Woodster

I apologize for posting a crashed car,
I heard the driver was OK (what does that mean?)
I believe the car was from Laguna beach area and
crashed on the Pacific Coast Highway (info from 6speed)?
Very sad to see the Ben Keaton sticker on the windshield.

How did it happen? Can we learn anything from it?

Marty K.

Pictures from 6speed were too large to post:
Black Carrera GT (basalt?)
left front and left rear tires and suspension torn off
entire rear clip gone (motor still connected to monocogue)

1AS

Marty,
As I'm sure you noted, someone on 6speed does know the owner but is preserving anonymity. The traditional response on this board is mirrored at 6speed, "it's the driver's fault".
Here is a question that I have wondered about.
Isn't the number of Ford GT's in service similar to CGT's?
While I have seen at least one photo of a GT that spun off a track, I have not heard of multiple cars totaled or Ford GT drivers dead. Since power is similar (Ford claims 550, or 50 less, but I have heard that is conservative), shouldn't Ford drivers be just as accident-prone as CGT drivers?
We are dealing in small numbers, so everything is anecdotal rather than statistically significant. I may be mistaken by basing thinking on incomplete information, unrelated factors, or random events.
This is not bashing CGT's. I share Marty's interest in learning the cause and seeing it stop.
In my parallel universe (healthcare), I have noted the major drug companies have always stood by their products after the first handful of deaths, ultimately investigate, identify a rare but real problem, and then withdraw the drug until the problem is solved. That may seem like a non-sequiter, but it is the consistent voice of defense from parties with a self-interest. More understanding would help- like the driver explaining what seemed to go wrong, as Leno did. AS

Woodster

I really want to know for personal reasons,
My very good friend has one and I spend alot of time in it (A Carrera GT).
I will probably drive it this summer.
One thing I know for fact is that you must warm up the big fat
Michelin's before tromping on it, other than that it has performed flawlessly
and is not unpredictable in any way.
Marty K.

Nick

Based on the information concerning the accident I believe I know of the owner/driver. He is a very experienced and skilled driver. He sold his GT2 to buy the CGT. If my assumption is correct regarding the owner, we can assume he was not a novice in handling high performance cars.

Woodster

OK Nick, fair enough,
how about road conditions (wet/dew/post rain) and any
other factors that may help us learn??
Other than owning the GT2, has he owned other challenging cars like old modified
930's, vipers, etc. ?? Owning a GT2 doesnt mean alot, because someone
could own one, be scared of it and sell it to buy something else...

1AS

I think Nick's statement should be taken at face value. The CGT owner stepped UP to a CGT. His explanation of the circumstance would be informative. I think the GT2 is as good a preparatory course as you're likely to find short of a mid-engined race car. AS

ked

"Since power is similar shouldn't Ford drivers be just as accident-prone as CGT drivers?"
not if they don't drive their cars as much, or as aggressively. it is difficult to normalize for usage & behavior modalities that are not measured, perhaps not even quantifiable.

roberga

OH NO the curse of the CGT. Who will be next to have the car take control and crash. If someone thinks their car is too scarry, I would be happy to buy theirs. Of course it is so dangerous that I would have to pay 25 cents on the dollar.
The reason Fords do get crashed is that as a % the owners do not drive them. CGTs are driven fast and hard. Sometimes the DRIVER makes a mistake.

1AS

I accept it's always driver error. But the question is why so many err. Is it because the CGT demographic of million dollar earners is more risk-intensive than the Ford GT owners, or does the CGT have a lesser margin for error?
I'm not sure where we learned that CGT owners drive their cars a lot more. My recollection is seeing about an equal number out and about.
Like many on this board, I've been around fast cars my entire adolescent and adult life, and have had my share of errors. The CGT episodes seem disproportionate in number and severity to what I would have anticipated. Granted, factors like the internet make information more available, and owners who post here say their cars are docile, but it doesn't explain what happened to the growing number of drivers who lost control. Were they taken by surprise on cold tires, lift throttle oversteer, or extreme sensitivity to changing traction conditions? It seems that the line between "in control" and "out of control" is invisible to some. My history suggests that set-up is a variable that could impact this.
Inquiry is not criticism. It would be easy to point to the incidents where the driver would have benefitted from a little more understanding. Hopefully, that will come soon. AS

Greg A

AS,

There have been a couple of Ford GT crashes. I think you have just not heard about them since they wouldn't get much coverage on this Porsche forum. The most recent one I know about was last month.

Greg A

Nick

Marty I would not have posted if this person was a casual user of the GT2. He knows cars and knows how to drive them. I have no idea what caused the crash but we do know it was a single car incident.