Paul Walker passed away today

[Michael]

Heard about it and thought it was just another hoax, but NBC and Fox now confirms that Paul Walker died today in a single vehicle car crash in which he was a passenger. From the early reports, both passengers burned with the car.

[Dangermouse]

Read about it on the BBC earlier too. Didn't recognize the name initially but know his work. Very sad.

[Michael]

Just saw a picture of the accident scene...you don't even recognize a car, only one wheel and a piece of a fender is barely distinguishable. It looks like it might have been a Carrera GT.

[Dangermouse]

The article I read said it was a "Porsche GT" which could mean a number of cars, but the photo does look like a Carrera GT.

[Mike F]

Definitely sad news.

[DeLorean03]

Sucks on so many levels. He was at a car show on behalf of his charity too. He seemed to have a good, clean image in Hollywood - no scandals or tabloids or anything. Very sad to see him gone.

[DL4567]

Most celebrity deaths don't make me sad, but this one really bothers me. He seemed like a really nice guy. Very sad indeed. RIP

Side note: I was confused too about what model of Porsche it was exactly, but one of the articles I saw indicated it was a Carrera GT:
http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1533786

[Kenny_Z]

It's sad news. His death reminds me a lot of James Dean's death. I never got into the FF movies but he sounded like a nice guy and was definitely a car guy.

[DL4567]

James Dean, Ryan Dunn, and now Paul Walker. It's decided: Porsches are death machines.

[Domi]

Saw this sad news on facebook :(
He was a nice guy indeed, a true car fan and was involved in many charity program to help other people.
RIP Paul, condolence to his family and daughter.
You'll be missed.

[Michael]

From CNN


Tales of the actor's philanthropy are not new. CNN confirmed one story from a decade ago when Walker noticed a young U.S. military veteran shopping with his fiance for a wedding ring in a Santa Barbara jewelry store.

"The groom was just back from duty in Iraq, and he was going to be deployed again soon and wanted to buy a wedding ring, but he said he just could not afford it," saleswoman Irene King told CNN. "I don't think the soldier realized how expensive those rings are, about $10,000."

Although Walker noticed them, the couple apparently did not know who he was, King said.

"Walker called the manger over and said, 'Put that girl's ring on my tab,' " she said. "Walker left all his billing info, and it was a done deal. The couple was stunned. She was thrilled and could not believe someone did this."

King called it "the most generous thing I have ever seen."

[LordFly]

I'm glad to see such positive feedback on this. Facebook has been less kind :( I've always been a fan of his work. It really is sad to see him go, he really did seem like a genuinely awesome dude.

[thirdmanj]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/02/vategata.jpg

But yeah, it's still terrible the man died. He had about as much acting chops as Keanu, but I'd never wish a man dead for that.

[DMCflux]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/02/vategata.jpg

But yeah, it's still terrible the man died. He had about as much acting chops as Keanu, but I'd never wish a man dead for that.

Roger Rodas was a car guy himself, big Saleen collector. Its difficult to think of how early Both of these men were taken so young. They will be missed.

[Dangermouse]

Seems like every car forum has one or more threads running about this, with endless speculation on cause, responsibility and lawsuits. Just read a lengthy one on Ferrarichat about how difficult a CarreraGT is to drive compared to other supercars. Several owners on there have owned them in the past but sold them on as they were too stressful to enjoy.

Quick history of this particular car, as well as possibly the last photo of PW getting into it at the charity event.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131201/CARNEWS/131209998

[DL4567]

Seems like every car forum has one or more threads running about this, with endless speculation on cause, responsibility and lawsuits. Just read a lengthy one on Ferrarichat about how difficult a CarreraGT is to drive compared to other supercars. Several owners on there have owned them in the past but sold them on as they were too stressful to enjoy.

Quick history of this particular car, as well as possibly the last photo of PW getting into it at the charity event.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20131201/CARNEWS/131209998

Yep, I read through that same thread on F-Chat yesterday. This comment from ttforcefed stood out:

"CGT is one car you don't mess with unless you're amongst the best of the best...Ferraris make you feel like u can do 8/10ths all day and they don't punish you too badly for being a 4/10ths driver...I drive the cgt at 3/10ths and have white knuckles...."

[Soundkillr]

Im also on a Porsche forum, and the cgt gets a bad wrap even from them. They state it's almost impossible to tame, and very dangerous. There have been several people that have been killed by this car. Even a few lawsuits. Im not saying this couldn't happen with any car, but this particular car has a very bad reputation.

