I know almost nothing about CGT's, and the possible positions of onboard computers, but by the look of the fire, what are the chances those computers weren't
completely melted...? Just thinking out loud.. I really hope they can gain some more information and some closure in regards to what really happened..

I will echo what everyone else has said though.. It's a shame that this has happened. He was a really down to earth guy, and he will be a loss to the car community. RIP

Totall bummer, I'm sure he figured it would be ok riding as a passenger with a world challenge driver...
Just doing some donuts etc for the people after the event.

As much as I love the CGT, it'd be WAY too much car for me.

One of my neighbors is a certified driver for Lamborghini and test drove the GT when it first came out…. His exact words to me, which he apparently told the porsche rep. Was ''This car is going to kill someone'' He told me the car is flat scary in the triple digits.



I also am on that loop daily as my Crossfit gym is less than 100 yards from the crash site. The accident happened just past the guard gate. I do not know if the donuts were added to by the AE guys, but I do know for a fact that they were not initially caused by them. They are from another shop in the area.

RC

[url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2516403/The-final-photograph-Fast--Furious-star-Paul-Walker-pictured-getting-friends-high-powered-Porsche-GT-just-moments-engulfed-deadly-ball.html]



Wow these pictures are something else

Since I first heard of this tragedy yesterday, I've been checking out different forums on the subject.
Lots of photos, comments and 20 /20 hindsight on what happened.
There is one short video up at 6speedonline. Apparently taken by a motorist on the crash scene , witnessing the Carrera gt and its occupants going up in flame. I personally think that it's
Insensitive to the family and friends of the 2 victims, to continue to host this footage . Hopefully their moderator can take this awful vid down.

Indy-Car Driver Graham Rahal was one (6 total owners) of the previous owners of the Carrera GT

"It says it has traction control, but that traction control on that car is not going to do a thing to save you," Rahal said.

This review makes you really like this guy. RIP.


but it also shows the first on scene video, going from smoke to flames. Looks like a fuel fire. Didn't need to see that.

Saw a post today that the power steering was leaking and that might contributed to the crash. Can you say Lawsuit!
Van

Interesting that Leno took down his Carrera GT spin out video off of his "Leno's Garage" web site. Leno was very lucky that he didn't hit the wall at that speed.
RIP Paul and Roger!! I am not familiar with Roger, but I loved Paul's movies and charity work.

It's not likely to be a leaking steering unit as the CGT just had an full service at GMG in Santa Ann Calif. But based on postings on other sites, once the steering fluid hits an hot object...watch out. Some 996s have gone that route..recall / service bulletin in early 2005/2006 on that.

There weren't any recalls or bulletins that I remember.

New report on CNN says they are investigating a possible drag race or another car that swerved in front of them.

I have a friend who bought a CGT new. Called me and asked me if I wanted to go for a ride without telling me he bought it. I thought he meant on the bikes so I drove over on the BMW. He opened the garage and there was his new toy. I have seen him take off in the car several times without uncontrollable drama. He is an exceptional driver but I would expect so was Roger Roda. I have another friend, Steven Childs, who also bought one new. His 'broke' something in the suspension and went off into a field through a fence. Porsche came and got it and reimbursed him.

Friend number 1 said today that he knows nothing about a recall...

Bulletions came out for the 996. Posting above mentioned leaking power steering fluid.. and I posted that that stuff can cause the car to go up in smoke real fast.

The only thing coming up for a 996 is the expansion tank may leak from the o-rings on cars built before 2002 but it was a bullitin, not a recall. Yes the Pentosin power steering fluid, like most any fluid, will ignite if it touches something extremely hot like an exhaust manifold. I have only seen problems with this on 986 boxsters when one of the lines is routed incorrectly or aftermarket headers are used. Aftermarket headers usually can get pretty close to the lines.

Didn't know who he was either. Have never seen any of his work. Never heard of him

And don't know if he was an asshat or a down to earth, good guy.

But his family will care....as will his friends.

I am sure there are people who will have suffered a very deep loss.

And then there are those who followed him, and think they know him.

But for some of us, apart from it being a spectacular wreck, we might think of all the very stupid things we have done, at times, and escaped unscathed (or at least survived to tell and b.s. about it)....and be thankful

I actually enjoy those Fast and Furious movies as a bit of a guilty pleasure. I have friends that work in movies in New Orleans that have had the chance to meet Paul Walker and they said he was a really great guy

RIP

He would go to the weekend car get-togethers once in a while. He was one of us... Didn't act like he was special at all.

There is a story going around that he was in a jewelry store and overheard a guy in uniform who was trying to buy a ring for his fiance. The guy was visibly anxious because he didn't know rings cost that much. Paul Walker approached the sales lady and paid $10K for their ring purchase. The military couple didn't know or recognize him and the sales lady told them to watch the Fast and Furious movies. He didn't even stick around for a thank you. Just told the sales lady to thank the guy for his service.

Confirmed: From CNN

There are tales of Walker's incredible generosity.
CNN confirmed one story from a decade ago when Walker noticed a young U.S. soldier shopping with his fiancee for a wedding ring in a Santa Barbara jewelry store.
"The groom was just back from duty in Iraq, and he was going to be deployed again soon and wanted to buy a wedding ring, but he said he just could not afford it," saleswoman Irene King told CNN. "I don't think the soldier realized how expensive those rings are, about $10,000."
The couple apparently did not know who Walker was, King said.
"Walker called the manager over and said, 'Put that girl's ring on my tab,'" she said. "Walker left all his billing info, and it was a done deal. The couple was stunned. She was thrilled and could not believe someone did this."
King called it "the most generous thing I have ever seen."

