Planet 9

Next generation Carrera test driver killed :-(

RIP

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Whoa... do you know any other circumstances to the accident?

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Sad to see, please provide rest of story if you can, looks like it was a cabriolet too and certainly traveling at a high rate of speed. Very sad.

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Gz...RIP...

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2006 Porsche Cayman S, Lapis Blue, Tiptronics, 997TT-style wheels, Sprint Booster, HIP clear engine cover, Schild trunk liner, Milltek catback exhaust

From another Carrera website:

A 998 convertible crashed this morning in slight rain on the german Autobahn.
The reasons for the accident are still unknown,as the driver was one of the most experienced test drivers of the company and did not do high speed tests,since he was going to do a long distance testing that night.
The driver,a 51 year old test driver with 25 years of experience with P-Cars,was killed in the accident.

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Reported to have been driving at a "high rate of speed" on an unlimited stretch of the Autobahn, followed by another test driver in a camouflaged Panamera also undergoing endurance testing.

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Dan

Here is more of the complete story. It was a 991 prototype.
Porsche Test Driver Dies Testing Pre-Production 911 - worldcarfans

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Cayman 2007
Boxster 2005
Boxster 2001

Poor fella....but what a way to go doing a job he no doubt loved.
The guard rail looks like a really bad design in terms of its height and lack of lower guard.

+1. What a horrible rail... That's basically decapitation. Ugh.

It has now been reported on some other car web sites that the Panamera collided with the other Porsche causing it to lose control.

What I find surprising is that Porsche has not posted a press release. The guy did work for Porsche for 25 years.

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Cayman 2007
Boxster 2005
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That guard rail design or lack of is criminal.

zornet

As per greycroc's #7 Post:
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by Zack Newmark
February 13, 2009 1:34 PM

A 51-year-old died in Germany this morning following an accident involving a Porsche 911 cabrio prototype. The victim, a Porsche engineer, was driving the car on the A5 Autobahn when he lost control and slammed into a guard rail.

The one-car accident happened at 2:45am just past the Weiterstadt exit on the motorway. Photos of the scene show the sports car wedged under the barrier, with the rail making contact near where the driver's head and torso would have been.

A spokesman for Porsche said the engineer "was one of the most experienced test drivers." The company representative confirmed that the car was a camouflaged cabrio covered with foil to mask parts of the vehicle's appearance. He also noted that, although it did not rollover, the convertible does not have the same resilience as a coupe.

Police and fire department personnel responded to the scene from nearby Darmstadt. The public prosecutor there has taken charge of the ongoing investigation. The location of the accident was midway between Frankfurt and Heidelberg, in the German province of Hessen.

It is not yet known what caused the accident. Witnesses say the driver, who has worked for the German company for 25 years, was driving a prototype of a new Porsche 991 model at a high rate of speed. That stretch of road does not have a speed limit. He was being followed by a second Porsche testdriver in a camouflaged four-door Porsche Panamera prototype.

That driver successfully evaded the crash, and escaped unharmed. Although the accident did take place at an unusual hour, both drivers were working on a 10pm to 6am shift. An initial damage estimate is said to be several thousands of Euro.

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Thanks for the info Zornet

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Cayman 2007
Boxster 2005
Boxster 2001

Sorry for being redundant, but I really cannot believe the design of that "guard rail." Especially and particularily on a portion of the Autobahn. That's just sad for all concerned.

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Cayman S – A Six Cylinder Symphony

Agreement with many of the above. I looked at the picture a few times to see if it had become damaged and pushed up higher, and apparently not.

As said, if another physical barrier were lower on the rail, the driver would likely still be having breakfast the next day.

R.I.P I hate to hear of these incidents.Ditto on rail design.I recently watched a t.v.special on the Autobahn and its construction and use of safety barriers specificaly designed for the high speed stretches.I'am suprized by the photo evidence.Maybe more will be revealed maybe not, either way an unfortunate incident...again Rest in peace

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Porsche Test Driver Fatality Follow Up - worldcarfans

I am stunned by the look of that barrier. He is dead because of it's design based upon what I can see in the picture. What are we missing here?

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2007 Speed Yellow Cayman GT 2.7 (retired)
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It's impossible to predict everything that may happen in an accident. We have no idea what the guard rail looked like before the accident so the guard rail can hardly be blamed. The driver screwed up and killed himself. Being hung up on the guard rail killing him is what's gonna lead to ignorance about driving safely.

We should instead be trying to figure out what he did wrong so that we can learn from it.

110 to 120 km/hr is not that fast. That's a typical speed limit in quite a few European countries that have limits.