Porsche factory test driver killed, on the Autobahn while testing new car Options

[URY914]

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090213....production-911

A 51-year-old died in Germany this morning following an accident involving a Porsche 911 cabrio prototype. The victim, a Porsche engineer, was driving the car on the A5 Autobahn when he lost control and slammed into a guard rail.

The one-car accident happened at 2:45am just past the Weiterstadt exit on the motorway. Photos of the scene show the sports car wedged under the barrier, with the rail making contact near where the driver's head and torso would have been.

A spokesman for Porsche said the engineer "was one of the most experienced test drivers." The company representative confirmed that the car was a camouflaged cabrio covered with foil to mask parts of the vehicle's appearance. He also noted that, although it did not rollover, the convertible does not have the same resilience as a coupe.

Police and fire department personnel responded to the scene from nearby Darmstadt. The public prosecutor there has taken charge of the ongoing investigation. The location of the accident was midway between Frankfurt and Heidelberg, in the German province of Hessen.

It is not yet known what caused the accident. Witnesses say the driver, who has worked for the German company for 25 years, was driving a prototype of a new Porsche 991 model at a high rate of speed. That stretch of road does not have a speed limit. He was being followed by a second Porsche testdriver in a camouflaged four-door Porsche Panamera prototype.

That driver successfully evaded the crash, and escaped unharmed. Although the accident did take place at an unusual hour, both drivers were working on a 10pm to 6am shift. An initial damage estimate is said to be several thousands of Euro.

Source: express.de and fr-online.de and faz.net


Its a sad day at Porsche, our thoughts go out to the test drivers family

There is a picture of the car if you follow the link.

[Todd Enlund]

That is a piss-poor barrier design.

[SirAndy]

That is a piss-poor barrier design.

I don't think so. Look at the pic where the guy stands next to the car. The top of the guard rail is about where his hips are, and that is after the car slid under and bend it upwards.

Normally, those rails are about a foot off the ground. That's enough for 99.99% of all cars out there.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

[Solo914]

That is a piss-poor barrier design.

I don't think so. Look at the pic where the guy stands next to the car. The top of the guard rail is about where his hips are, and that is after the car slid under and bend it upwards.

Normally, those rails are about a foot off the ground. That's enough for 99.99% of all cars out there.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

That's great that it was designed to be only a foot or so off of the ground and yet a car still ended up under the barrier. Me thinks that something isn't quite right.

Kyle

[SirAndy]

Me thinks that something isn't quite right.

I'm still not convinced. He was driving a convertible prototype sportscar at high speed and the nose tucked under the guard rail and cut off the A-pillar.

Just look at how the car is stuck under there, then look at the cars in the background and you can see just how low that guardrail really is.

Any big amurican car would have just driven over that rail, it's so low ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

[ConeDodger]

Me thinks that something isn't quite right.

I'm still not convinced. He was driving a convertible prototype sportscar at high speed and the nose tucked under the guard rail and cut off the A-pillar.

Just look at how the car is stuck under there, then look at the cars in the background and you can see just how low that guardrail really is.

Any big amurican car would have just driven over that rail, it's so low ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

Look how the barrier is distorted back behind the car closer to that pole... In 30+ years in EMS and EMS education I have seen this many times. The car just tucked under the barrier. The barrier is intended to prevent head on collisions not protect the driver that hits the barrier. It worked.
I doubt Walter Rohrl works the night shift... Too much seniority.