Magnus had an eventful day at the opening of MPLS Porsche Options

[pete000]

No talking your way out of that one !

And he was a Porsche driver instructor !

Moral to the story is Cold race tires, tail heavy car design, and cold road don't mix !

Guy in the old Black SL must have pooped his pants !

[Ferg]

The man made a mistake, a very public one.

I feel bad for him. We have all done it, but no need to berate the guy...

Then I'm guessing you also feel bad for the Mustang drivers that do burnouts coming out of the cars & coffees and end up spinning into the crowds? Or does Walker get a "pass" because he's driving a Porsche?

The guy's a tool. The more public berating he gets, the more likely he'll give seconds thoughts to trying a such a stunt -- and it was most decisively an on-camera "hey y'all watch this" show-off stunt -- like this again.

"This is why we cannot have nice things".

GA

So tell me, if he was your brother or a close friend, would you still be calling him names? I feel bad for the reporter as well, I should have included her in my post.

Just trying to figure out if he was a "tool" before the accident or because of it?

[bandjoey]

You hit his Instgram feed

Magnus Stream

Hulk Hogan driving the Orange 914 ? Beautiful car!

[iwanta914-6]

Magnus was running late and had just jumped into a car to leave then popped out ran over and checked out my car had me fire it up and
took this picture of me leaving. He was a stand up guy.

Forgot to mention Chap that I did end up going to the Grand Opening and saw your car. I showed the car to my dad and he was pretty impressed even though he's not a fan of 914s, he keeps trying to talk me out of my search for a 914. Sorry I missed getting to meet you though. It was a fun night and saw some Club members that I had not seen since I was a kid, which was so weird.

Anyway, glad that Magnus got to see and hear your car...very cool to see your picture end up on his Instagram!

[SirAndy]

Not like it was a blind corner

The video clearly shows that he exits the parking lot right there with the truck already parked on the street. He must have known it was there.

My best guess is that he looked ahead and the two cars were obscured by the truck and he thought the other lane was clear.

From the video it seems like he setting up to pass the truck at speed and loses it when he lifts throttle as soon as he sees the other two cars.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[GregAmy]

So tell me, if he was your brother or a close friend, would you still be calling him names?

ABSOLUTELY!!! Even more so, and to their face!

And especially if someone did it that should know better, like RacerChris**, he'd NEVER hear the end of it from me!

Because it was stoooopid to:
- Drive race tires on the street that do not get sticky until they heat up (and he should know that, since he is an "instructor"*) despite the fact that, technically, they're DOT-approved (I don't think there's a rating for "DOT-smart");
- Drive around a (non-blind!) corner on a thin, no-shoulder, public two-lane road at excessive speeds without any form of crowd control, which...
- ...caused him to lose control and swing wide against said traffic, thus...
- ...forcing him to take an evasive maneuver that was well above his capabilities, and...
-...risk the safety of not only himself, and his passenger, but that of two other vehicles that were nearly hit by him, not to mention that of the pedestrian(s) standing immediately to the side of the road.

Harsh? Hardly. Dude was damned lucky that all he did was wrinkle his 911 and a trailer.

Just trying to figure out if he was a "tool" before the accident or because of it?

"Because". Toolness is earned. Public toolness is shamed. Publicly.

GA

*Never mind.
**But he wouldn't, because he's not that much of a tool.

[Mueller]

Having watched the news video, I think

Magnus Walker is a stupid shit who has no business behind the wheel of any Porsche!

You can honestly say you've never pulled a bone headed move before?

Yes, it could have been avoided, but sometime people get caught up in the heat of the moment and have a slight lapse of judgement....

[JoeDees]

I actually think it took quite a bit of skill keeping the accident as minor as it was. By the time the oncoming cars became visible his options were limited and his actions made the best of a bad situation. (Assuming they were showboating as in the video) I assess that 65% of drivers would have hit the Benz, 20% would have hit the truck hard enough to pulverize the Porsche, 10% would have flipped the car, 4.5% would have done as seen, and .5% would have come away unscathed. I saw a bad decision that could have been catastrophic made minimal by good driving.

[iwanta914-6]

My best guess is that he looked ahead and the two cars were obscured by the truck and he thought the other lane was clear.

From the video it seems like he setting up to pass the truck at speed and loses it when he lifts throttle as soon as he sees the other two cars.

This is pretty much spot on. He ASSumed that the other lane was clear and did not see the two cars until it was too late, lifted and lost control.

I'm not condoning his willingness to drive this way on a public road in cool weather with slicks and a semi blocking one lane of a two lane road. But, he paid the price for his mistake, a mistake that could have been much worse. I'm sure the reporter will be looking for something for her pain and suffering and police will be issuing a ticket (if they have not already) along with having to repair his favorite car to try and get it ready for Rennsport.

[naro914]

I won't say I'm a 'fan' of Magnus, but I admire what he's done. Read some history of him: the Urban Outlaw video was not his idea, someone else asked him to do it. THAT's what vaulted him to fame....and the rest as they say, is history. If ANY one of you had the same opportunity he's been given, you would take advantage of it too. He didn't seek the fame, it found him...

