Hiromu Naruse Dies In Lexus Lfa Crash Near The 'ring

[PM-R33]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/71490/hiromu-n...-near-the-ring/

In a horrible and tragic twist of fate, the two-tone Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition featured on CarAdvice yesterday has been involved in a fatal collision on roads outside the famous circuit, killing Toyota's chief test driver, 67-year-old Hiromu Naruse.

According to reports, the Lexus LFA driven by Naruse-san veered into oncoming traffic and had a head-on collision with two other test drivers in a BMW who are now in a critical condition.

Several sources have indicated that all occupants in both cars were wearing helmets at the time of the accident which underlines the severity of the crash.

Naruse-san had been with the Toyota Motor Corporation since 1963 and most recently had been chief of the Gazoo Racing teams which fielded the Lexus LFA entries in the Nurburgring 24-hour race.

Labelled the "Godfather of the LFA", Naruse-san was regarded as one of the most respected test drivers in Japan and is believed to have clocked more time on the Ring than any other Japanese driver.

Edited June 24, 2010 by PM-R33

[MRSAMO]

Very sad news.

[gfunkk]

awww man that is terrible news, poor guy... hope the other 2 recover..

Edited June 24, 2010 by gfunkk

[GTR-N1]

Never good to see or hear - or especially witness.

Good point above about praying for the critically injured - and Naruse' family.

[PM-R33]

Yes, very sad to hear indeed. Got it sent to me this morning

RIP mate.

Edited June 24, 2010 by PM-R33

[Angus Smart]

Ouch sad news for sure!

however the collision/damage doesnt look all that bad!

[alr33x]

read this online, sad to hear and they all had helmets on too the article said?

[PM-R33]

Yep all had Helmets. Makes you realise the severity of the impact.

[Kujotk]

More pics....

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/supe...00624-z0e6.html

Another reason to buy a Euro over Jap, No one can beat them in passenger safety. The LFA was way way over on the wrong side of the road.

[bluejeans]

wow i didnt believe it when i heard

rip

[FrangaR33]

Rest in peace. Hopefully the others involved in the accident recover. It unfourtunetly begs the question if he cant control that car, can the average ham fisted motorist?

[eightsixboy]

OMG that sucks.

[BoyWhoCriedWolf]

Man this is sad. My thoughts are with Naruse-sans family and those of the BMW pilots.

[CeJay]

It is sad to hear I have to wonder why he died though and the people in the BMW did? Considering both occupants of the LF A were wearing helmets etc, it is a bit worrying.

[Kujotk]

It is sad to hear I have to wonder why he died though and the people in the BMW did? Considering both occupants of the LF A were wearing helmets etc, it is a bit worrying.

In the quest for speed, sacrifices are made to weight reduction, most of the sacrifices reduce the strength and crumple zone of super cars. The Italians and Germans have done it right. By the looks of this car Toyota has forgotten about safety to build a stupidly quick car. In the end that is what you have to expect can happen when travelling high speeds in any car. A helmet can improve the chance of survival, but it doesn't mean you can survive big crashes...

[Big Unit]

very sad

[wht510]

In the quest for speed, sacrifices are made to weight reduction, most of the sacrifices reduce the strength and crumple zone of super cars. The Italians and Germans have done it right. By the looks of this car Toyota has forgotten about safety to build a stupidly quick car. In the end that is what you have to expect can happen when travelling high speeds in any car. A helmet can improve the chance of survival, but it doesn't mean you can survive big crashes...

Hmmmm.... By the looks of the car you can judge whether Toyota have made a safe car or not? BAHAHAHAHAhhahahahahahhaha.

[defari]

rip..

btw did the german fireman say a nissan lexus?

[typevu]

RIP Naruse.

Every link above - someone has died and the comments are filled with anti-Toyota/anti-japanese car related. How disgraceful.

[iplen]

More pics....

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/supe...00624-z0e6.html

Another reason to buy a Euro over Jap, No one can beat them in passenger safety. The LFA was way way over on the wrong side of the road.

In the quest for speed, sacrifices are made to weight reduction, most of the sacrifices reduce the strength and crumple zone of super cars. The Italians and Germans have done it right. By the looks of this car Toyota has forgotten about safety to build a stupidly quick car. In the end that is what you have to expect can happen when travelling high speeds in any car. A helmet can improve the chance of survival, but it doesn't mean you can survive big crashes...

As exiting as it is for me to have someone on the forum who is awsum enough to apparently have a Ferrari, let me just say:

A) If you have such an issue with Nissans and Japanese cars in general, join a Ferrari Forum

B) Find me evidence of a Ferrari with a 5 star safety rating....

Interestingly, NCAP 2009 top five does have a Euro car on top

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf...A2576BA000EDCD8

Followed by 2 Japanese cars (2+3), then a Korean (4), with another Japanese and 2 Euros coming in equal 5th.. so of the 7 cars in the top 5, 3 are Japanese, 3 are European, and one is korean, making it 4 Asian cars all up... NO Italians, 1 German....

Further to that, suggesting that saving weight reduces crumple zones and strength... Crumple Zones are a designed weak spot, which is in actual fact a direct opposite to strenght.