RIP Paul Walker
November 30, 2013 8:51 PM Subscribe
So sad. Wayyy too young. I thought it was a hoax at first.
posted by sweetkid at 8:55 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by sweetkid at 8:55 PM on November 30, 2013
There's a great picture of his car online - it's absolutely obliterated, barely recognizable as a vehicle. The crash must have been incredible.
Nearby, there is a 15 mph speed limit with a turn arrow.
posted by Mitrovarr at 8:56 PM on November 30, 2013
Nearby, there is a 15 mph speed limit with a turn arrow.
posted by Mitrovarr at 8:56 PM on November 30, 2013
Not every Paul Walker movie I have seen is good, but I have enjoyed every Paul Walker movie I have seen.
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:07 PM on November 30, 2013 [18 favorites]
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:07 PM on November 30, 2013 [18 favorites]
Looks like they jumped the curb and wrapped around a small tree head on in a sports car then exploded. The tree is still upright. The crumple zone of the car didn't work right with a small pole it didn't have the ability to slow the car down before the pole reached critical areas and the gas tank exploded. Like pushing a knife sharp-end first through butter, instead of flat-side first. As a guess.
posted by stbalbach at 9:08 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by stbalbach at 9:08 PM on November 30, 2013
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Very sad. He was only a month older than I am. Gone way too soon...
posted by SisterHavana at 9:11 PM on November 30, 2013
Very sad. He was only a month older than I am. Gone way too soon...
posted by SisterHavana at 9:11 PM on November 30, 2013
The Fast and Furious movies are one of my greatest guilty pleasures. The absurdity of the series, and Walker's vaguely blank charisma as set against Vin Diesel, they're something I can just watch anytime. I'm sorry to hear of his death, and sorry that he won't be around for the utter absurdity of the seventh, the eighth, and so on of the series.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:15 PM on November 30, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 9:15 PM on November 30, 2013 [5 favorites]
I absolutely loved the Fast & Furious franchise--they were absolutely great popcorn movies and I have fond memories of laughing hysterically at all of them in the theaters with friends. The franchise was totally unapologetic about what it offered (ridiculous car chases, hot people) and I loved it for that--as well as its unapologetically diverse cast.
Sounds like both he and the other passenger were experienced drivers; what a terrible slip. My thoughts go to their families.
posted by TwoStride at 9:18 PM on November 30, 2013 [4 favorites]
Sounds like both he and the other passenger were experienced drivers; what a terrible slip. My thoughts go to their families.
posted by TwoStride at 9:18 PM on November 30, 2013 [4 favorites]
I saw this exploding on my FB feed and I was all confused because... well, I've never heard of the guy.
Then, I recall telling my dad about someone famous dying when I was younger and he had no idea who the hell I was talking about, and now I realize...
I have turned into my father.
. for him though. 40 is too young.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:19 PM on November 30, 2013 [17 favorites]
Then, I recall telling my dad about someone famous dying when I was younger and he had no idea who the hell I was talking about, and now I realize...
I have turned into my father.
. for him though. 40 is too young.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:19 PM on November 30, 2013 [17 favorites]
Sad. Twitter is not enjoyable right now. The same stupid joke.
Sad.
posted by glaucon at 9:23 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Sad.
posted by glaucon at 9:23 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
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posted by IvoShandor at 9:24 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by IvoShandor at 9:24 PM on November 30, 2013
he was a true car enthusiast. also seemed like a genuine person. this is really sad.
really upset about this. I didn't know him, never met him, but as a huge car need I felt like he was one of 'us'
:(
posted by ninjew at 9:25 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
really upset about this. I didn't know him, never met him, but as a huge car need I felt like he was one of 'us'
:(
posted by ninjew at 9:25 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is rough. I love the F&F movies (especially 5, which is pretty much the platonic ideal of an action movie), and Walker always seemed like a genuinely decent guy.
posted by Frobenius Twist at 9:30 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Frobenius Twist at 9:30 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
They started production for FF 7 in September. So there's a good chance they have enough film for him to be in the movie.
posted by FJT at 9:37 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by FJT at 9:37 PM on November 30, 2013
There was a really informative comment on the first reddit thread, but due to (insert standard rant about reddit users and mods) stupidity the entire post got deleted. It was filled with allegedly first hand information which dispelled a lot of the rumors and questions running around. From what I can remember:
* he was not driving, his friend/business partner was driving
* the car was reportedly co-owned by Walker, through his organization
* it happened right by the organizations offices, an empty warehouse district
* no other vehicles were involved, no racing of any kind was involved
* no substance abuse was involved
Of course, I can't verify any of that (especially not now that it's gone) but in case it's useful information, there you go.
I really loved those movies. They were insanely silly, but I loved them all the same.
posted by trackofalljades at 9:39 PM on November 30, 2013 [6 favorites]
* he was not driving, his friend/business partner was driving
* the car was reportedly co-owned by Walker, through his organization
* it happened right by the organizations offices, an empty warehouse district
* no other vehicles were involved, no racing of any kind was involved
* no substance abuse was involved
Of course, I can't verify any of that (especially not now that it's gone) but in case it's useful information, there you go.
I really loved those movies. They were insanely silly, but I loved them all the same.
posted by trackofalljades at 9:39 PM on November 30, 2013 [6 favorites]
Yeah, he was a passenger which makes it even sadder.
posted by Renoroc at 9:42 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by Renoroc at 9:42 PM on November 30, 2013
Here's an image of the accident. I drive fast cars. I can't tell if this is a bend, but to lose control, have two fatalities and accomplish a trail of fire like this driving a Porsche? You have to either be drunk or driving insanely fast. This car can hit a top speed of 200mph. I mean the GT is known for being a little squirrely, but still. I don't see any skid marks, maybe they bumped the curve and went flying into a tree. But I mean, what are we talking about here. Those trees are freshly planted. It looks more like they tore the car in half hitting a light pole.
A friend of a friend who lives near the accident mentioned that there is a lot of drag racing in this area of Santa Clarita, but I can't confirm that.
posted by phaedon at 10:03 PM on November 30, 2013
A friend of a friend who lives near the accident mentioned that there is a lot of drag racing in this area of Santa Clarita, but I can't confirm that.
posted by phaedon at 10:03 PM on November 30, 2013
Paul Walker loved Jacques Cousteau. His degree was in marine biology, and he called Cousteau his "idol" in an interview with Indiwire. He was on the board of the Bilfish Foundation, which studied blue marlin and black marlin. Here's how he described some of their work: "So we are pulling marlin out of the ocean, taking DNA samples, putting satellite tags on them and releasing them. If their numbers plummet, we have a pretty good idea as to what is going on with the remainder of the ocean and the general health of it."
I'd like to have heard more from him about the ocean. I would have liked if he had continued making Fast and Furious movies, which I enjoy. I would like it if everybody on social media hadn't decided that Paul Walker dying in a car crash is hilarious.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 10:11 PM on November 30, 2013 [55 favorites]
I'd like to have heard more from him about the ocean. I would have liked if he had continued making Fast and Furious movies, which I enjoy. I would like it if everybody on social media hadn't decided that Paul Walker dying in a car crash is hilarious.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 10:11 PM on November 30, 2013 [55 favorites]
Buzzfeed has collected some more of the (truly horrific) pictures. I think you can see skidmarks in one of them, but yeah, for damage like that they must've been flying. The local sheriff's department is reporting that "speed was a factor," which seems pretty obvious...
posted by TwoStride at 10:12 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by TwoStride at 10:12 PM on November 30, 2013
Those trees are freshly planted.
How can you tell?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:12 PM on November 30, 2013
How can you tell?