Having said that, yes, he's just as much an ass as those Mustang guys that do burn-outs and end up in crowds (were you at the Charlotte one GregAmy??), the Ferrari guys that do burn-outs and end up in crowds..or any other asshat that does it. Maybe even more-so since he's a celebrity and should know better than to show off.

I admire what he's done, but I've lost a lot of respect for him and his decision making. He's lucky he didn't hit that MB, or hurt that reporter...VERY lucky...

[ChrisFoley]

...
You can honestly say you've never pulled a bone headed move before?
...

I have plenty of stories of bone-headed moves I've pulled.
I was never filmed by a news crew though, and my foolish behavior never involved innocent observers.

The tool in this story was being paid to represent Porsche, right? He has no excuse for such a major lapse of judgement.
They probably should have had Patrick Long (or any other true professional) do the driving exhibition.

[rhodyguy]

The notion that it happened 'because of' ANY THING that compounded his reckless behavior is sort of a pass? The tires? Seriously? That's what 911s do? He's the same guy that does all that drifting in abandoned buildings for videos? Might as well lay some blame on the reporter for even getting in the car. 'Bone head' moves? Sure, when I was a child. Edit. He had 0 real line of sight as he exited the first corner, at speed, distracted by the reporter and the camera is a bonus. Would you give him a pass if he was driving like that in your neighborhood?

[naro914]

...... my foolish behavior never involved innocent observers.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) totally...that's the biggest issue I have!!

They probably should have had Patrick Long (or any other true professional) do the driving exhibition.

I'm not sure there was supposed to be a 'driving exhibition'...

Would you give him a pass if he was driving like that in your neighborhood?

Again, exactly.

If this was a CLOSED road, with no potential hazards (like a big ass truck!), that would be one thing...but doing it on a public open road, with a passenger, with oncoming traffic, etc.. He should know better.

Again, I like the guy, I admire things he's done, but this lapse of judgement was pure stupidity...

[iamchappy]

You guys it wasn't exactly cold out it was probably in the 70's, he sacrificed his car as not to hit anyone else's no doubt the trailer was blocking his view of the on coming cars, there was a lot of activity going on around the building to get it ready for the party, i blast around that corner all the time its my old neighbor hood, i use to ride my bike on the dirt trails where the road and building are now it was a huge vacant field area and abandoned golf course... generally there is not much traffic coming from that direction and the road that intersects it is closed and under construction. With that said it was a dumb thing to do with the trailer there. On another note about his character Magnus is a stand up guy and i found him very pleasant to talk too and watched him interact with everyone, and he made sure everyone had there time with him, his nose is not out of joint he seems to be a real gentlemen and down to earth and respectful. On first impression the guy looks like he could be one of the Duck Dynasty dudes gnarly dreadlocks....

[iamchappy]

And he even snapped a great picture of me in my car, it was his idea....

[okieflyr]

If he had been in a 914 it may not have done that at that speed.

OR it would have just kept spinning (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

[Maltese Falcon]

From what I digress from this unfortunate adventure, it does not look like Porsche was offering a ride-along experience. Although Magnus was present as a guest celebrity at the dealership, I think that the moment he drove off on public roads he was on his own.
I attended the media ( press) launch of the 991 which was held on the closed course tarmac of Santa Maria Airport. Upon signing a waiver, Factory drivers provided the ride-along. Walter Rhörl was one of the drivers (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)
I would not have expected to see Herr Rhörl drifting on a main st.in a Porsche.
Magnus being a POC guy , instructor and holds a competition license probably just got caught up in the moment with a newsfeed camera rolling/reporter on board. Had he been piloting a CGT, that side hit that he took just behind the drivers door would have had a more serious consequence : as in fuel tank impact.
Lucky it was not any worse for all involved.

CGT fuel tank (not a safety bladder type). Note the contour of the seat shapes.

[914_teener]

I don.t see ANY difference between this and what happened to Paul Walker other than the fact that two people walked away with their lives and relatively unhurt.

[JRust]

I am surprised it happened there & with Magnus. I've done plenty of stupid things in my life. I have had the benefit of doing them when nobody was there to see it. Let alone record the whole thing. Hell Ive documented my own idiocy on more than one occasion. Sucky situation to be in for everyone involved. All it would take is a question from the reporter coming into the turn to distract him for a second. I know plenty of people will blast him for it. Deservedly so too. Having said that I'm not going to hold it against him. I'd still love to meet the guy & talk cars.

[naro914]

I should have also noted that I've met him a couple times, and as said, he's a cool guy...if he wasn't "famous" you'd think he was just another Porsche enthusiast.... Maybe that's why I'm disappointed in this....he doesn't come off as a show off, seems like a grounded type of guy and like someone that would shy away from showing off or doing something stupid...

I'd really love to hear what he has to say.... I think he would do himself a lot of good to own up to a stupid mistake and take full responsibility for it and not try to blame it on this or that...