Paul Walker Died in 'Most Dangerous Car on the Road'

Newser ^ | 12/03/2013 | By Evann Gastaldo

[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.

 

[Responsibility2nd]

I've always heard the Dodge Viper was very dangerous. Photo of a pile of Carrera at the link.

[NormsRevenge]

The Chevette, Yugo and Pinto fan clubs thank you for posting this.

[NormsRevenge]

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.

[diverteach]

They only made Plymouth Superbirds for one year for that same reason.

[KarlInOhio]

Should have stuck with something safe like mass transit... oh, wait...

[InsidiousMongo]

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.

[Arlis]

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.

[Cowboy Bob]

When did they start calling “fishtailing” “drifting?”

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The fact that the car burst into flames is bizarre. That usually only happens in the movies.

[NormsRevenge]

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?

[BBB333]

The old standard applies:

‘Just because a man drives a Ferrari, it does not make him a Ferrari driver.’

[Yo-Yo]

When did they start calling “fishtailing” “drifting?”

When they started calling it a sport.

[ßuddaßudd]

. . 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 ?

[GBA]

"Along came a Spyder and picked up a rider
Took him down the road to eternity"

[Moltke]

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.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

—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.

[UCANSEE2]

When did they start calling “fishtailing” “drifting?”

Fishtailing and drifting are two different things.

[Catphish]

So sad, but at least he and the guy driving killed themselves before they killed anyway else.

[Venturer]

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.

[Tijeras_Slim]

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.