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 10:12 PM on November 30, 2013
Here's an image of the accident.
That's a lot of fire. Nitro tank, maybe?
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posted by Sys Rq at 10:20 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's a lot of fire. Nitro tank, maybe?
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posted by Sys Rq at 10:20 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was able to retrieve the deleted reddit comment I mentioned earlier from my phone, here it is in case it's useful to anyone:
I'm posting this with a throw away account because I don't want to profit from this tragedy, but here are some facts about the accident today that everyone needs to know:
I was at the event an hour before the crash and 3 of my close friends were first responders at the scene.
**Paul was NOT driving the car, the car was being driven by Roger Rodas, his business partner at Always Evolving**
**They were NOT street racing - There was no other car involved**
**The only car involved was a Porsche Carrera GT owned by Always Evolving, which is part owned by Paul Walker**
**The crash happened on a quiet industrial area, directly in front of the AE shop**
**Paul was there to support a Christmas Toy Drive - This was NOT a racing event / underground street race / anything of the sort**
**Roger lost control of the car, spun, hit a pole and the car broke in half and burned**
**Edit: There were NO DRUGS and NO ALCOHOL involved, at all. There was zero alcohol at the event.**
Paul was a very casual acquaintance of mine, I doubt if he even remembers who I was, but he was very close friends with a good friend of mine - Paul was was very gracious to everyone he met and an overall nice guy.
Please help me dispel any rumors that could taint his memory - Yes, he was the Fast and Furious guy, but street racing and endangering lives was not his thing.
posted by trackofalljades at 10:21 PM on November 30, 2013 [18 favorites]
I'm posting this with a throw away account because I don't want to profit from this tragedy, but here are some facts about the accident today that everyone needs to know:
I was at the event an hour before the crash and 3 of my close friends were first responders at the scene.
**Paul was NOT driving the car, the car was being driven by Roger Rodas, his business partner at Always Evolving**
**They were NOT street racing - There was no other car involved**
**The only car involved was a Porsche Carrera GT owned by Always Evolving, which is part owned by Paul Walker**
**The crash happened on a quiet industrial area, directly in front of the AE shop**
**Paul was there to support a Christmas Toy Drive - This was NOT a racing event / underground street race / anything of the sort**
**Roger lost control of the car, spun, hit a pole and the car broke in half and burned**
**Edit: There were NO DRUGS and NO ALCOHOL involved, at all. There was zero alcohol at the event.**
Paul was a very casual acquaintance of mine, I doubt if he even remembers who I was, but he was very close friends with a good friend of mine - Paul was was very gracious to everyone he met and an overall nice guy.
Please help me dispel any rumors that could taint his memory - Yes, he was the Fast and Furious guy, but street racing and endangering lives was not his thing.
posted by trackofalljades at 10:21 PM on November 30, 2013 [18 favorites]
I interviewed Paul Walker back in 2001 when he was in Australia doing promotion for the first Fast and the Furious film. The folks doing PR for the film invited a whole lot of student journalists to the Australian premier and after party, presumably because the film didn't have enough buzz at that time to attract real journalists.
My main memories of the interview surround the fact that he was really, really nice to us when we asked our cringe-worthy student-journalist questions. Also, when he found out that we were science students, he said something along the lines of "Oh man, I always wanted to be a marine biologist. Those dolphins are so cool man!".
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 10:23 PM on November 30, 2013 [15 favorites]
My main memories of the interview surround the fact that he was really, really nice to us when we asked our cringe-worthy student-journalist questions. Also, when he found out that we were science students, he said something along the lines of "Oh man, I always wanted to be a marine biologist. Those dolphins are so cool man!".
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 10:23 PM on November 30, 2013 [15 favorites]
Also, he was REALLY nice about the fact that we asked him the extreme-gender-studies question that we'd been planning to ask Michelle Rodriguez (who at that time had just appeared in Girlfight, and who was meant to be doing the promo tour as well but backed out last minute). Looking back, I can't quite believe that he answered our question on feminism and The Fast and the Furious with a straight face...
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 10:27 PM on November 30, 2013 [15 favorites]
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 10:27 PM on November 30, 2013 [15 favorites]
. Loved the FF movies. I see I'm not alone on the blue either.
posted by wuwei at 10:29 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by wuwei at 10:29 PM on November 30, 2013
He was the human hero in Eight Below, the most emotionally scarring Disney movie of all time. But he was very appealing in it. He was the only part of the movie that didn't give me nightmares.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:31 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:31 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
That's a lot of fire. Nitro tank, maybe?
Nitrous on a Carrera GT? The car already goes 0-60 in under 4. Jesus Christ, how fast do you need to go? I'm not a Porsche guy but that seems downright insulting. Maybe he had a methanol tank in the trunk to keep engine temperatures down, but still. Those tanks aren't all that big, plenty of time to escape. I just know there's going to be some gory detail to come out; this isn't a normal accident.
The crash happened on a quiet industrial area, directly in front of the AE shop
Well I mean there you go. Most tune shops are in quiet industrial areas, and have a street nearby where you hot dog it. The implication here is that the Carrera could have been a project car and they were pushing it to the absolute limit. Horrific.
posted by phaedon at 10:34 PM on November 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
Nitrous on a Carrera GT? The car already goes 0-60 in under 4. Jesus Christ, how fast do you need to go? I'm not a Porsche guy but that seems downright insulting. Maybe he had a methanol tank in the trunk to keep engine temperatures down, but still. Those tanks aren't all that big, plenty of time to escape. I just know there's going to be some gory detail to come out; this isn't a normal accident.
The crash happened on a quiet industrial area, directly in front of the AE shop
Well I mean there you go. Most tune shops are in quiet industrial areas, and have a street nearby where you hot dog it. The implication here is that the Carrera could have been a project car and they were pushing it to the absolute limit. Horrific.
posted by phaedon at 10:34 PM on November 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
I don't know about "gory" detail, but from the photographs a simple explanation of high speed plus super lightweight car plus inelastic collision with tree seems perfectly plausible.
You've gotta understand how that kind of vehicle, bone stock, can move. Operator error alone could easily launch it into the air, without even colliding with so much as a loose rock on the road.
posted by trackofalljades at 10:38 PM on November 30, 2013
You've gotta understand how that kind of vehicle, bone stock, can move. Operator error alone could easily launch it into the air, without even colliding with so much as a loose rock on the road.
posted by trackofalljades at 10:38 PM on November 30, 2013
You've gotta understand how that kind of vehicle, bone stock, can move.
612 horsepower, normally aspirated. This is quite possibly the car under discussion. Reload a couple of time to overcome the database error.
Here are two close-ups of the crash. No I'm wrong, it's not the same car. It's a convertible. Can't tell if it flipped because the back seats are missing. Looks like the rear end, everything behind and including the b-pillar, is totally gone. And the frame above the windshield is cracked completely in half.
posted by phaedon at 10:46 PM on November 30, 2013
612 horsepower, normally aspirated. This is quite possibly the car under discussion. Reload a couple of time to overcome the database error.
Here are two close-ups of the crash. No I'm wrong, it's not the same car. It's a convertible. Can't tell if it flipped because the back seats are missing. Looks like the rear end, everything behind and including the b-pillar, is totally gone. And the frame above the windshield is cracked completely in half.
posted by phaedon at 10:46 PM on November 30, 2013
Jesus. Those photos. I guess I understand why people like fast cars. I will never get why people open them up on roads that aren't meant for it.
