[miktrebla09]

RIP. This is terrible news.

My first thought was, maybe he forgot ppl in germany drive on the right hand side...?

but i don't think someone like him having spent so much time in germany would make that mistake.

sad

[Poppin Fresh]

Any word on the condition of the survivors driving the BMW?

[oldmanstyle]

RIP

I find it odd that on a performance car forum where most promote safe driving habits that everyone is overlooking the strong likelihood that he was driving like a test driver on a public road and almost killed 2 other people. If it was some random civilian driver in that LFA he would be getting skewered right now.

[RevFreak14]

Originally Posted by paul.r

The LFA also uses carbon fiber for the body. It shatters rather than bends, so I would assume it would do little to absorb the impact of a collision.

Agreed. Kind of like a Corvette which has a body made up mostly of fiberglass. You don't want to get in an accident in a Vette. Unless it's a simple fender bender, your chances of walking away unscathed are not good.

[x838nwy]

Originally Posted by Chill72

My sentiments exactly, I care more about death of my alcoholic uncle than some old Japanese guy.

If so, there's really no need for you to post anything, let alone numerous messages pointing out how much you don't care.

Seems that quite a few who have posted feel he's a pretty cool dude who's done good things for the world of performance cars. To be that age and still developing world-class supercars is something special. I feel it a tragedy and a loss of a legend.

As for the whole steel thing, I am not aware of any difference in mechanical properties between steel made from ore (which technically produces iron first then steel) or that which is recycled.

CF splinters and shatters, but in doing so, it dissipates energy. There are nigh-on infinite configurations to produce cfrp (and composites in general) parts that it is silly to say that it simply just doesn't absorb impact energy. For ductile materials such as steels and aluminium alloys, it is generally the design that governs energy absorption rather than the material itself. You can make one as safe as the other, basically.

Like someone said earlier, who lives/dies is probably more to do with happenstance rather than safety features. Hope the bmw guys recover soon, though.

[oldmanstyle]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

No one knows the circumstances of the accident. The Lexus test driver was 67 yrs. old. Maybe he had a heart attach, a stroke or whatever? We simply don't know. Rushing to judgment doesn't change anything. The damage is done. If he was apexing and/or driving dangerously I would be the first to chastise him but we simply don't know the circumstances. It doesn't look like a very high speed collision. If either of the BMW test drivers survives maybe we'll learn more?

I agree we don't know, it's just the way it looks: a supercar with a test driver (with helmet on?) has a head on collision near the apex of what looks to be a sharp/blind turn on a public highway near the 'ring.

A medical condition that happened to send him into the apex is plausible, but just does not seem like the most likely explanation. 67 is not that old and I assume a test driver is in better/much better shape than the average 67 yr old.

[oldmanstyle]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

All assumptions... which is why I suggested we wait for details.

I agree we wait on the final report, but those aren't all assumptions in the post you quoted.

[330CIZHP]

Just hours before death, chief test engineer Hirumo Naruse was doing hot laps around Nurburgring in the limit 570 HP Nurburgring edition of the LF-A.

I would say, Toyota owes him every single performance car they ever built from the 2000 GT, 1600 GT, Celica, Supra Mark 4 Twin Turbo, MR-S, AE-86, MR2, Lexus LF-A. Without him there is no hope for Toyota to bring back their past of high performance cars. He was essentially Toyota performance.

He was the main person behind the successful wins of the Gazoo Lexus LF-A racing program in 24-hours endurance races.

[oldmanstyle]

looks like there was also a passenger in the LFA who died in the accident

http://www.newsoxy.com/world/toyota-...led-13492.html

[330CIZHP]

Originally Posted by oldmanstyle

looks like there was also a passenger in the LFA who died in the accident

http://www.newsoxy.com/world/toyota-...led-13492.html

Toyota officially confirmed and Akio Toyoda issued a statement regarding Naruse's death. They did not mention anything about a passenger. If you look at the pictures I posted above lapping the Nurburgring hours before his death, Naruse was driving solo.

[oldmanstyle]

Just posting what I read. Maybe someone accompanied him to the track but wasn't with him during the lapping session?

[parafrog1]

In shape or not, 67 years on this planet is pretty old. And I would say too old to be a test driver for a car like that. Legend or not- his time was up and he had NO business being in that car and testing it for Lexus.

Just like a test pilot for a fighter aircraft, you need a test pilot in their prime with FULL command of their body, mind, faculties, etc..

This guy's ability to react to the car and provide precise input at critical times MUST have been terribly lacking.

