Legendary Toyota Test Driver died in LF-A

[Xtrema]

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/breaking-toyota-chief-test-driver-dies-lf-a-germany-ring

[Redlyne_mr2]

Wow, I wonder how he lost control? RIP

[inline6turbo]

That's very sad :( Glad the other two drivers survived though.
He was in his mid to late 60's so who knows what happened, perhaps a heart attack/stoke?

RIP



Side note: Obviously the huge curtains of airbags in the BMW proved their value versus the single ones in the LFA, the whole car looks like a pillow exploded.

[Sentry]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
Wow, I wonder how he lost control? RIP
Blind corner and they were both taking the racing line.

[wrcftw]

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/breaking-toyota-chief-test-driver-dies-lf-a-germany-ring/#continued


"We don't have much in the way of details yet, but according to a report out of Germany, Toyota's chief test driver has died in a crash on highway 410 near the Nurburgring after veering into the oncoming lane and colliding with two others test drivers driving a BMW.

While the two BMW test drivers survived the crash, the yet-unnamed Toyota driver died behind the wheel of the recently spied LFA Nurburgring Edition he was driving.

The report says that the driver of the LF-A was 67 years old and Toyota's chief test driver, which leads us to believe that he is Hiromu Naruse, In addition to being the company's chief test driver, Naruse is also Akio Toyoda's personal driver and the Godfather of the LFA.

More information should be forthcoming. "


Sad....wonder what speeds he was hitting though...thats a public road is it not?

[Sykes]

It seems to be confirmed that Naruse was driving the LF-A. Also, the BMW drivers have life-threatning injuries, one of which is critical.

RIP :(

[Cos]

in to get updates. Sad...

[wrcftw]

Confirmed that it was the chief test driver.

[davesparky6]

This guy was probably one of the best drivers in the world... Driving one of the most capable cars in the world... And speed still caught up with him.
I don't want to be a "nanny" but every time I see some 18 year old doing 200km/hr in an early 90s skyline I cringe. Please try and learn something from this tragedy and slow down.
My condolences to the drivers colleagues and family.

[beyond_ban]

Repost.

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&postid=3404576#post3404576

Perhaps a mod could merge the two threads...

[g-m]

his brakes didn't work

[MGCM]

:( very sad

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

RIP

[flipstah]

RIP Indeed. :(


Originally posted by inline6turbo

Side note: Obviously the huge curtains of airbags in the BMW proved their value versus the single ones in the LFA, the whole car looks like a pillow exploded.

QFT.

[Cos]

So I am confused, this is a public road but they were both going a little hard in the corners? Or is this a road only used for testing and one car was going the wrong way.

[CUG]

RIP Driver man.

It would only cost Toyota a small amount of money per vehicle to make them as safe as the German vehicles, same with NA automakers, yet they do not. Another unfortunate example of this.

[iceburns288]

Originally posted by CUG
It would only cost Toyota a small amount of money per vehicle to make them as safe as the German vehicles, same with NA automakers, yet they do not. Another unfortunate example of this.
a) it would cost them a huge amount of money
b) he was driving an LF-A, not exactly like a Corolla

[Nissan_Fanboy]

RIP, thats a shame.
Looks like a fun road none the less

[CUG]

Originally posted by iceburns288

a) it would cost them a huge amount of money
b) he was driving an LF-A, not exactly like a Corolla a) no b) but close.

[Skyline_Addict]

This is just proof that driving, at any level, with any experience and with any car should always be done responsibly. By no means am I saying this was the result reckless or careless driving. Just trying to say that the worst can happen to the best, and it's always important to consider. Yes, I'm a bit philisophical after I had a tiny mishap of my own at the track :)

[freshprince1]

Maybe the gas pedal got stuck on the floormat?





...Too Soon?



I know I wasn't the only one thinking it.


RIP.

[Redlyne_mr2]

A tribute to the man.
http://www.7tune.com/hiromu-naruse-cooking-with-the-nur-meister/

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
A tribute to the man.
http://www.7tune.com/hiromu-naruse-cooking-with-the-nur-meister/

RIP

Clearly Toyota would be much worse if he wasn't around pushing for cars that Drivers want.

[DRKM]

So wait. He was street racing? Why is everyone on here suddenly sympathetic?

If this exact same incident happened with a 19 year old and a honda civic the reactions would be much different.

[tomt64]

Originally posted by DRKM
So wait. He was street racing? Why is everyone on here suddenly sympathetic?

If this exact same incident happened with a 19 year old and a honda civic the reactions would be much different.

No one knows yet, could of fallen asleep at the wheel or a storke even... could of been racing though.

[Modelexis]

Originally posted by tomt64
could of fallen asleep at the wheel

That is just as likely as a skydiver falling asleep during a dive.