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posted by Hoopo at 10:49 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Hoopo at 10:49 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Hood is intact though so this was possibly a side collision with incredible force. That or the car flipped a number of times. I mean, there's nothing left hanging on the car. Damage on every side of the car, maybe just from the fire. My sincere condolences to the families of those involved, I'm just doing some out-loud photo analysis.
posted by phaedon at 10:54 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by phaedon at 10:54 PM on November 30, 2013
he said something along the lines of "Oh man, I always wanted to be a marine biologist. Those dolphins are so cool man!".
IIRC there was a nature show he did a while back where he was on a boat fanboying really happily over sharks and almost had to be restrained from actually hugging them.
posted by elizardbits at 10:54 PM on November 30, 2013 [21 favorites]
IIRC there was a nature show he did a while back where he was on a boat fanboying really happily over sharks and almost had to be restrained from actually hugging them.
posted by elizardbits at 10:54 PM on November 30, 2013 [21 favorites]
Duh, I forgot the Porsche's engine is in the rear. That big chunk of metal to the left of the car is the engine. Fuck me that thing is huge.
posted by phaedon at 10:58 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by phaedon at 10:58 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Mitrovarr: "it's absolutely obliterated, barely recognizable as a vehicle."
Modern cars all look like that after any kind of serious accident (and serious starts kicking in somewhere around 30 mph, one doesn't have to be speeding recklessly) because they are designed to absorb impact deceleration forces by shedding pieces of themselves. You don't notice it as much with regular sedans because of the greater percentage of the body composing the non-deforming passenger compartment. However a rear engine sports car is going to shed most of the car behind the b-pillars. Add on a good fire (plain old gasoline will get you there easily, no need to speculate on nitrous or anything) and ya, the car will be a mess.
phaedon: " Fuck me that thing is huge."
It's a DOHC V10; they take up a lot of volume.
posted by Mitheral at 11:02 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Modern cars all look like that after any kind of serious accident (and serious starts kicking in somewhere around 30 mph, one doesn't have to be speeding recklessly) because they are designed to absorb impact deceleration forces by shedding pieces of themselves. You don't notice it as much with regular sedans because of the greater percentage of the body composing the non-deforming passenger compartment. However a rear engine sports car is going to shed most of the car behind the b-pillars. Add on a good fire (plain old gasoline will get you there easily, no need to speculate on nitrous or anything) and ya, the car will be a mess.
phaedon: " Fuck me that thing is huge."
It's a DOHC V10; they take up a lot of volume.
posted by Mitheral at 11:02 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Mitheral: However a rear engine sports car is going to shed most of the car behind the b-pillars.
I didn't realize that was a rear-engine car. That does allow the possibility of a somewhat lower speed accident. There's no way a normal car would look like that after an accident at a normal speed because the tree would have hit the engine and stopped, and only a truly extreme accident would have either cut through the engine or pushed it into the passenger compartment.
posted by Mitrovarr at 11:09 PM on November 30, 2013
I didn't realize that was a rear-engine car. That does allow the possibility of a somewhat lower speed accident. There's no way a normal car would look like that after an accident at a normal speed because the tree would have hit the engine and stopped, and only a truly extreme accident would have either cut through the engine or pushed it into the passenger compartment.
posted by Mitrovarr at 11:09 PM on November 30, 2013
Ok, outstanding amounts of damage appears to be a thing for the Carrera GT, probably due to a combination of high speeds and driver error. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. One of these links describes the accident as a mid-air collision with a semi at 160mph.
Folks, it wasn't too long ago that Ryan Dunn of "Jackass" fame died in a Porsche accident. This was all that was left of his car. I wonder if Porsche is going to have to say anything about this, I don't understand how a car with practically speaking no roll cage can be street legal.
posted by phaedon at 11:16 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Folks, it wasn't too long ago that Ryan Dunn of "Jackass" fame died in a Porsche accident. This was all that was left of his car. I wonder if Porsche is going to have to say anything about this, I don't understand how a car with practically speaking no roll cage can be street legal.
posted by phaedon at 11:16 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't think the front of the car impacted the tree in a way that would have had the engine of a front engine car interacting with the tree because the bonnet in the pictures phaedon linked is complete and seemingly undamaged.
posted by Mitheral at 11:18 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 11:18 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Man, so tragic. I didn't know anything about his interest in marine biology until today, and that makes me like him even more.
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posted by brundlefly at 11:22 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by brundlefly at 11:22 PM on November 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Speeding kills.
In the US, you get about 12000 deaths a year from speeding related RTA's. I guess now is as good a time to remember that.
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posted by zoo at 11:43 PM on November 30, 2013 [4 favorites]
In the US, you get about 12000 deaths a year from speeding related RTA's. I guess now is as good a time to remember that.
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posted by zoo at 11:43 PM on November 30, 2013 [4 favorites]
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posted by Token Meme at 11:48 PM on November 30, 2013
posted by Token Meme at 11:48 PM on November 30, 2013
Buzzfeed has collected some more of the (truly horrific) pictures. I think you can see skidmarks in one of them, but yeah, for damage like that they must've been flying. The local sheriff's department is reporting that "speed was a factor," which seems pretty obvious...
TMZ now has video up. The seemingly sleepy road is at least four lanes wide, seemingly one way, or at the very least with no island. The car shooting the video is a modded BMW M3, and the other blue car in the beginning looks slammed as well. This is a really high concentration of tuned cars that just happen to be driving on the same road, and the person shooting the video said "they are coming from the same area."
You can see here the Carrera has taken out an entire row of trees on the other side of the sidewalk, suggesting in its final moments it was out of control but going relatively straight. But you see also skid marks and pieces of car all over the middle of the road, far away from the Carrera in its final resting spot. This to me suggests there may have been another car involved. Perhaps there was even a collision.
I hope the police are picking up all the pieces.
Assuming these are all from the same accident, you can see here two significant skid marks going in two different directions.
posted by phaedon at 11:49 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
TMZ now has video up. The seemingly sleepy road is at least four lanes wide, seemingly one way, or at the very least with no island. The car shooting the video is a modded BMW M3, and the other blue car in the beginning looks slammed as well. This is a really high concentration of tuned cars that just happen to be driving on the same road, and the person shooting the video said "they are coming from the same area."
You can see here the Carrera has taken out an entire row of trees on the other side of the sidewalk, suggesting in its final moments it was out of control but going relatively straight. But you see also skid marks and pieces of car all over the middle of the road, far away from the Carrera in its final resting spot. This to me suggests there may have been another car involved. Perhaps there was even a collision.
I hope the police are picking up all the pieces.
Assuming these are all from the same accident, you can see here two significant skid marks going in two different directions.
posted by phaedon at 11:49 PM on November 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
For many years, I lived, breathed, and ate The Fast and the Furious, it was an all-consuming fandom for me. When they got the band back together for the fourth movie, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. I feel utterly devastated by this, which is ridiculous since it's not like I knew him, but for many years of my life, something he did gave me enormous joy, and I can't quite believe he's gone. I can't accept this, especially since he was so excited recently about the news of an eighth F&F movie.
posted by emcat8 at 12:01 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by emcat8 at 12:01 AM on December 1, 2013
This is how I choose to remember Paul Walker, a children's game show contestant circa 1987 alongside his sister Ashlie.
I'm Telling Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Or you can watch one of many clips from Who's the Boss and Highway to Heaven to Pleasantville and Charles in Charge.
posted by inturnaround at 12:43 AM on December 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm Telling Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Or you can watch one of many clips from Who's the Boss and Highway to Heaven to Pleasantville and Charles in Charge.
posted by inturnaround at 12:43 AM on December 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
What an awful way to die. I hope they were both already gone upon impact. Nightmarish to think of anyone in a burning car.
