RIP Paul Walker - killed in a CGT's passenger seat

[Perfectlap]

^ no they can keep selling exotics all day long. But don't conflate a $200K Ferrari or Lamborghini specifically designed for road car use with a flat out racing car that was never intended to be a road car and only became a road car when Porsche was not allowed to race the CGT afterall. Worst of all, when the decision to sell a racing car as road was made, they ignored their own well researched conclusions about what could keep the driver alive or keep that novice driver from taking out a bunch of other motorists in a highly flamable configuration. A driver getting into one of these racing cars veiled as a road car isn't just risking his own life, he's putting others at risk as well.
That is to say I have no issue with a guy putting himself in a coffin because he overestimated his talent and skill. Easy come easy go. But what do you say to the family of the driver pinned in his $20K car and subsequently burned alive because the CGT driver lost control, plowed into him with his $300K car and they both become a fire ball within 60 seconds of the impact? ooops? Or maybe for the sake of everyone on the road that $300K car should have had some stability management or fire mitigation required for road car use. If you want to jump without these parachutes on the track that's entirely a different matter.

[southernstar]

Perfectlap, you say sorry for your loss - and sorry that they were driving the car at incredibly inappropriate speeds for that particular area. You also say that they should be thankful that they didn't also kill a pedestrian.

[Timco]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

^ no they can keep selling exotics all day long. But don't conflate a $200K Ferrari or Lamborghini specifically designed for road car use with a flat out racing car that was never intended to be a road car and only became a road car when Porsche was not allowed to race the CGT afterall. Worst of all, when the decision to sell a racing car as road was made, they ignored their own well researched conclusions about what could keep the driver alive or keep that novice driver from taking out a bunch of other motorists in a highly flamable configuration. A driver getting into one of these racing cars veiled as a road car isn't just risking his own life, he's putting others at risk as well.
That is to say I have no issue with a guy putting himself in a coffin because he overestimated his talent and skill. Easy come easy go. But what do you say to the family of the driver pinned in his $20K car and subsequently burned alive because the CGT driver lost control, plowed into him with his $300K car and they both become a fire ball within 60 seconds of the impact? ooops? Or maybe for the sake of everyone on the road that $300K car should have had some stability management or fire mitigation required for road car use. If you want to jump without these parachutes on the track that's entirely a different matter.

The car is crash tested and of course meets highway safety standards for crash and fire standards. It's not like it's just a shell and engine. I'll bet I could drive that thing all day long under 100 mph. Any one of my AR15s can kill a lot of people if the right idiot gets his or her hands on it. Otherwise I use it safely all the time and it sits inert in a cabinet.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by southernstar

Perfectlap, you say sorry for your loss - and sorry that they were driving the car at incredibly inappropriate speeds for that particular area. You also say that they should be thankful that they didn't also kill a pedestrian.

I wasn't reffering to the Walker or Rodas families. I was referring to a hypothetical situation, which may not be so hypothetical in real life, where these two took out another car an its occupants.

Originally Posted by Timco

The car is crash tested and of course meets highway safety standards for crash and fire standards. It's not like it's just a shell and engine. I'll bet I could drive that thing all day long under 100 mph..

Those standards aren't very high. Look at the annual worst cars lists when the crash tests are reviewed. But those tiny econo box cars aren't packing big power in the first place so their rates of speed at impact are much lower than a 600 HP street missile designed to break apart at impact and consequently spill all manner of highly flamable liquid all over the accident site. All it takes is one spark from dragging metal to BBQ anyone in the car or a completely innocent motorist minding his own bees wax, in his own lane, under the speed limit. And if you're sitting in a ball of fire a mere 60 seconds after impact then I'm guessing those fire standards are a pretty low bar. Certainly when unlike the econo box car, you factor in 5x's more power and thus an inherently higher possibility of a crash and or fire.

[Frodo]

Well, maybe it's those low standards that need to be addressed. That's really not Porsche's role though.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Well, maybe it's those low standards that need to be addressed. That's really not Porsche's role though.

The CGT in this tragedy held up well in a typical highway speed incident-- the tub was in tact and the occupants were still strapped in. So obviously Porsche didn't wait around for the Federal government to tell them what was adequate as far as crash worthiness.

As for the fire, again, that seems to be a very different matter. I don't think there's anyone on this or any Porsche forum that's going to think twice about getting into the passenger seat of that car knowing how quickly it became a roasted marshmallow in this particular tragedy.
After watching thousands of hours of sports car races over the years I can hardly think of many crashes where the driver's car was a ball of fire so soon after an impact -- all at much higher rates of speed than this public street accident. The Dale Jr. incident at Sonoma in the Corvette comes to mind but really if this was a racing car for the road, it did very poorly as far as fire is concerned.