Paul Walker from Fast and Furious died in a wreck...

sad for the families and friends they left behind, but it's just so ironic Walker died in a car crash after crashing so many without injuries. On the silver screen at least.
The ultimate public service announcement.

Curious what the actual speed at impact is. My 2000lb gen 1 CRX Si (first one, in 1995) broke a large telephone pole clear through at ~45, head on. Also slid sideways into a big tree with a 1975 244 Volvo at around 40mph pretending it was a winter stage in the Rally of Finland, again walking away.
50mph to zero in a few feet can do a lot of damage, though. Both cars gave their life, for mine. And seatbelts.

 

I have no doubt the speed was excessive (over the posted limit) and quite possibly the speed could have increased after traction was lost. I tend to think that the angle at which they hit was also a major factor.

 

The angle yes. But an object would not accelerate after motive power has ceased, given that matter resistance (Iin this case air) remain constant.

 

My reference is based upon when a vehicle forgoes rolling resistance such as when a car leaves the road thus eliminating friction. Remember this....
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20OWtuo-m0M]De Cesaris Crashes At Austria 1985 - YouTube[/ame]

 

Its still slowing down. The rate of deceleration has simply changed. It cannot speed up without an oposing force or in this case motive power. Even in a vacuum, it would not "speed" up as there is no force acting on the mass to increase its velocity from rest. Its like when you drive ftom a road on to wet grass. Pop the car Iinto nuetral, and it feels like its speeding up when in essence it is slowing down.

 

Here is a list of well known folks who have perished in a Porsche...

James Dean 1955
Pelle Lindbergh 1985
Vasek Polak 1997
Bobby Phills 2000
Ben Hollioake 2002
Ben Keaton 2005
Corey Rudl 2005
Gionata Mingozzi 2006
Ryan Dunn 2011
Sean Edwards 2013
Paul Walker 2013
Roger Rodas 2013

 

This is what 35 to 40 mph loosing control looks like...

AC COBRA CRASH CARS AND COFFEE IN IRVINE - YouTube

 

If he had hit a tree or pole broadside he would have been just as dead as Paul Walker.

I'm sure there are accident reconstructionists who will know how fast the Porsche was going.

 

Still a sad incident. And it's likely that what happened exactly will remain unknown. As for the fuel tank being in the passenger compartment, that doesn't thrill me.
But the comparisons to other cars have merit.
The CGT and the Ford GT came out about the same time. Both are similarly powered mid engine cars. Neither has stability control, the GT doesn't have traction control even. I know the CGT is carbon fiber, lighter weight and stiffer, but the cars are pretty close in specs. Plenty of GT's wrecked, but they don't seem to have the stigma of the Porsche.
Anyone driven both? Are they really that far apart?

 

Horrible to hear of this rip paul you were a great actor and i really enjoyed your movies. You will be missed.

 

Physics... How can I say this?... It's just not your thing. Let's all just leave the analysis to the people who are investigating this tragic accident. They will get the actual facts and figure out what really happened.

 

This Jas I can't refute. I'm on my 3rd set if tires in 8500 miles. The first thing I changed

I also only drive the car the 5 or 6 tenths I'm ok with.

I know I play with my other cars in cold no traction situations. Not the cgt.

 

Well that sucks. Sorry to hear this news.

Rest in peace Paul.

 

In my humble opinion. Why the hell isn't there some sorta of regulation on this. There is no reason any 500-600 hp plus should be allowed on our hwys and streets. R.I.P and prayed to their families. But, they could have killed innocent people on there. Tragic and lucky.

 

Are you seriously saying that exotic cars should be banned?

 

Weren't they in a light industrial park on a weekend morning? Sure, sure city streets and all but it's not like they were blazing through the Mall of America parking lot on Black Friday! Certainly there are places/times where it is OK to push a little and this was one of them. I think it's key to remember that no one, including those who would regulate us into paralytic oblivion, are getting out of this life alive.

 

Agreed.

Let's limit all cars to 100 hp and 55 mph top speed.

Think about the all the lives that could be saved...



Kai

 

Let's ban puppies and kittens while we're at it.

 

Great point. I too would love to hear thoughts and impressions from any folks who have driven both.

 

Looks like the film production is shutting down indefinitely and that's the right thing to do.

 

The coroner has now released that Roger died from the impact, not the fire, but Paul died from the fire. This news makes it even worse but hopefully he was not conscious and did not suffer.

 

From the pictures one would think that it would be the other way around and yes I pray that PW was unconscious.

 

I saw the interview one guy saying the seat belt was stuck then he pulled the other guys back from the fire.

They should have got him out.

 

Considering how intense the fire was how is it that someone got close enough to check the seat belt? PW may have died from the fire but who can say he would have or could have survived his injuries even if he was pulled from the wreckage?

Crazy stuff!

 

I have about 1,000 miles of seat time in a Ford GT in all kinds of driving conditions. I only have 50 or so miles driving in a CGT and a couple of hundred in the right seat. My driving was in suburban traffic and then up a nice canyon with a 50MPH speed limit but a nice wide four lane road.

They are amazingly different beasts. The Ford has that big, blown American V8 with tons of torque way down low. Other than some visibility issues (not a big deal after you get used to it) it is amazingly easy to drive. You can lug it around in third gear in city traffic and not bother to shift if you don't want to. It can be amazingly fast or very docile. It is the most stable car to drive at high speeds of any that I have driven.

The CGT has its fussy clutch that is only an issue when starting from a stop. You just have to know to ease out the clutch and let the auto throttle do its thing and then you can drive it like any other manual transmission car. The only other oddity is that the rotating mass of the V10 is so slight, that the rev's drop off very quickly between shifts. Again, it is peculiar but once you get used to it not a big deal.

The biggest difference is in the way they make power. The Ford makes so much power down low and it just wells up with a big thundering push. The Porsche revs so freely and can break the rear tires free with no notice. Once they break loose, the revs absolutely sky rocket up the rev range, and so do the relative speed of the tires. The whole CGT experience from the push-rod suspension, carbon chassis, intoxicating V10 sound, quirky clutch etc... is much more exotic than the Ford.

Bad things can happen but if you are driving either within reasonable limits, they will not bite you. They certainly aren't the untamed monsters that the press is making them out to be. The chassis is stable and tractable in both cars. Neither is like a Shelby Cobra that seems to want to change directions at random even at civilized speeds.

Both cars have amazingly high limits and once they are crossed, there is very, very little opportunity for recovery. IMHO, that is why so many of each have been totaled. I think a higher percentage of F-GTs have been totaled but probably because more of them get driven and are more accessible. I think the CGT gets more press because it is twice the cost.