. .
posted by but no cigar at 12:54 AM on December 1, 2013 [2 favorites]
. .
posted by but no cigar at 12:54 AM on December 1, 2013 [2 favorites]
My head is doing this weird thing of "Oh no, he was so young!" // "Wait, Paul Walker was FORTY?! Like hell! He looks twenty-five, and Fast & the Furious 1 came out five minutes ago!" // "Oh my god, forty is so YOUNG!"
I am a little surprised at how bummed his death makes me. Vin Diesel has always been my real car movie boyfriend, but Walker has this Keanu Reeves-ish enjoyably bland prettyboy bemusement that makes a pleasant, comforting blend with Vin's broody scenery-chewing.
I would never go see a movie just to see Paul Walker in it (like I have seen the terrible Vin Diesel movies), but his presence in a movie meant there was going to be a comfortable spot of warmth and eyecandy. And sometimes he would do his gruff cop voice and sound like a labradoodle puppy trying to be stern. But now, never again.
In conclusion, if you didn't enjoy Paul Walker as Skip the innocently chipper jock boyfriend who Reese Witherspoon corrupts in Pleasantville, I don't think I wanna be your friend anymore.
posted by nicebookrack at 1:14 AM on December 1, 2013 [12 favorites]
I am a little surprised at how bummed his death makes me. Vin Diesel has always been my real car movie boyfriend, but Walker has this Keanu Reeves-ish enjoyably bland prettyboy bemusement that makes a pleasant, comforting blend with Vin's broody scenery-chewing.
I would never go see a movie just to see Paul Walker in it (like I have seen the terrible Vin Diesel movies), but his presence in a movie meant there was going to be a comfortable spot of warmth and eyecandy. And sometimes he would do his gruff cop voice and sound like a labradoodle puppy trying to be stern. But now, never again.
In conclusion, if you didn't enjoy Paul Walker as Skip the innocently chipper jock boyfriend who Reese Witherspoon corrupts in Pleasantville, I don't think I wanna be your friend anymore.
posted by nicebookrack at 1:14 AM on December 1, 2013 [12 favorites]
Not every Paul Walker movie I have seen is good, but I have enjoyed every Paul Walker movie I have seen.
This is true for me. I haven't seen any of his F2F movies, but She's All That and Pleasentville are pretty good movies (the later especially).
posted by Mezentian at 1:35 AM on December 1, 2013
This is true for me. I haven't seen any of his F2F movies, but She's All That and Pleasentville are pretty good movies (the later especially).
posted by Mezentian at 1:35 AM on December 1, 2013
Very sad that he died. He seemed like a nice guy.
This was the event - a regular open house at the auto tuning house, this time with a toy drive.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:44 AM on December 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
This was the event - a regular open house at the auto tuning house, this time with a toy drive.
UPDATE: Our next open house and car meet is November 30th from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We will have complimentary doughnuts and coffee. Please call ahead to confirm as we may need to cancel due to weather or track events. Please bring a new toy with you as this meet will be a charity toy drive! Thank you!The driver was the owner of the tuning shop, who had racing experience. Rear engined Porsches of old always had a bit of a reputation as widowmakers because once the car over steered badly it was hard to recover. This was a modern, mid engined car though and not something an experienced driver would lose control of just like that. It's a combination of bad luck, going too fast, in the wrong place.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:44 AM on December 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
Just saw on BBC news he leaves behind a 15 year old daughter.
posted by Admira at 2:06 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by Admira at 2:06 AM on December 1, 2013
Aw man, I am so, so bummed. In a world where there was a dearth of decent action movies, I loved Fast & Furious. I had no idea Porsches crumpled like this :(
posted by Calzephyr at 4:09 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by Calzephyr at 4:09 AM on December 1, 2013
I am more saddened to read this than I would have expected. I really love the F&F movies, especially the cheesier bits (like that scene in Brazil under the onramp where they get schooled: This is Brasil!).
What a sad and senseless loss.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:21 AM on December 1, 2013
What a sad and senseless loss.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:21 AM on December 1, 2013
I just heard about this and my first thought, upon hearing actor + Porsche, was that it was some weird James Dean hoax. Poor guy.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:26 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:26 AM on December 1, 2013
I mean the GT is known for being a little squirrely, but still. I don't see any skid marks, maybe they bumped the curve and went flying into a tree. But I mean, what are we talking about here.
I'm just going by personal experience here, but the one time i was (and probably will ever be) behind the wheel of high performance sport car (and i was out in the middle of nowhere with the owner guiding me), it felt like it was going to get away from me and scared me enough to not want to do it again. Maybe the driver wasn't used to that type of car, and did the wrong thing thinking he was doing the right thing. Sort of like how people think they are hitting the breaks but are really hitting the acceleration thing that happened a lot a few years ago.
In the US, you get about 12000 deaths a year from speeding related RTA's. I guess now is as good a time to remember that.
I looked up total deaths by accidents and it was over 30,000 a year. That's a lot. I hate how people seem to forget that cars (counting trucks and such too) are deadly, and need to have control at all times. The amount of people i see not paying attention, texting, talking on the phone, not to mention drunk driving, makes me surprised the count isn't much higher.
posted by usagizero at 6:29 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm just going by personal experience here, but the one time i was (and probably will ever be) behind the wheel of high performance sport car (and i was out in the middle of nowhere with the owner guiding me), it felt like it was going to get away from me and scared me enough to not want to do it again. Maybe the driver wasn't used to that type of car, and did the wrong thing thinking he was doing the right thing. Sort of like how people think they are hitting the breaks but are really hitting the acceleration thing that happened a lot a few years ago.
In the US, you get about 12000 deaths a year from speeding related RTA's. I guess now is as good a time to remember that.
I looked up total deaths by accidents and it was over 30,000 a year. That's a lot. I hate how people seem to forget that cars (counting trucks and such too) are deadly, and need to have control at all times. The amount of people i see not paying attention, texting, talking on the phone, not to mention drunk driving, makes me surprised the count isn't much higher.
posted by usagizero at 6:29 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Looking at the reporting of Paul Walker's Porsche crash and the related pictures...I'm reminded of how powerful exotics are. I drove a 500+ hp Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera this summer at a closed track outside Las Vegas, and, even with no obstacles, taking sharp turns at 80+ mph is an exercise in respect for the machine...
posted by dfriedman at 6:33 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dfriedman at 6:33 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Roger Rodas, the driver of the Carrera GT in question, was an accomplished racer in his own right, which makes their deaths all the more pointless if he was indeed hooning it on city streets.
. and . for him and Paul Walker.
posted by evoque at 7:06 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
. and . for him and Paul Walker.
posted by evoque at 7:06 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not that this wasn't a horrific crash, but you can't really make a lot of judgments by the appearance of the car. The body on a modern exotic is essentially all show; lightweight metals and carbon fiber and such. The frame immediately around the occupants is really the only area designed to stay intact. It's not always successful, though.
And, 40 is way to young. RIP.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:13 AM on December 1, 2013
And, 40 is way to young. RIP.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 7:13 AM on December 1, 2013
.
He is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.
:(
posted by nicodine at 7:37 AM on December 1, 2013
He is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.
:(
posted by nicodine at 7:37 AM on December 1, 2013
The frame immediately around the occupants is really the only area designed to stay intact. It's not always successful, though.
Especially in the case of a convertible, as is the situation here.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:44 AM on December 1, 2013
Especially in the case of a convertible, as is the situation here.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:44 AM on December 1, 2013
Here's a very good brief note on Walker's life and death written by Anne Helen Petersen (whose writing I recommend in general - she's quite insightful on pop culture).
posted by Frobenius Twist at 7:50 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Frobenius Twist at 7:50 AM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is a bit eerie. I know nothing of the Fast & Furious movies, & didn't remember Walker from other things I've seen him in. So a few weeks ago I was rewatching Pleasantville, and wondered,"What ever happened to the guy playing Skip." In looking it up I ran across info that one of the young supporting cast had died several years ago, and I first thought it was him, and felt bad. Then I wiki'd and saw, oh, good for him, he's alive and been doing fine.
