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Are you guys reading this translation as a Spyder mule being driven by someone at Porsche at the time of the accident? Seems like it was a factory car given plates and efforts to camouflage model type.
Single car accident so, yes, it appears it was either driver error or a mechanical problem.
They did reference excessive speed in the report. Several decades ago I had a racing license and competed in many SCCA events. I was fortunate in that I sustained no permanent injuries, despite being involved in a few accidents. Similar accidents on public highways would likely have had a different outcome.
Last summer a friend of mine bought a GT3, and invited me to drive his car. He knew of my racing background, and expected me to push his car to the limits down a country road which has virtually no traffic. After I finished the spirited drive, my friend was disappointed in how I drove his car. He expected me to drive much faster. I then pointed out all of the trees near the road, many of them just a few feet from the edge of the road. I had to explain to him that those trees will not move if a car runs into them. So our speed will go from 40 or 50 to 0 in a millisecond. So no, I wasn't about to push his car to anywhere near the limits.
Bottom line is that I'll be going with him to Watkins Glen in early May. No trees or other immovable objects a couple feet from the track.
. . . Last summer a friend of mine bought a GT3, and invited me to drive his car. He knew of my racing background, and expected me to push his car to the limits down a country road which has virtually no traffic. After I finished the spirited drive, my friend was disappointed in how I drove his car. He expected me to drive much faster. I then pointed out all of the trees near the road, many of them just a few feet from the edge of the road. I had to explain to him that those trees will not move if a car runs into them. So our speed will go from 40 or 50 to 0 in a millisecond. So no, I wasn't about to push his car to anywhere near the limits.
Very sage approach to driving another person's car.
I like to share my car with others and encourage that they get behind the wheel, if for no other reason than to spread the Spyder love [and perhaps give them a sense of what they're missing ]. They're generally car folks who have owned everything under the sun, know how to drive, and aren't dumb enough to do anything stupid. It's a matter of simple car-guy etiquette and respect to drive conservatively when someone has generously afforded you seat time in their car.
Very sage approach to driving another person's car.
I like to share my car with others and encourage that they get behind the wheel, if for no other reason than to spread the Spyder love [and perhaps give them a sense of what they're missing ]. They're generally car folks who have owned everything under the sun, know how to drive, and aren't dumb enough to do anything stupid. It's a matter of simple car-guy etiquette and respect to drive conservatively when someone has generously afforded you seat time in their car.
In addition to the safety factor, you point out the other factor: respect for someone else's property. Based on the experiences of one of my sons who worked at a Porsche dealership, that respect doesn't apply to demo cars. He told me that lots of test drivers abused those cars by pushing them to redline as soon as they got off the dealer's lot. That's why I would never buy a car off the dealer's lot, unless the car had single digits on the odometer.
[QUOTE=hf1;15716252]Scary crash. Anyone still excited about the new Spyder's 400hp+?
On several lists for new spyder but honestly if it’s same motor and no real noticeable upgrades not interested
when I first purchased my new 981 spyder added ipd plenum / tb , Cobb tune and Kline 200 cell cats
Had it Dynod 420 ish hp. At the crank.... so can’t see any real reason To change at this point
That's a massive impact! Not sure if they had to cut out the door or sheared off. The door sill is seriously caved in. Judging by how the top caved in, toward the windshield, I would speculate the uneven, hard road surface/artifacts would have penetrated the cabin, impacting the driver. On a flat surface, he probably would have survived. Sad!
That's a massive impact! Not sure if they had to cut out the door or sheared off. The door sill is seriously caved in. Judging by how the top caved in, toward the windshield, I would speculate the uneven, hard road surface/artifacts would have penetrated the cabin, impacting the driver. On a flat surface, he probably would have survived. Sad!
The car rolled. And went over a guardrail evidently.
To me, the fatal crash is very upsetting not only for the driver and his family but what it could mean for owners if Porsche sees it as an isolated incident and does not implement changes to help prevent other people from suffering the same catastrophe. If this prototype represents 10% of all the prototypes, does that mean 10% of future owners are at risk statistically? Being so close to release and such a limited volume car to begin with, Porsche might not be so inclined to make substantial changes before releasing the car. Some things would be easy fixes, earlier implementation of stability control even in track mode, wider track (tires), lower suspension (and the center of gravity)? Other things more difficult. Did the rear roll hoops hold up, did the front a pillar deform, has the extra weight of the 6 cylinder engine been sufficiently accounted for (additional rear weight reduction measures while potentially requiring additional weight in the front for proper balance, etc.?
robcut1, as you correctly listed, there are too many variables. Each crash is different. We, the public, may never know the details of the crash investigation. Was it a mechanical failure? Or, the driver over-cooked it in wet conditions? He would have lived to share the details if the car didn't roll and land on the guardrail, penetrating the cabin (my speculation). There have been crashes of open-top cars rolling, with driver walking away. Modern Porsche is pretty safe. And, the testing is rigorous and long. So, I wouldn't worry about it. Being a motorcyclist, I accept certain risks! But, anyone driving an open top sports car does as well.
03-19-2019, 05:27 PM
]. They're generally car folks who have owned everything under the sun, know how to drive, and aren't dumb enough to do anything stupid. It's a matter of simple car-guy etiquette and respect to drive conservatively when someone has generously afforded you seat time in their car.
