I am sorry Paul Walker died in a car crash. I am sorry that anyone dies in car crashes. The media 'reporting' on this, however, has been completely meaningless and highly misleading. CNN in particular has written a series of fear-mongering, hysterical stories about the Porsche Carrera GT, the car in which Walker died. Here is an example- Porsche like a wild animal, and here is another-Porsche is different. There are multiple repetitions of Jay Leno spinning the Carrera at 182 mph, and the story of one that crashed killing the driver. One lurid story called it not a super car but a 'hyper car'.
Reading these stories gives the impression Porsche put out an unsafe, badly designed car, sort of the fancy, German equivalent of the Corvair. There is even a story insinuating that Porsche stopped making the Carrera GT after 1270 copies because it was unsafe. Understanding the development of the car and reading serious reviews of it give a completely different story.
First, the Carrera GT program grew out of Porsche's withdrawal from racing in 2000, a move that shocked and upset all car racing fans. Porsche decided to produce a new car that could compete at Le Mans in the GT class. This requires that the car be sold for street use, not a dedicated race vehicle. Porsche tested the demand for such a vehicle and it was strong. The number of vehicles produced was determined by the rules of GT racing- a minimum of 1000 examples must be built. Porsche's profit on the cars was not high, and so production stopped after 1270. This is completely consistent with other cars of its class like the Ferrari Enzo or the Mercedes McLaren.
Second, the Carrera GT got absolutely stellar reviews. Here they are from major car enthusiast magazines- GT Sprint, Car on line, Road and Track, Motor Trend, Automobile. These reviews praise its handling, chassis, brakes, engine and clutch.
Like all cars of this class, it has foibles. The engine has very little spinning mass and no flywheel mass. This makes it extremely easy to stall if you do not know how to drive such a clutch style. The original vehicles had no traction control. This is an electronic system that reapportions force to the wheels if spin is detected. No race vehicle has this, since most racing turns are slides. Porsche did not incorporate their traction control, called PSM, into the first year of production. They added it, which does make it easier to drive for street novices.
Which brings up the last and most important point. No novice should be driving this car. The man driving had bought it a few months ago and had never taken it on a track to understand its handling. He was driving on a street where speeding and racing are notorious. It is hard not to imagine he wanted to showcase the car, especially as he was a driver for GT vehicles, much like Walker himself. But if you are going to buy a 450,000.00 vehicle I think it behooves you to understand how it drives. These cars are not something you simply drive off the lot regardless of make. And I think a person ahs no business driving a vehicle of this type if they require traction control to 'save' them during maneuvers.
It is always sad when a person, especially a young person, dies in a car crash. That it happens is not a condemnation of the car any more than it is a condemnation of Bourbon when someone dies from alcohol, or a condemnation of guns and hunting when someone is shot. The story that needs to be told is not of the defective, dangerous car but of the operator's history and background. And note that the police are being very cagey about saying whether speed was a factor. Are you kidding? Look at the wreckage. Speed was a factor. Given the described handling of the Porsche I suspect too much steering input was given at over 80 mph, leading to a spin and crash.
It is inappropriate to attack the driver until the police release the speed of the vehicle. But until there is a full story smearing Porsche is equally irresponsible and highly misleading.
Ted
Reading these stories gives the impression Porsche put out an unsafe, badly designed car, sort of the fancy, German equivalent of the Corvair. There is even a story insinuating that Porsche stopped making the Carrera GT after 1270 copies because it was unsafe. Understanding the development of the car and reading serious reviews of it give a completely different story.
First, the Carrera GT program grew out of Porsche's withdrawal from racing in 2000, a move that shocked and upset all car racing fans. Porsche decided to produce a new car that could compete at Le Mans in the GT class. This requires that the car be sold for street use, not a dedicated race vehicle. Porsche tested the demand for such a vehicle and it was strong. The number of vehicles produced was determined by the rules of GT racing- a minimum of 1000 examples must be built. Porsche's profit on the cars was not high, and so production stopped after 1270. This is completely consistent with other cars of its class like the Ferrari Enzo or the Mercedes McLaren.
Second, the Carrera GT got absolutely stellar reviews. Here they are from major car enthusiast magazines- GT Sprint, Car on line, Road and Track, Motor Trend, Automobile. These reviews praise its handling, chassis, brakes, engine and clutch.
Like all cars of this class, it has foibles. The engine has very little spinning mass and no flywheel mass. This makes it extremely easy to stall if you do not know how to drive such a clutch style. The original vehicles had no traction control. This is an electronic system that reapportions force to the wheels if spin is detected. No race vehicle has this, since most racing turns are slides. Porsche did not incorporate their traction control, called PSM, into the first year of production. They added it, which does make it easier to drive for street novices.
Which brings up the last and most important point. No novice should be driving this car. The man driving had bought it a few months ago and had never taken it on a track to understand its handling. He was driving on a street where speeding and racing are notorious. It is hard not to imagine he wanted to showcase the car, especially as he was a driver for GT vehicles, much like Walker himself. But if you are going to buy a 450,000.00 vehicle I think it behooves you to understand how it drives. These cars are not something you simply drive off the lot regardless of make. And I think a person ahs no business driving a vehicle of this type if they require traction control to 'save' them during maneuvers.
It is always sad when a person, especially a young person, dies in a car crash. That it happens is not a condemnation of the car any more than it is a condemnation of Bourbon when someone dies from alcohol, or a condemnation of guns and hunting when someone is shot. The story that needs to be told is not of the defective, dangerous car but of the operator's history and background. And note that the police are being very cagey about saying whether speed was a factor. Are you kidding? Look at the wreckage. Speed was a factor. Given the described handling of the Porsche I suspect too much steering input was given at over 80 mph, leading to a spin and crash.
It is inappropriate to attack the driver until the police release the speed of the vehicle. But until there is a full story smearing Porsche is equally irresponsible and highly misleading.
Ted
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