From AutoWeek When I met Hiromu Naruse, the so-called Godfather of the Lexus LFA, last month, the man before me was a focused, unflinching, car fanatic with little time for neophytes. Toyota Motor Corp.'s weathered 67-year-old master test driver exuded an almost mystical air. One never doubted his confidence or control behind the wheel. I certainly had no inkling, as we talked trackside at Germany's Nürburgring race circuit, that he would die there just a month later. “I'm only halfway up the stairs,” he said, regarding plans for future racing and fine-tuning of the LFA super sports car he was instrumental in creating. “I'm still ready for the next step.” Perfectionism seemed to ooze from every pore: “On every team, everyone does 99 percent. But it's the additional 1 percent that makes the difference in the pursuit,” he told me. Perhaps it was a fitting end, dying strapped into the car he dedicated his golden years to. The LFA is the pinnacle of the Toyota lineup, not only in price but performance and engineering. Toyota on Wednesday confirmed earlier press reports out of Germany that Naruse was killed when the yellow LFA he was test-driving crashed on a road just outside the circuit. Press reports said his car crossed the centerline on a road near the 'Ring and smashed head-on into a BMW carrying two other test drivers. Both BMW drivers survived; one is in critical condition. Pictures from Germany's Rhein-Zeitung newspaper show the mangled LFA lying nose-to-nose with a badly damaged purple BMW. Police quoted in the story said all the victims were wearing helmets and that cars were packed full of electronic equipment. Naruse, who joined Toyota in 1963 and was a personal driving mentor to president Akio Toyoda, is believed to have logged more hours at the Nürburgring's notoriously demanding track than any other Japanese. Last year, he drove an LFA in the Nürburgring's 24-hour endurance race. As the head of Toyota's Gazoo Racing Team, he earned the nickname Meister of Nürburgring. Naruse loved the thrill of racing and pushing a car to its limits. But he was also keenly aware of his role as a test driver in tempering cars that will eventually be sold to the public. “We want a car that people feel and comfortable in,” Naruse told me. “Until you try it out at a place like this, you just don't know.” Read more: Naruse only ‘halfway up the stairs' with the LFA when crash outside Nürburgring claimed him
Very sad indeed, at least he went doing what he loved... Doubt that that will be of much consolation to his family and friends though. RIP Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Mr Hiromu Naruse was part of the development team that produced the Toyota 2000GT. He will truly be missed. RIP
Ok what the heck was he doing "outside" the track? Yes it's sad but, if he was doing this "outside" then shame on him! Hopefully the two other guys survive.
It's hard to tell from just that pic, but the damage to either car doesn't appear that bad, we've all seen worse on the road and have seen folks walk away from them - what was it about this one that proved so bad for the people inside both cars? It doesn't look like they were going that fast, and since all cars have ABS there are no skid marks to help tell what happened. I wonder if somehow the helmets/airbags contributed to their injuries? For example, I didn't think the side curtain air bags deployed in a front offset hit.......
Looks to me like they hit head on with just about equal force and stopped right there..... Leaving one to believe that this could be a case of Basiliar skull fracture where the head continues on it's path longer than the rest.... They reported helmets but were they wearing some sort of Hans device..... Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
I seriously doubt anyone had on a Hans device, don't those have to be intergrated into the car as well as the helmet? But that's what I was thinking too, somehow the helmet's extra mass caused the personal damage.....
This is why those who have had shunts at the track or gone logging at the Dragon shouldn't feel bad. It happens to the very best.
Modern HANS devices fit right to your shoulders and helmet and are independent of the car. Just after the Dragon, I stopped by to test drive a Caterham in Joliet, IL. Anyway, at the Autobahn Country Club where I met the Caterham guy, they had half of the track closed off for LFA testing/showcasing/press event (actual nature unknown/forgotten.) There is a good chance that Naruse was there that day.
:sad: We'll never know what actually happened. The real thing is that Mr. Hiromu Naruse will be missed ( RIP ) and the other driver recovers. This will teach us all a life lesson. Mark Group4
Looking at the wreckage and then reading that they were all wearing helmets I think its pretty clear that it is a case of the Basiliar Skull Fracture...It killed Earnheart remember in a seemingly light crash...looks as if airbags and crash helmets don't mix Is Toyota jinxed???