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> Porsche factory test driver killed, on the Autobahn while testing new car
URY914
post Feb 13 2009, 11:10 AM
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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.
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So.Cal.914
post Feb 13 2009, 11:20 AM
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PeeGreen 914
post Feb 13 2009, 11:26 AM
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Just when you think you're done...wait, there is more..lol
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SirAndy
post Feb 13 2009, 11:27 AM
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Link doesn't work ... I know that stretch of the A5, driven it many times ...
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URY914
post Feb 13 2009, 11:36 AM
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Linked worked earlier- I'll look it to it.
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URY914
post Feb 13 2009, 11:38 AM
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Link fixed- Car is toast.


http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090213.013/po...-production-911
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tracks914
post Feb 13 2009, 12:18 PM
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"And the Porsche was not driving at super high speeds! The high speed testing is done on closed circuits! Those test mules with new equipment normally don;t drive more than 250 km/h. And it was wet and snowing very lightly, so any experienced driver would not have driven faster than 140-150 km/h. My guess is this was a freak accident and the speed was around 120-130 km/h (75-80 mph) when he lost control of the 911... "

Good thing he wasn't going fast......
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Todd Enlund
post Feb 13 2009, 12:50 PM
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That is a piss-poor barrier design.
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6freak
post Feb 13 2009, 01:07 PM
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QUOTE(tracks914 @ Feb 13 2009, 10:18 AM) *

"And the Porsche was not driving at super high speeds! The high speed testing is done on closed circuits! Those test mules with new equipment normally don;t drive more than 250 km/h. And it was wet and snowing very lightly, so any experienced driver would not have driven faster than 140-150 km/h. My guess is this was a freak accident and the speed was around 120-130 km/h (75-80 mph) when he lost control of the 911... "

Good thing he wasn't going fast......



He was going fast according to the story...But anywho sad story at least he went doing what he liked .........Driveing fast
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degreeoff
post Feb 13 2009, 01:18 PM
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I wonder if they'll be parting that car?......JUST KIDDING! That sucks.
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sixnotfour
post Feb 13 2009, 01:38 PM
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walter rohrl is that age ?
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SirAndy
post Feb 13 2009, 02:14 PM
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QUOTE(Todd Enlund @ Feb 13 2009, 10:50 AM) *

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.

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Solo914
post Feb 13 2009, 02:29 PM
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QUOTE(SirAndy @ Feb 13 2009, 12:14 PM) *

QUOTE(Todd Enlund @ Feb 13 2009, 10:50 AM) *

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
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Richard Casto
post Feb 13 2009, 02:38 PM
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QUOTE(sixnotfour @ Feb 13 2009, 02:38 PM) *

walter rohrl is that age ?


Based upon his Wikipedia entry Rohrl is 61. So if the age was reported correctly, it wasn't him.
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cwpeden
post Feb 13 2009, 02:55 PM
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Great White North, huh?
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I think that post by smokeonit is bullshit.

He tops off his opinion by saying this was a rear impact! HUH

The only people that know what happened are the ones who were there. Leave it to them to rport the facts.

I've been the victim of 'speculation' after an accident and no my legs weren't broken and I didnt run into a house! I hit a powerpole and walked away! Thats all. (not my 914,in a 69 beetle)

My rant for the day.
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SirAndy
post Feb 13 2009, 03:15 PM
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QUOTE(Solo914 @ Feb 13 2009, 12:29 PM) *

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 ...
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maf914
post Feb 13 2009, 03:18 PM
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That is really unfortunate.

Francois Cevert, Jackie Stewart's Tyrell team mate, was killed at the US Grand Prix in the 70's in a similar accident when his F1 car submarined the ARMCO barrier. That accident led to Stewart's retirement.
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sixnotfour
post Feb 13 2009, 04:01 PM
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QUOTE
Based upon his Wikipedia entry Rohrl is 61.

Thats good news, glad to be wrong
RIP to the 51yr old test driver.
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carr914
post Feb 13 2009, 08:03 PM
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QUOTE(maf914 @ Feb 13 2009, 04:18 PM) *

That is really unfortunate.

Francois Cevert, Jackie Stewart's Tyrell team mate, was killed at the US Grand Prix in the 70's in a similar accident when his F1 car submarined the ARMCO barrier. That accident led to Stewart's retirement.


I witnessed the Cevert accident as a kid at the Glen.

And as a former VW-Audi Test Driver, I can say that prototypes are not built as a regular car would be. I had a whole rear-end assembly break loose out of a car I was testing. There are a possible million different reasons this accident happened.

T.C.
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sixnotfour
post Feb 13 2009, 08:51 PM
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