected to the foot.
Some , well, no lessons will be learned from this.
Another horrific crash will occur,,
Man is better off on hoof and ski..
Than stomping on the tail of a supercharged auto.
3
posted on
12/03/2013 9:35:20 AM PST
by
NormsRevenge
(Semper Fi)
To: Responsibility2nd
They only made Plymouth Superbirds for one year for that same reason.
4
posted on
12/03/2013 9:35:22 AM PST
by
diverteach
(If I find liberals in heaven after my death.....I WILL BE PISSED!!!)
To: NormsRevenge
Should have stuck with something safe like mass transit... oh, wait...
5
posted on
12/03/2013 9:36:51 AM PST
by
KarlInOhio
(Everyone get online for Obamacare on 10/1. Overload the system and crash it hard!)
The Carrera GT is a very different animal. The suspension is set up very stiff (as Porsche said ‘as close to a real race car as you will ever get’). There are a lot of people out there honestly who really don’t know how to drive fast.
It takes skill and the ability to know when approach a turn at the right speed to achieve the apex and maximum velocity going out of a corner, applying just the right amount of gas to keep the tires from spinning. Slow in - fast out.
Mid-engined cars, like rear engined, can have the rear end pop out when foolish with the accelerator (both accelerating and decelerating).
Porsche made another car that was dubbed the widowmaker also, it was the 930 (911 Turbo) in the 70’s up until the car became all wheel drive. Now, you have the 996 GT2 and the Carrera GT holding those titles.
To: Responsibility2nd
Same is true of a McLaren......
While I drive an almost new Porsche, it’s one of the most forgiving one’s they make. Not as fast as the GT but plenty fast - and a lot more fun to drive........ and just the opposite on the dangerous scale from the GT.
7
posted on
12/03/2013 9:40:15 AM PST
by
Arlis
To: Responsibility2nd
When did they start calling “fishtailing” “drifting?”
8
posted on
12/03/2013 9:40:35 AM PST
by
Cowboy Bob
(They are called "Liberals" because the word "parasite" was already taken.)
To: Responsibility2nd
The fact that the car burst into flames is bizarre. That usually only happens in the movies.
9
posted on
12/03/2013 9:42:22 AM PST
by
E. Pluribus Unum
(Who knew that one day professional wrestling would be less fake than professional journalism?)
To: KarlInOhio
I dozed off,, huh? OH, mass transit,, makes ya wonder where all the dough for track safety goes. The train should have been equipped with an auto braking system.. a non-breathing one. wanna bet, unions block its use?
To: Responsibility2nd
The old standard applies:
‘Just because a man drives a Ferrari, it does not make him a Ferrari driver.’
11
posted on
12/03/2013 9:45:11 AM PST
by
BBB333
(Q: Which is grammatically correct? Joe Biden IS or Joe Biden ARE an idiot?)
To: Cowboy Bob
When did they start calling fishtailing drifting? When they started calling it a sport.
12
posted on
12/03/2013 9:45:14 AM PST
by
Yo-Yo
To: Responsibility2nd
. . and he liked to go fast: In a three-year period, he'd gotten five speeding tickets, Radar reports
Was he allowed to keep his license ?
13
posted on
12/03/2013 9:46:39 AM PST
by
ßuddaßudd
(>> F U B O << "What the hell kind of country is this if I can only hate a man if he's white?")
To: Responsibility2nd
"Along came a Spyder and picked up a rider
Took him down the road to eternity"
14
posted on
12/03/2013 9:47:07 AM PST
by
GBA
(Ezekiel ch. 7, verses 1-14...our consequences?)
To: Responsibility2nd
It has a lot of traction until it has...no traction...mid-engined, so low polar moment of inertia...and a-spinning you go.
A 3000 pound car with 620+ hp and the above characteristics is not for everyone.
15
posted on
12/03/2013 9:49:46 AM PST
by
Moltke
(Sapere aude!)
To: Cowboy Bob; Yo-Yo
—When did they start calling fishtailing drifting?—
Youse guys must be quite young! It’s been called “drifting” since at least the Fifties. That’s how it was referred to by all the pro sports car racers back then.
To: Cowboy Bob
When did they start calling fishtailing drifting?Fishtailing and drifting are two different things.
17
posted on
12/03/2013 9:51:45 AM PST
by
UCANSEE2
(The monsters are due on Maple Street)
To: Responsibility2nd
So sad, but at least he and the guy driving killed themselves before they killed anyway else.
18
posted on
12/03/2013 9:52:33 AM PST
by
Catphish
To: Responsibility2nd
This was no movie with stunt guys. This was an actor who got too close to his movies. How man other kids have been caught in the Fast and Furious mind set. How many dollars have been spent trying to turn Toyotas and Honda’s into race cars.
These movies have a result. The results got this man killed.
19
posted on
12/03/2013 9:53:50 AM PST
by
Venturer
(Keep Obama and you aint seen nothing yet.)
To: Moltke
Ah yes, the low polar moment of inertia.
I always told people that the removable roof of my 914 was so you could throw your arms in the air and scream when it let go, because nothing else was going to help.
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