It seems that everyone that knew or had interactions with him had only nice things to say about him as a person. Regardless of what caused the crash, the outcome for these two remains the same, and the pictures show how intense the fire was.

Have fun, but be careful out there!

Who are you going to Sue? There were 5 Owners of the Car before Walker! You are not going to win a Suit against Porsche for a Leak on a car that is 6 Years old.

Well this gets stranger and stranger. Appears they were traveling at less than 45mph when everything went wrong. Doesn't change anything, other than the story.

Link

Didn't Leno spin his out something like 3 times before he figured out?

Someone heard a tire blow out prior to the crash and start of the fire.

I dunno. That car looks like it almost broke in two.

All that from a sub-45mph impact? Seems very unlikely, no?

Yeah, could well have been. A lot of us have been on any number of surfaces at speed (preferably on the track). Think about the transition between an off camber sweeper and a straight away. Worse, think about that spot just before the transition, when you're throwing the car's CG all over hell, and something normally simple happens. Blown tire, strut valve failure, etc. You get the idea. Driving around on a Sunday drive with a VW rabbit and this isn't such a problem. In this car? Weight's all in the wrong spot to transition to the straight, and bam, huge weight shift. Even at 45. You can't recover it by adding throttle to let the butt out because a half inch of throttle is 200ft/lbs of torque. Braking is probably a bad idea. I'm not saying it can't be handled, but odds are this won't end well.

It's CF, it's not broken, it's melted.

Oh? Stranger things have happened. Lawsuits don't behave like real life.

The Cap'n

I get that. But that car looks like it suffered catastrophic damage before it burnt.

It appears there was a passenger door impact that practically bent the car two. No doubt it happened when it ripped that light standard out of the ground before slamming into those trees - trees which clearly appear to now be . . leaning.

I guess stranger things have happened. But all that carnage from 40 or so mph?

I'm calling BS on that - at 40-45mph, you don't knock over a Light Pole, a Tree, rip the Car in half &

Most of the more popular images being distributed make it look like that. It's the angle of the pic. It makes it look different than it is.

I hate posting pics of cars with dead people in them, because I think it's probably uncouth, but just because we're having this discussion, a link to a different angle:

link

You don't have to tell me that twice - I was once Married to a Bitch, I mean Lawyer

Whatever the outcome and cause, it's a sad story. I only knew this actor from the movie where Jessica Alba was snorkelling in a bikini. I'll admit it.

But he seemed like a decent guy who did decent things. I honestly hope they both died on impact when the car slammed into the light pole and were gone before the fire started. The alternative is just too awful to consider.

No matter the speed it's a bad deal. Could be any one of us at one of our events.

Hopefully the impact ended them. Being certified on this car and having intimate knowledge of the construction, this was not a 45 mph oopsie. This was at least 100 mph. The tree the car is resting against is after it took out a light pole. I'm thinking 120 mph.


Yes but most of our cars aren't that fast.

Add a 1 to it would be more like it.. if it was true, it would never pass a 10 mph bumper test, sorry i aint buying it.....

RIP

I did enjoy his movies and was a fan. Jessica Alba in a bikini was hard not to like. Shame aboot that coke head blonde girl though.

No fuel cell in these cars?

No.

Someone brought up a good point this morning.

610HP pushing against an immovable object (tree) might tear the car in half.

According to an interview on our local knx1070 news station, Jim Torp and his son were the first responders to the CGT. They were able to get 7 extinguishers into the firey wreck, but the inferno couldn't be put down. These guys jumped right into harms way risking their lives to save the 2 men. Another responder was briefly held by law enforcement for disobeying orders. Many pieces of info from this awful day are starting to come together.

A constant stream of cars in a coned-off lane passing the memorial where the crash took place. As of this morning, news crews are still there.

As an aside, the crash was not on Rye Canyon Loop (which is a private drive) as first reported, but rather Kelly Johnson (of Lockheed fame) Parkway just before it makes a sharp turn and turns into Constellation Way. Speed limit is 45MPH, but just up from the crash site, the sharp turn is 15MPH.

Andys

Latest video posted on CNN shows a view where you can see the lightpost come down and two trees get knocked over, then 60 seconds before smoke.

They were doing far better than 45 MPH.
I have hit a light post head on at about 30 in a 75 buick skylark and the post just shrugged it off and laughed at me.

There is a reason that certain cars should not ever be "street legal".
If you cannot ever get out of 2nd gear without speeding = Not street legal.

CA. lawsuit for concrete light posts, all the poles around here shear off at the base , with a slight impact... That said , he fd upd, in a new to him car.. and paid the price....RIP

Maybe they will tour the wreck , Like Deans Spyder for traffic awareness....

Didn't look like there was much left of the wreck to "tour".

Peace to their families.

Driver ran out of talent. End of story. No different than an old 930 that overcooked a corner.

If this was actually the x-Rahal red CGT car then it most likely was the same car that Rahal brought to the P2O event held in Granville, Oh two years ago. It was a beautiful car that sounded amazing when the throttle pedal was pushed.

Either way it is a sad ending for everyone involved.

Jeff B

Sad event but...

Did anyone else do the math on his girlfriend, you know the 23 year old that he has been with for the last 7 YEARS!

23-7= pedophile

funny how that is just being totally overlooked

Calling that a pedophile is greatly diminishing the meaning of the word for those who truly deserve it.


Where i grew up, 14 is the legal age with the consent of the parents, by the time you're 16 it's all up to you.

I just can't wrap my mind around the ass backwards way sex is viewed in this country ...

Where is that puritan hat...

I don’t think these comments are appropriate for this tread.