.
posted by NorthernLite at 8:20 AM on December 1, 2013
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posted by NorthernLite at 8:20 AM on December 1, 2013
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posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:28 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:28 AM on December 1, 2013
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posted by Anhedonic Donkey at 8:32 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by Anhedonic Donkey at 8:32 AM on December 1, 2013
He was a friend of a close friend of mine, although I never met him myself.
Apparently he was a really nice guy.
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posted by kyrademon at 8:47 AM on December 1, 2013
Apparently he was a really nice guy.
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posted by kyrademon at 8:47 AM on December 1, 2013
This was such sad news to wake up to. The F&F movies are one of the most inclusive franchises out there, and the "family you chose" theme of them made them a weird kind of feel-good films to me. Especially since it developed to have a lot of female characters who were included in the action on their own terms, kicking ass and driving cars and generally being action heroes and not any of the many tropes women in Hollywood films are often caught in. With my friends, we'd lovingly refer to Paul Walker as "the white guy" in those films, which is so unusual you probably couldn't do it with any other big movie, because - which white guy? There's so many everywhere!
He always seemed like someone trying his best to be a good person, and the fact that he was killed right before attending a charity event he'd put together to raise money for the Philippines adds a level of well that's just unfair on top of how sad it is that he was so young, and left a daughter behind.
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posted by harujion at 8:55 AM on December 1, 2013 [9 favorites]
He always seemed like someone trying his best to be a good person, and the fact that he was killed right before attending a charity event he'd put together to raise money for the Philippines adds a level of well that's just unfair on top of how sad it is that he was so young, and left a daughter behind.
.
posted by harujion at 8:55 AM on December 1, 2013 [9 favorites]
.
Paul Walker was a much better actor than the roles he did. His poor family.
posted by right_then at 9:21 AM on December 1, 2013
Paul Walker was a much better actor than the roles he did. His poor family.
posted by right_then at 9:21 AM on December 1, 2013
List of [notable] people who died in road accidents (Paul Walker) — Going too fast, too furiously has many prequels. Thank God for the Internet, now the world's fastest and most detailed gapers' block.
posted by cenoxo at 9:26 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by cenoxo at 9:26 AM on December 1, 2013
.
posted by get off of my cloud at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by get off of my cloud at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2013
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:44 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:44 AM on December 1, 2013
So fast and so sad. He seemed like a truly decent guy, and the AHP piece linked above is excellent.
The car in question on Top Gear, which illustrates pretty well how light and twitchy and terrifyingly fast it really is. Their driver spends an entire morning in spinouts before they are able to take it for a speed lap. I think "unforgiving" is said at least twice.
Cars scare me.
posted by casarkos at 10:34 AM on December 1, 2013 [6 favorites]
The car in question on Top Gear, which illustrates pretty well how light and twitchy and terrifyingly fast it really is. Their driver spends an entire morning in spinouts before they are able to take it for a speed lap. I think "unforgiving" is said at least twice.
Cars scare me.
posted by casarkos at 10:34 AM on December 1, 2013 [6 favorites]
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posted by one teak forest at 10:42 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by one teak forest at 10:42 AM on December 1, 2013
Keep in mind Top Gear is entertainment not documentary. It's edited and scripted to that end.
posted by Mitheral at 10:50 AM on December 1, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 10:50 AM on December 1, 2013 [4 favorites]
Having said that, that episode was edited and scripted at least 5 years ago, so (by all means) unless there's something else to point to regarding the Carrera GT, you could say the car has a well-established reputation for being extremely squirrelly compared to its competition.
That being said, them dropping a deuce on electric cars like that isn't fair. But it also doesn't surprise me. Making things up about the Porsche would be a little more surprising. Or maybe your point is that they overemphasize minor problems with incredible editing and witty writing. It's certainly hard to tell if you're right since I don't drive a wide array of supercars for a living.
posted by phaedon at 11:10 AM on December 1, 2013
That being said, them dropping a deuce on electric cars like that isn't fair. But it also doesn't surprise me. Making things up about the Porsche would be a little more surprising. Or maybe your point is that they overemphasize minor problems with incredible editing and witty writing. It's certainly hard to tell if you're right since I don't drive a wide array of supercars for a living.
posted by phaedon at 11:10 AM on December 1, 2013
It's more that any professional driver isn't going to have trouble completing a lap in a car just because it is twitchy unless they are out on the track hooning it up. That lap might not be the the fastest the car can obtain but no one tests out a car by attempting to run it at 100% immediately. If the Stig was having that sort of problem in a production car it was because he was instructed to either directly or indirectly, or Jeremy was exaggerating the duration or intensity of The Stig's problems. Or both.
posted by Mitheral at 11:22 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by Mitheral at 11:22 AM on December 1, 2013
I can accept that The Stig's difficulties may have been strictly for show. The relevant part of the clip, for me, was around the 5:00 mark where Jeremy basically says if you are the least bit careless it will kill you.
posted by casarkos at 11:42 AM on December 1, 2013
posted by casarkos at 11:42 AM on December 1, 2013
Even though Top Gear is entertainment I doubt someone as competitive as The Stig would purposely let the rear end if a car come around. He was trying to steer out if it in that video.
Clearly a beastly car, under a brand known for perilous oversteer if the throttle isn't perfectly applied.
posted by glaucon at 12:37 PM on December 1, 2013
Clearly a beastly car, under a brand known for perilous oversteer if the throttle isn't perfectly applied.
posted by glaucon at 12:37 PM on December 1, 2013
If the Stig was having that sort of problem in a production car it was because he was instructed to either directly or indirectly,
I have to respectfully disagree. That is a pretty broad accusation that could mean a lot of things. Having worked in television, I will agree with you that even the practice laps are staged and that the storylines - on a show the size of Top Gear - were probably established in pre-production.
In the context of this conversation, however, I think it would be more fruitful to provide some evidence that the Carrera GT is in fact a terribly stable car, and that the Top Gear claims are wildly unfounded, rather than leveling the charge of fiction on that show. I mean, for God's sake, even the news is entertainment. That's the mother of all false dichotomies. Furthermore, It is well-known that different magazines come up with different "hard numbers," and by all accounts Top Gear's 0-60 claim on the Carrera GT is, if anything, conservative.
There are also some obligations. I'm sure the show is hated by some die-hard enthusiasts, but otherwise the show is wildly successful within the car community. It's no mystery, for example, that Clarkson loves gas guzzling and that Top Gear espouses a very specific, hyper-aggressive love for driving, that involves impractical amounts of speed and living on the edge. It is more likely that Top Gear leans towards making supercars appear drivable; when in reality, they are not, and the Stig is not simply running cold laps.
But the point still stands, Top Gear shouldn't be referred to as gospel. Another thing that should be mentioned - and please, correct me if I'm wrong - is that it is unclear to me whether Porsche is directly involved in motorsports any longer. I mean this very respectfully, but there has been a very concerted effort over the last few decades to make racing much safer, and the days of fast cars bursting into fireballs were supposed to be over. It is somewhat curious to me that Porsche remains involved in production-based road racing, making cars that are unbelievably expensive, fast and light as a feather. If this was more or less your mission statement, it would be highly preferred if famous rich people didn't die in fireballs driving your product. I'm trying my best to make this statement without sounding terribly naive. Caveat emptor and all that.
posted by phaedon at 1:13 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have to respectfully disagree. That is a pretty broad accusation that could mean a lot of things. Having worked in television, I will agree with you that even the practice laps are staged and that the storylines - on a show the size of Top Gear - were probably established in pre-production.