Let me say that this is a terrible thing and I wish his family the best. At the least, he died doing what he loved.

But its my position that this guy had NO business behind the wheel of this thing at his age. Hey guys, talk to a 67 year old person some time. See how they move. I mean, seriously? It's like putting Chuck Yeager in an F-22 to test it right as he's approaching 70 years old. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Just my humble opinion

[Scoobe]

Flying an F-22 requires infinitely more than driving a Lexus, but I get what you're saying and agree.

[FStop7]

Originally Posted by parafrog1

In shape or not, 67 years on this planet is pretty old. And I would say too old to be a test driver for a car like that. Legend or not- his time was up and he had NO business being in that car and testing it for Lexus.

Just like a test pilot for a fighter aircraft, you need a test pilot in their prime with FULL command of their body, mind, faculties, etc..

This guy's ability to react to the car and provide precise input at critical times MUST have been terribly lacking.

Let me say that this is a terrible thing and I wish his family the best. At the least, he died doing what he loved.

But its my position that this guy had NO business behind the wheel of this thing at his age. Hey guys, talk to a 67 year old person some time. See how they move. I mean, seriously? It's like putting Chuck Yeager in an F-22 to test it right as he's approaching 70 years old. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Just my humble opinion

LOL seriously? Are you like 15?

[parafrog1]

Nope, over 40. I take it you disagree.

[FStop7]

Originally Posted by parafrog1

Nope, over 40. I take it you disagree.

Walter Rohrl, Porsche's lead test driver and probably the fastest man (on average) around the Ring is 63. Paul Newman would have raced until he was 100 years old, it was only cancer that stopped him. Hans Stuck is 59. Toshio Suzuki, the driver who put the GTR around the Ring in 7:27, is 56.

[parafrog1]

Originally Posted by FStop7

Walter Rohrl, Porsche's lead test driver and probably the fastest man (on average) around the Ring is 63. Paul Newman would have raced until he was 100 years old, it was only cancer that stopped him. Hans Stuck is 59. Toshio Suzuki, the driver who put the GTR around the Ring in 7:27, is 56.

Look, your point is well taken. Rohrl, OK I'll give you him. But Suzuki and Stuck, still relatively young. 56 and 59 are WAY different than 67.

Believe me, I'm not and ageist and I'm not trying to be flippant with respect to what these men have accomplished. Truly amazing stuff. But I still stand by my point that a guy almost 70 years old should not be pushing a car like the LFA to its limits.

Am I out in left field on this one?

[EJ_92606]

Originally Posted by parafrog1

In shape or not, 67 years on this planet is pretty old. And I would say too old to be a test driver for a car like that. Legend or not- his time was up and he had NO business being in that car and testing it for Lexus.

Just like a test pilot for a fighter aircraft, you need a test pilot in their prime with FULL command of their body, mind, faculties, etc..

This guy's ability to react to the car and provide precise input at critical times MUST have been terribly lacking.

Let me say that this is a terrible thing and I wish his family the best. At the least, he died doing what he loved.

But its my position that this guy had NO business behind the wheel of this thing at his age. Hey guys, talk to a 67 year old person some time. See how they move. I mean, seriously? It's like putting Chuck Yeager in an F-22 to test it right as he's approaching 70 years old. Doesn't make much sense, does it?

Just my humble opinion

Well the accident happened on a public road and not on a test track, so presumably he was driving at much below the limits. I think there is much more to being a test driver than being the absolute fastest driver there is, although it sounds like this guy, even at his age was very fast.

[PrePharm]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

No one knows the circumstances of the accident. The Lexus test driver was 67 yrs. old. Maybe he had a heart attach, a stroke or whatever? We simply don't know. Rushing to judgment doesn't change anything. The damage is done. If he was apexing and/or driving dangerously I would be the first to chastise him but we simply don't know the circumstances. It doesn't look like a very high speed collision. If either of the BMW test drivers survives maybe we'll learn more?

[oldmanstyle]

I think the way age is being referenced is off base. The point is not how age relates to competency or ability, but how it relates to the condition of the human body and its ability to survive extreme g-forces.

[oldmanstyle]

Originally Posted by parafrog1

Am I out in left field on this one?

I understand your point and agree to some extent, but I can also see how judgment based on age would be way more relaxed for a test car driver as opposed to a pilot. With a test driver I think it's better to use judgment on a case by case basis. If he's turning 9 minute laps on the 'ring in an LFA then his time is probably up, but if he's still got it no one should be able to tell him his time is up.

[CarForHire]