Posted on 12/02/2013 8:23:46 PM PST by grundle
Paul Walker liked his cars fast fast fast -- in fact, he once boasted about hitting a top speed of 185 MPH -- and it wasn't on a racetrack ... it was on a freeway.
"The Fast & The Furious" star -- who died in a fiery car crash on Saturday -- made the revelation on GTChannel back in 2011 ... while taking a Nissan GT-R out for a test spin in Japan.
"The fastest I've ever gone is 184 to 186," Walker says on the video .... and then he reveals how fast he was clocked on an actual racetrack.
As TMZ reported ... law enforcement believes speed was a factor in the crash of the Porsche Carrera GT that killed Walker and his friend Roger Rodas in Santa Clarita, CA ... although it was Rodas -- not Walker -- who was driving at the time of the collision.
(Excerpt) Read more at tmz.com ...
I read yesterday that he started dating his current girlfriend when he was 33 and she was 16. WTF?
Whatever
Porsche Carrera GT most dangerous car in the world.
EGG zackly. Couldnt do it now, you’d be stuck in 35mph traffic for 10 miles.
Darned good car - if only Lucas wasn’t responsible (?) for the electrics.
I went to Germany for vacation a couple of years ago and I would agree with your observation. I had the opportunity drive an American sports cars capable of doing 185 MPH on the autobahn. I took it to about 160MPH before I started to feel really uncomfortable. It gets rather loud with tire noise, engine noise, and air invading the cabin. In that car, relatively stress free driving seemed to be at about 120 MPH with very little traffic on the autobahn early Sunday morning.
Exceeding 140 MPH is not rare on a Sunday morning. I had to move over several times while doing +150 MPH. Those super cars are just amazing..
110 in a Honda CRX Si Pretty scary, not been above 85 since then.
Guess it is because I have not seen any of the “Fast & Furious” films but I’ve never even heard of this guy. Looking on the internet I see he was in other films and TV Series, but I still don’t recognize him—
I took a 6 cylinder E-type up to about 135 once, also back in the late 1970s (what fun we had back then). You’re right about the smooth part. It was a roadster and the top was down, too, so my hair got stylishly tousled at the same time.
The 3.8L 6 was pretty good on gas, too, as I remember.
For all you Silicon Valley types, this happened on eastbound Foothill Expressway between Arastradero and Edith late in the evening.
I saw the first of the “Fast & Furious” movies when it came out, but hadn’t seen any since. It’s a shame in any case.
According to one report I’ve seen, there is some speculation that the car lost fluid (either oil or coolant)and then lost traction in that fluid. While I’m not sure about the Carrera GT, water-cooled 911’s have radiators and an oil cooler in the front end of the car.
A tire failure also sounds like a possibility.
The driver had a competition license and some professional experience as a driver, so in theory he would have known better to speed on the street. But it should also be said that the Carrera GT is known for being very tricky to drive.
Both of these deeds were done on I5 in light traffic. And honestly, it wasn’t nearly as fun as racing a Formula Vee on a track. I *might* have seen 100mph braking for T1 at Thunderhill, but I could push that car pretty close to its limit the whole time I was in the cockpit.
Man, I wish I could afford to keep racing. I had to let my comp license expire this year. :(
“I can confirm that the windshield of a Mitsubishi Evo can survive a direct hit by a turkey vulture dining on road kill at a speed of just under 150 mph.”
I didn’t know a turkey vulture could dine that fast! ;)
Check out shifter karts. Their performance parallels F1 cars, they’ll snap your neck off, and are not that expensive, comparatively, to race.
It’s been years since i’ve done it, but we used to go play with the autocross guys on sunday mornings, until they kicked us out because there wasnt’ s single car int he bunch that even came close to our lap times.
My first car was a ‘74 Pinto. I didn’t ever take it much over 70; it started feeling pretty nervous at that speed.
“Man, I miss having a “Canyon Carver” and driving a sports car to its limits.”
I still have mine. :) And as much as I’d love to own a Vette or a Porsche, I think it’s a good thing I have a Miata. I can get a lot closer to its limits on the street without risking incarceration. And while it isn’t especially fast, it is lots of fun to drive.
I didn’t know a turkey vulture could dine that fast! ;)
Neither did the turkey vulture
I haven’t done it in a couple years, but I used to autocross pretty regularly, and my autocrossing habit figured heavily in my decision to buy my Miata. I even did well enough to amass a nice collection of trophies, including a couple from SCCA National Tour events.
Around the time I got the Miata, SCCA opened up Solo to shifter karts and I seriously considered getting one for a while.
140-150 in a Porsche 944 turbo, of course that was Watkins Glen. Wouldn’t think of doing that on a highway with other cars around..
I’ve got a 1988 Fiero with a 4.9L Cadillac V8 installed. Insane power to weight ratio. The ‘88 suspension was designed by Lotus. Tried to peg the speedometer once, but it actually wrapped back around past zero. Figured I was going 120+.
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