In the context of this conversation, however, I think it would be more fruitful to provide some evidence that the Carrera GT is in fact a terribly stable car, and that the Top Gear claims are wildly unfounded, rather than leveling the charge of fiction on that show. I mean, for God's sake, even the news is entertainment. That's the mother of all false dichotomies. Furthermore, It is well-known that different magazines come up with different "hard numbers," and by all accounts Top Gear's 0-60 claim on the Carrera GT is, if anything, conservative.
There are also some obligations. I'm sure the show is hated by some die-hard enthusiasts, but otherwise the show is wildly successful within the car community. It's no mystery, for example, that Clarkson loves gas guzzling and that Top Gear espouses a very specific, hyper-aggressive love for driving, that involves impractical amounts of speed and living on the edge. It is more likely that Top Gear leans towards making supercars appear drivable; when in reality, they are not, and the Stig is not simply running cold laps.
But the point still stands, Top Gear shouldn't be referred to as gospel. Another thing that should be mentioned - and please, correct me if I'm wrong - is that it is unclear to me whether Porsche is directly involved in motorsports any longer. I mean this very respectfully, but there has been a very concerted effort over the last few decades to make racing much safer, and the days of fast cars bursting into fireballs were supposed to be over. It is somewhat curious to me that Porsche remains involved in production-based road racing, making cars that are unbelievably expensive, fast and light as a feather. If this was more or less your mission statement, it would be highly preferred if famous rich people didn't die in fireballs driving your product. I'm trying my best to make this statement without sounding terribly naive. Caveat emptor and all that.
posted by phaedon at 1:13 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was sad to hear about this, as I liked this guy quite a bit. We recently watched Hours and it was a pretty good flick, and Walker was really showing some acting, rather than line-reading, chops.
It's shitty that the reason for these deaths is, it would seem, hooning around in a powerful car. In a sense I am "glad" it wasn't Walker behind the wheel, as it will let me continue to believe he had a lot more sense than that.
posted by turbid dahlia at 1:45 PM on December 1, 2013
It's shitty that the reason for these deaths is, it would seem, hooning around in a powerful car. In a sense I am "glad" it wasn't Walker behind the wheel, as it will let me continue to believe he had a lot more sense than that.
posted by turbid dahlia at 1:45 PM on December 1, 2013
The car in question is not far off from the type of car you might see racing at LeMans in the GT class, although of course they don't race convertibles. Porsche is still very involved in this type of racing and in fact, they recently signed Mark Webber away from Formula 1, although he will be driving a faster type of car. The makings of a serious race car are hiding underneath, even if it looks like your "everyday" Porsche convertible from the outside.
posted by feloniousmonk at 3:41 PM on December 1, 2013
posted by feloniousmonk at 3:41 PM on December 1, 2013
IIRC there was a nature show he did a while back where he was on a boat fanboying really happily over sharks and almost had to be restrained from actually hugging them.
This is the main reason I really liked the guy- he was on a season (or two?) of Shark Men on Nat Geo, which had sport fishermen and biologists teaming up to catch and tag Great Whites with a novel platform-style scoop.
posted by Dr. Zachary Smith at 3:55 PM on December 1, 2013
This is the main reason I really liked the guy- he was on a season (or two?) of Shark Men on Nat Geo, which had sport fishermen and biologists teaming up to catch and tag Great Whites with a novel platform-style scoop.
posted by Dr. Zachary Smith at 3:55 PM on December 1, 2013
My first thought - beyond 'isn't that ironic' and 'this is going to take up too much time in the media' - was: "Oh, he was in a Carrera GT? Big surprise."
I don't have any direct experience with Carrera GTs apart from working on Forza 4 and test driving the digital version, but almost since day one these things had a rep of being twitchier than most Porsches (which is to say, really fucking twitchy and when it's gone, it's way too far gone to recover).
No less a driver than Walter Röhrl, who did the test driving and final car set up on the Carrera GT, said it was a hell of a car to try and hang on to. So if a driver like this says, 'Whoa, that's a bit much', that's pretty much all I need to know.
Then again, I've never liked Porsches much. Wonderful racing record. R & D department right out of Peenemünde. But every last one of them that I've ever been around, much less driven, likes to be driven in one. Specific. Way. Deviate from that methodology, and there'll be hell to pay.
Sorry he crunched it, and as a passenger too, but the basic rule has always been: Don't drive faster than your car, or yourself, can handle. It's not about "speed kills" or "dangerous" cars or "dangerous" roads. It's about you knowing the limitations of your machine, your environment and yourself.
As John Surtees once said: "The throttle goes both ways."
posted by Relay at 4:07 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't have any direct experience with Carrera GTs apart from working on Forza 4 and test driving the digital version, but almost since day one these things had a rep of being twitchier than most Porsches (which is to say, really fucking twitchy and when it's gone, it's way too far gone to recover).
No less a driver than Walter Röhrl, who did the test driving and final car set up on the Carrera GT, said it was a hell of a car to try and hang on to. So if a driver like this says, 'Whoa, that's a bit much', that's pretty much all I need to know.
Then again, I've never liked Porsches much. Wonderful racing record. R & D department right out of Peenemünde. But every last one of them that I've ever been around, much less driven, likes to be driven in one. Specific. Way. Deviate from that methodology, and there'll be hell to pay.
Sorry he crunched it, and as a passenger too, but the basic rule has always been: Don't drive faster than your car, or yourself, can handle. It's not about "speed kills" or "dangerous" cars or "dangerous" roads. It's about you knowing the limitations of your machine, your environment and yourself.
As John Surtees once said: "The throttle goes both ways."
posted by Relay at 4:07 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Won't someone think of the Fast and the Furious? Apparently they were mid-way through filming the seventh film.
This is going to be fascinating to watch as an outsider. Although the idea that they might deal with the issue ala The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus makes me amused.
posted by Mezentian at 4:21 PM on December 1, 2013
This is going to be fascinating to watch as an outsider. Although the idea that they might deal with the issue ala The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus makes me amused.
posted by Mezentian at 4:21 PM on December 1, 2013
I recently had a couple revelations about why I enjoyed FF5 so much (despite the ridiculous action sequences and certain male gaze moments). The first is that it's not just an action movie, it's a heist movie, in the same vein as Ocean's 11, where you have a diverse group of people with a bunch of different skill sets all coming together to rob a bad person in a very creative fashion that is fun to watch.
The other thing is that it has people crossing over between the sides of the law and thievery. The gang helped out The Rock when his team got ambushed, and The Rock came back and helped the gang to rob the drug lord. Paul Walker's character operated in both worlds. I enjoyed all the different shades of gray that the plot wandered through. It sucks he won't be around to explore it any more.
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posted by A dead Quaker at 4:23 PM on December 1, 2013
The other thing is that it has people crossing over between the sides of the law and thievery. The gang helped out The Rock when his team got ambushed, and The Rock came back and helped the gang to rob the drug lord. Paul Walker's character operated in both worlds. I enjoyed all the different shades of gray that the plot wandered through. It sucks he won't be around to explore it any more.
.
posted by A dead Quaker at 4:23 PM on December 1, 2013
That rally video, I'm surprised that not more spectators get run over, as bad as the Tour de France for jumping in the way.
posted by arcticseal at 4:54 PM on December 1, 2013
posted by arcticseal at 4:54 PM on December 1, 2013
Porsche is still very involved in this type of racing and in fact, they recently signed Mark Webber away from Formula 1, although he will be driving a faster type of car.
