NASA Racer and Film Star Paul Walker Killed In Carrera GT Crash


Fast and Furious star Paul Walker lost his life last night While riding passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT driven by fellow gentleman racer Roger Rodas. The car struck a tree and burned; both Mr. Walker and Mr. Rodas failed to survive.
Other articles have covered a variety of the salient points that come up any time the Carrera GT is discussed:
- Walter Rohrl crashed the Carrera GT twice during testing, noting that he had serious concerns about the car’s on-the-limit behavior
- “Internet Entrepreneur” Corey Rudl crashed a Carrera GT during an FCA trackday at Fontana Speedway, resulting in a lawsuit which was settled for $4.5m.
- EVO magazine recently claimed that changing the tires on the Carrera GT absolutely “transformed the behavior” of the Carrera GT, changing it from terrifying to brilliant, or something like that.
- Former PCNA employee and TTAC contributor Doug DeMuro has declared that the Carrera GT is the most dangerous car on the road.
There are very few details about the crash — and given that the car burned to the ground and the witnesses appear to have been late to the scene, there may not be any more. It could have been a mistake on the part of the driver or a mechanical failure — or it’s possible, that while driving around an office park, Mr. Rodas managed to reach those terrifying limits of which we’re all read so much. Regardless of that, the fact are this: Paul Walker was a racer, he was a car guy, he was one of us, he’ll be missed. RIP.
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- FreedMike I don't know why this dash shocks anyone - the whole "touchscreen uber alles" thing is pure Tesla.
- ToolGuy CXXVIII comments?!?
- ToolGuy I did truck things with my truck this past week, twenty-odd miles from home (farther than usual). Recall that the interior bed space of my (modified) truck is 98" x 74". On the ride home yesterday the bed carried a 20 foot extension ladder (10 feet long, flagged 14 inches past the rear bumper), two other ladders, a smallish air compressor, a largish shop vac, three large bins, some materials, some scrap, and a slew of tool cases/bags. It was pretty full, is what I'm saying.The range of the Cybertruck would have been just fine. Nothing I carried had any substantial weight to it, in truck terms. The frunk would have been extremely useful (lock the tool cases there, out of the way of the Bed Stuff, away from prying eyes and grasping fingers -- you say I can charge my cordless tools there? bonus). Stainless steel plus no paint is a plus.Apparently the Cybertruck bed will be 78" long (but over 96" with the tailgate folded down) and 60-65" wide. And then Tesla promises "100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including the under-bed, frunk and sail pillars." Underbed storage requires the bed to be clear of other stuff, but bottom line everything would have fit, especially when we consider the second row of seats (tools and some materials out of the weather).Some days I was hauling mostly air on one leg of the trip. There were several store runs involved, some for 8-foot stock. One day I bummed a ride in a Roush Mustang. Three separate times other drivers tried to run into my truck (stainless steel panels, yes please). The fuel savings would be large enough for me to notice and to care.TL;DR: This truck would work for me, as a truck. Sample size = 1.
- Art Vandelay Dodge should bring this back. They could sell it as the classic classic classic model
- Surferjoe Still have a 2013 RDX, naturally aspirated V6, just can't get behind a 4 banger turbo.Also gloriously absent, ESS, lane departure warnings, etc.
Comments
Join the conversation
http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/paul-walker-was-real-hero-daughter-heart-soul-his-charity-2D11683842 New details: police say Rodas lost control at 40-45mph in a curve with a 15mph posted limit (possibly a yellow 'suggested speed' sign, not clear). I think that lends some credence to Farago's comments about the Carrera GT's suspension being rather unsorted.
Well, it's all over the news today that the widow of Walker's driver is suing Porsche. https://news.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0LEV0dRKXJTaCsAPhBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0Z3BhbHZyBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDQxNF8x?p=Paul+Walker&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-658&fr2=newsdd