[Michael]

People are just scum sometimes. Now pieces of the crashed CGT are showing up on eBay. Some people actually have the gall to advertise that the auction is for charity...a portion is anyway, probably 5%.

[DeloreanJoshQ]

Below are photos I took last summer of the same exact Carrera GT that perished in the wreck with Walker and Rodas.
Note the DeLorean/DMC sign in the background. It used to be owned by Indy Car driver, Graham Rahal (met him briefly when he was there, he has roots in Columbus, OH but lives in Indy).
After I saw this car I fell in love with it; my favorite Porsche. It is a street-legal race car and a handful. Check out the interior and pedals.
The wheels were changed (or) painted black in Columbus, OH as well before it was sold to the dealer in Florida and then on to California.
My friend, Addison, did the paint correction and detailing to it before the sale:

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/487164_10151938117530696_1228959662_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/181119_10151938113940696_615507537_n.jpg

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/555469_10151938514730696_935954333_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/315334_10151940706750696_1900465786_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/483222_10151940800475696_1001324714_n.jpg

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/313969_10151945070240696_1549665142_n.jpg


Here is the link to the paint correction done by Addison last year, good stuff, check out his cool final photo with a DeLorean in the shot:

http://www.luxury4play.com/detailing/110492-good-guys-detailing-paint-correction-detail-graham-rahals-porsche-carrera-gt.html

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa356/addr6/Porsche%20Carrera%20GT/_DSC0810.jpg



Here are two photos of it at the Bobby Rahal Rally for the Ranch charity car show in Columbus a week later; the last time I saw it:

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/531297_10151961026605696_563745246_n.jpg

https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/560937_10151961027030696_1406578571_n.jpg

Glad I take pictures of every cool car I see.....

Hope you enjoy "the other story"...

Josh Q

[SIMid]

Thanks for sharing the pics Josh.

Great loss Paul was. Too young and wrong circumstances to pass away like this.

[OverlandMan]

Below are photos I took last summer of the same exact Carrera GT that perished in the wreck with Walker and Rodas.
Note the DeLorean/DMC sign in the background. It used to be owned by Indy Car driver, Graham Rahal (met him briefly when he was there, he has roots in Columbus, OH but lives in Indy).
After I saw this car I fell in love with it; my favorite Porsche. It is a street-legal race car and a handful. Check out the interior and pedals.
The wheels were changed (or) painted black in Columbus, OH as well before it was sold to the dealer in Florida and then on to California.
My friend, Addison, did the paint correction and detailing to it before the sale:

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/313969_10151945070240696_1549665142_n.jpg

Here is the link to the paint correction done by Addison last year, good stuff, check out his cool final photo with a DeLorean in the shot:

http://www.luxury4play.com/detailing/110492-good-guys-detailing-paint-correction-detail-graham-rahals-porsche-carrera-gt.html

http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa356/addr6/Porsche%20Carrera%20GT/_DSC0810.jpg

Josh Q

Ok... so I'm not trying to take away from the sadness of the Paul Walker crash here and this is going to be off-topic BUT did anyone else see one of the rarest Ferraris of the 1980s in these two pics above? :worship: Yep, that's an 84-85 Ferrari 288 GTO. They only made 272 of them worldwide, 30 of which were imported into the US. I've seen one in my entire life. It was the predecessor to the F40 and IMO a cooler car.

It's the red Ferrari next to the blue Countach.

Alright then, back on topic. Thanks for sharing!

[David T]

As with any supercar if you get sloppy it WILL bite you. Especially if you do stupid things on public streets. It is tragic they had to pay for the mistake with their lives. From the details so far it sounds like they were driving too fast on cold tires and lost traction and then control. As pointed out they are great machines but if you go past their limits (and it is not easy to tell what that point is) you can suddenly lose all control. With all of that power comes responsibility, especially for your passenger and anyone else you may hit. It is very lucky they did not injure anyone else. They were not the first and certainly will not be the last.

[dmcjohn]

With all of that power comes responsibility, especially for your passenger and anyone else you may hit. It is very lucky they did not injure anyone else.

Sums up my thoughts on it. Its sad of course when anyone, famous or not, dies an accidental death, but it would have been far far far worse had their antics taken out a person or child who happened to be walking along that stretch of road.