Just to be clear though on this irrelevant tangent, despite being a racing powerhouse, Porsche the company has not raced in Le Mans since 1998. Mark Webber is their first driver since then. I don't follow top tier racing enough to point out much more than that.
posted by phaedon at 4:59 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Just to be clear though on this irrelevant tangent, despite being a racing powerhouse, Porsche the company has not raced in Le Mans since 1998. Mark Webber is their first driver since then. I don't follow top tier racing enough to point out much more than that.
posted by phaedon at 4:59 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh, they ran over a whole slew of them arcticseal.
That's why Group B rallying was banned:
On the "Lagoa Azul" stage of Portuguese Rally near Sintra everything was to go tragically wrong. Portuguese national champion Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators. This caused him to lose control of his RS200. The car veered to the right and slid off the road into the spectators. Thirty-one people were injured and three were killed. All the top teams immediately pulled out of the rally and Group B was placed in jeopardy.
Disaster struck again in early May at the Tour de Corse. Lancia's Toivonen was a championship favorite, and once the rally got underway he was the pace setter. Seven kilometres into the 18th stage, Toivonen's S4 flew off the unguarded edge of a tightening left hand bend and plunged down a steep wooded hillside. The car landed inverted with the fuel tanks ruptured by the impact. The combination of red hot turbocharger, Kevlar bodywork, and ruptured fuel tank ignited the car and set fire to the dry undergrowth. Only a cloud of smoke and the lack of Toivonen's car at the finish indicated that something was very wrong. By the time rescue workers made it to the remote spot (some 30 minutes, by some accounts) all that remained of the car was a blackened frame with the bones of Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto inside.
posted by Relay at 5:09 PM on December 1, 2013
That's why Group B rallying was banned:
On the "Lagoa Azul" stage of Portuguese Rally near Sintra everything was to go tragically wrong. Portuguese national champion Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators. This caused him to lose control of his RS200. The car veered to the right and slid off the road into the spectators. Thirty-one people were injured and three were killed. All the top teams immediately pulled out of the rally and Group B was placed in jeopardy.
Disaster struck again in early May at the Tour de Corse. Lancia's Toivonen was a championship favorite, and once the rally got underway he was the pace setter. Seven kilometres into the 18th stage, Toivonen's S4 flew off the unguarded edge of a tightening left hand bend and plunged down a steep wooded hillside. The car landed inverted with the fuel tanks ruptured by the impact. The combination of red hot turbocharger, Kevlar bodywork, and ruptured fuel tank ignited the car and set fire to the dry undergrowth. Only a cloud of smoke and the lack of Toivonen's car at the finish indicated that something was very wrong. By the time rescue workers made it to the remote spot (some 30 minutes, by some accounts) all that remained of the car was a blackened frame with the bones of Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto inside.
posted by Relay at 5:09 PM on December 1, 2013
The last word from Walter Röhrl regarding the Carrera GT versus Porsche's new hybrid 918, which is even faster than the GT, "The Carrera GT was a car for men, not for boys; this car, anyone can drive."
Just an FYI, the Porsche 918 can lap the Nürburgring about thirty seconds faster than the Carrera GT. It too is a targa top car. Hopefully its electronic gubbins can keep future owners safer than these two.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 5:51 PM on December 1, 2013
Just an FYI, the Porsche 918 can lap the Nürburgring about thirty seconds faster than the Carrera GT. It too is a targa top car. Hopefully its electronic gubbins can keep future owners safer than these two.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 5:51 PM on December 1, 2013
Just an FYI, the Porsche 918 can lap the Nürburgring about thirty seconds faster than the Carrera GT.
Does 0-60 under 3, gets 78 mpg.. holy smokes.
posted by phaedon at 6:44 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
Does 0-60 under 3, gets 78 mpg.. holy smokes.
posted by phaedon at 6:44 PM on December 1, 2013 [1 favorite]
. What a horrible way to go. Like others on this thread, I have an unholy love for the FF franchise. It's so amazingly over the top and fun and then this... Poor guy. Poor family.
(Also, I understand the desire to fanboy about cars, but maybe one of those doing it and pontificating on what went wrong (when no one actually knows) could put together a post about these cars and fanboy there? It might be a bit more appropriate.)
posted by lesbiassparrow at 7:08 PM on December 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
(Also, I understand the desire to fanboy about cars, but maybe one of those doing it and pontificating on what went wrong (when no one actually knows) could put together a post about these cars and fanboy there? It might be a bit more appropriate.)
posted by lesbiassparrow at 7:08 PM on December 1, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm not sure who you are calling a "fanboy" and why you feel the need to use that term, but I feel like that is pretty harsh in a thread about the lead actor of the Fast and Furious franchise who happened to own a tuning shop and died in a supercar crash. I think everybody is being super respectful and appropriate here!
posted by phaedon at 10:31 PM on December 1, 2013
posted by phaedon at 10:31 PM on December 1, 2013
Mod note: Yeah, better to keep this thread for discussion of Paul Walker and his life and death rather than veer into general Porsche or car chat. Thanks.
posted by taz (staff) at 12:27 AM on December 2, 2013
posted by taz (staff) at 12:27 AM on December 2, 2013
The thing that my mind keeps throwing back up to me is this: in movies, the car always explodes on impact. I grew up just knowing that any car accident would end with a fireball. And then I read an article years ago about how improbable that is. It discussed the placement of the gas tank, how long it takes to ignite, where the spark comes from, yada yada yada, all science-ish stuff that made me understand that my kids won't perish in a fireball if they scrape a gutter when they're learning to drive.
And then this happens. Paul Walker goes out in a fiery crash. There's just something so... oh, I can't even find the words.
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posted by malibustacey9999 at 2:40 AM on December 2, 2013
And then this happens. Paul Walker goes out in a fiery crash. There's just something so... oh, I can't even find the words.
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posted by malibustacey9999 at 2:40 AM on December 2, 2013
.
Wesley Morris wrote a great article about how The Fast & the Furious franchise was the most racially progressive one in recent years.
posted by pxe2000 at 4:20 AM on December 2, 2013 [3 favorites]
Wesley Morris wrote a great article about how The Fast & the Furious franchise was the most racially progressive one in recent years.
posted by pxe2000 at 4:20 AM on December 2, 2013 [3 favorites]
Not that this wasn't a horrific crash, but you can't really make a lot of judgments by the appearance of the car. The body on a modern exotic is essentially all show; lightweight metals and carbon fiber and such.
This is not at all true. Exotic materials and carbon fibre are every bit as capable of being structural as anything else. It's worth being aware that his was a MASSIVE accident. I'd suspect the car was well upwards of 100mph at point of loss of control and a Carrera GT can achieve those sorts of speeds in a ridiculously short period of time and distance.
I wonder if Porsche is going to have to say anything about this, I don't understand how a car with practically speaking no roll cage can be street legal.
The Carrera GT has a roll cage structure behind both seats and across the car. It's a very well built car, structurally, but the worst accident from the crush perspective (especially for a convertible) is from a high speed side impact with something skinny but strong. Trees are immensely strong compared to a car and cars wrapped around ones that are as thick as your arm is not uncommon. Being as it appears to me the car lost control at high speed and slammed into a tree sideways right on the door then this is why the accident looks so severe.
Even though Top Gear is entertainment I doubt someone as competitive as The Stig would purposely let the rear end if a car come around.
Yes. Agreed. Those looked like genuine examples of the car biting the driver and the Stig is always played by a well established and well skilled racing driver. I have heard from a lot of sources over the years (including statements from current Indycar driver Graham Rahal - previous owner of the exact car that crashed and killed these guys) that the Carrera GT is a serious handful. Not a car that is just difficult for anyone off the street to drive, but that it is a car that seasoned race drivers find snatchy and twitchy on the limit.
Basically, that car bites back if you don't respect it. So playing in an industrial area with their fantastic and tempting quiet and open roads is likely to be the time you go a bit too far.
Then again, I've never liked Porsches much. Wonderful racing record. R & D department right out of Peenemünde. But every last one of them that I've ever been around, much less driven, likes to be driven in one. Specific. Way. Deviate from that methodology, and there'll be hell to pay.
Agreed. I was doing driver coaching and engineering with a 997 GT3 Cup Car (race car) this season and while Porsches are incredibly capable machines the biggest changes through their generational advances have been mostly in making them less like death traps in handling terms. They have got more controllable (but also more powerful) through the years but they're still pretty unforgiving.
posted by Brockles at 10:26 AM on December 2, 2013 [2 favorites]
This is not at all true. Exotic materials and carbon fibre are every bit as capable of being structural as anything else. It's worth being aware that his was a MASSIVE accident. I'd suspect the car was well upwards of 100mph at point of loss of control and a Carrera GT can achieve those sorts of speeds in a ridiculously short period of time and distance.
I wonder if Porsche is going to have to say anything about this, I don't understand how a car with practically speaking no roll cage can be street legal.
The Carrera GT has a roll cage structure behind both seats and across the car. It's a very well built car, structurally, but the worst accident from the crush perspective (especially for a convertible) is from a high speed side impact with something skinny but strong. Trees are immensely strong compared to a car and cars wrapped around ones that are as thick as your arm is not uncommon. Being as it appears to me the car lost control at high speed and slammed into a tree sideways right on the door then this is why the accident looks so severe.
Even though Top Gear is entertainment I doubt someone as competitive as The Stig would purposely let the rear end if a car come around.
Yes. Agreed. Those looked like genuine examples of the car biting the driver and the Stig is always played by a well established and well skilled racing driver. I have heard from a lot of sources over the years (including statements from current Indycar driver Graham Rahal - previous owner of the exact car that crashed and killed these guys) that the Carrera GT is a serious handful. Not a car that is just difficult for anyone off the street to drive, but that it is a car that seasoned race drivers find snatchy and twitchy on the limit.
Basically, that car bites back if you don't respect it. So playing in an industrial area with their fantastic and tempting quiet and open roads is likely to be the time you go a bit too far.
Then again, I've never liked Porsches much. Wonderful racing record. R & D department right out of Peenemünde. But every last one of them that I've ever been around, much less driven, likes to be driven in one. Specific. Way. Deviate from that methodology, and there'll be hell to pay.
Agreed. I was doing driver coaching and engineering with a 997 GT3 Cup Car (race car) this season and while Porsches are incredibly capable machines the biggest changes through their generational advances have been mostly in making them less like death traps in handling terms. They have got more controllable (but also more powerful) through the years but they're still pretty unforgiving.
posted by Brockles at 10:26 AM on December 2, 2013 [2 favorites]
See Brockles, that's why I like British cars; Triumphs, MGs, Miatas: They're wonderfully forgiving ...
Oh, and here is an article that tallies up a bunch of racers opinions on what driving the Carrera GT is like.
A sample:
During the development of the Carrera GT, famed Porsche tester and man with gigantic brass attachments Walter Rohrl told Australian website Drive that he was actually scared of the car and wanted them to fit traction control because of the unpredictable behavior at the limit:
Former world rally champion and Porsche test driver Walter Rohrl told Drive the new Porsche supercar is "the first car in my life that I drive and I feel scared".
[...]
"I came back into the pits and I was white," Rohrl said.
Now, for reference, view the pervious Walter Rohrl video I posted to see what that guy considers "normal" and "un-scary" and interpolate what the hell driving a Carrera GT must be like.
Get it?
See what I (and to a certain extent, Brockles) mean?
These things are nasty, nasty machines.
posted by Relay at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2013
Oh, and here is an article that tallies up a bunch of racers opinions on what driving the Carrera GT is like.
A sample:
During the development of the Carrera GT, famed Porsche tester and man with gigantic brass attachments Walter Rohrl told Australian website Drive that he was actually scared of the car and wanted them to fit traction control because of the unpredictable behavior at the limit:
Former world rally champion and Porsche test driver Walter Rohrl told Drive the new Porsche supercar is "the first car in my life that I drive and I feel scared".
[...]
"I came back into the pits and I was white," Rohrl said.
Now, for reference, view the pervious Walter Rohrl video I posted to see what that guy considers "normal" and "un-scary" and interpolate what the hell driving a Carrera GT must be like.
Get it?
See what I (and to a certain extent, Brockles) mean?
These things are nasty, nasty machines.
posted by Relay at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2013
'Rest in peace, “ocean addict” Paul Walker' - MeFi's own WhySharksMatter
posted by brundlefly at 1:20 PM on December 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by brundlefly at 1:20 PM on December 2, 2013 [1 favorite]
I like British cars; Triumphs, MGs, Miatas:
Errr.....
posted by Brockles at 1:40 PM on December 2, 2013 [2 favorites]
Errr.....
posted by Brockles at 1:40 PM on December 2, 2013 [2 favorites]
Well it's British in spirit: small, underpowered, cute. But the electronics are Japanese so clearly one of these things is not like the other.
posted by Big_B at 2:02 PM on December 2, 2013
posted by Big_B at 2:02 PM on December 2, 2013
They totally are Brockles ... the first time my oldest brother, a long time TR racer, hopped into my (then 1st) Miata, he wasn't a 100 yards down the road when he said, unprovoked, "Man, they REALLY made this thing turn in ... like ... like ... "
"Like an old Elan?" I offered.
"Yeah. Just like that."
"Overcook it into the next corner a little," I suggested.
He did.
"Oh baby, it recovers just like the 1st TR-4A I owned. They really got these things dialed in right out of the box."
"Yup ... Anyway, enjoy yourself ... "
And he did, tearing around roads 10 - 15 MPH quicker than I ever did (he was always much quicker than I).
The only real difference is that I've got an adequate heater that I can use simultaneously with my headlights.
Amazing little machines.
posted by Relay at 4:53 PM on December 2, 2013
"Like an old Elan?" I offered.
"Yeah. Just like that."
"Overcook it into the next corner a little," I suggested.
He did.
"Oh baby, it recovers just like the 1st TR-4A I owned. They really got these things dialed in right out of the box."
"Yup ... Anyway, enjoy yourself ... "
And he did, tearing around roads 10 - 15 MPH quicker than I ever did (he was always much quicker than I).
The only real difference is that I've got an adequate heater that I can use simultaneously with my headlights.
Amazing little machines.
posted by Relay at 4:53 PM on December 2, 2013
While looking at the video, i'm sorta glad that my 986 has the same squeaky brakes as a Carrara GT.
. Paul, that was pretty much the only way to get hurt in a GT.
posted by atomicmedia at 8:36 PM on December 2, 2013
. Paul, that was pretty much the only way to get hurt in a GT.
posted by atomicmedia at 8:36 PM on December 2, 2013
.
posted by mayurasana at 10:30 PM on December 2, 2013
posted by mayurasana at 10:30 PM on December 2, 2013
I felt awful seeing the picture of his girlfriend crying getting out of her car at his house. I was a little disturbed that he started dating her when she was 16 and he was 33, but feel awful for her since she was so young when she met him. Obviously a first love thing.
posted by discopolo at 3:07 PM on December 5, 2013
posted by discopolo at 3:07 PM on December 5, 2013
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Also, .
posted by DRoll at 8:54 PM on November 30, 2013