Hiromu Naruse, Toyota's chief test driver, dies behind wheel of LFA in Germany

[Mazda 3s]

RIP!

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.

UPDATE: The two drivers in the BMW sustained lift-threatening injuries and one is in critical condition.
UPDATE 2: Video of the scene added after the jump.
UPDATE 3: Spiegel is confirming that Naruse was the driver.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/b...-germany-ring/

[deucestudios]

This is terrible news.
Please sheath any brand preferences, and think of the families.

[patrikman]

That is sad.

[freedomgli]

RIP but this will no doubt this incident will help further cement the LF-A's place in history as a legendary supercar. All the baddest supercars have crazy stories surrounding them.

[choochoo]

wow, that's really sad....

some of the cars he was involved with developing
http://gazoo.com/racing/english/vol_01/page04.asp

[theshmoes]

wow... just tragic

i wonder how fast they were going

[Smooremin]

RIP but this will no doubt this incident will help further cement the LF-A's place in history as a legendary supercar. All the baddest supercars have crazy stories surrounding them.

QFT

[Mazda 3s]

wow, that's really sad....

some of the cars he was involved with developing
http://gazoo.com/racing/english/vol_01/page04.asp

[SVTDanny]

RIP, that's crazy.

[Lepsis3942]

RIP but this will no doubt this incident will help further cement the LF-A's place in history as a legendary supercar. All the baddest supercars have crazy stories surrounding them.

Would make more sense if this happened on a track

[cougar]

So very sad.

[Egz]

Very sad to hear.

[monkeytronic]

The damage really doesn't look all that extreme and both cars should be above average in terms of safety equipment.

Speaking of safety, I didn't know they still used 1st gen Volvo S80s as hearses.

[choochoo]

the damage shown in the video looks pretty serious.

[TheDarkEnergist]

That video doesn't show too much cabin intrusion on either car...Perhaps he died before the crash?

[justanotherusername]

Very sad.

Hopefully the other two drivers pull through.


It makes you wonder what (if any) kind of backlash there will be against all the test cars around the Ring area. Hopefully an investigation doesn't find that the drivers involved were doing something dangerous (like hauling ass down the backroads) or that an equipment failure caused the problem.

[Fritz27]

Yeah, I think he died at the wheel before the accident. While 67 isn't exactly ancient, especially for Japanese folks, he's still an older guy that was closer to the end than the beginning.

RIP though.

to a great talent

[alleghenyman]

RIP but this will no doubt this incident will help further cement the LF-A's place in history as a legendary supercar. All the baddest supercars have crazy stories surrounding them.

No joke - supposedly two female models burned to death in an overturned Countach at a promo event.

[kraut_pauer79]

that is absolutely tragic, may he RIP.

[masa8888]

Yeah, I think he died at the wheel before the accident. While 67 isn't exactly ancient, especially for Japanese folks, he's still an older guy that was closer to the end than the beginning.

RIP though.

to a great talent

You mean the same people that have the longest life expectancies in the world?

Edit: n/m, read that wrong. Proceed.

[Lepsis3942]

You mean the same people that have the longest life expectancies in the world?

That's what he just alluded to.

Re-read his post

[EpicVW]

Horrific.

[compy222]

MR2, Supra, MR-Spyder, AE86, Celica...

that guy helped build every decent toyota in the last 30 years. RIP.

there is much to be said for cashing out behind the wheel of a very fast car. at least he was doing what he loved in probably one of the better cars they've ever built.

[Snk]

RIP...hopefully the BWM drivers recover

[SSLByron]

Awful.

[VWturbonium]

RIP Mr. Naruse

[1SICKLEX]

Very sad. R.I.P ..

Here is his resume...

http://gazoo.com/racing/english/vol_01/page04.asp

[atomicalex]

Yeah, I think he died at the wheel before the accident. While 67 isn't exactly ancient, especially for Japanese folks, he's still an older guy that was closer to the end than the beginning.

RIP though.

to a great talent

x2
Well-said.

[Kong99]

That video doesn't show too much cabin intrusion on either car...Perhaps he died before the crash?

The video does show significant damage, but never shows a good angle. It seems they struck flat on, so the full force of energy is transferred, no deflection. The gentleman that died was 67. Maybe it does not looks as bad because of how well engineered these two cars are?


Can anyone give a summary of what the fireman said?

[Lepsis3942]

The video does show significant damage, but never shows a good angle. It seems they struck flat on, so the full force of energy is transferred, no deflection. The gentleman that died was 67. Maybe it does not looks as bad because of how well engineered these two cars are?

Not to mention he could have had any number of physical problems that would be exacerbated by a bad crash

[ThatsGoodT]

The collision looks passenger side vs. passenger side and there aren't any skid marks. The last clip of the video shows that it was a bit of a blind curve with those trees there. Maybe the LFA was cutting the corner and the BMW tried to evade... resulting in the cars ending up hitting that way and being on the wrong side of the road? Just an idea.

[SSLByron]

The collision looks passenger side vs. passenger side and there aren't any skid marks. The last clip of the video shows that it was a bit of a blind curve with those trees there. Maybe the LFA was cutting the corner and the BMW tried to evade... resulting in the cars ending up hitting that way and being on the wrong side of the road? Just an idea.

It's hard to see the BMW driver being that badly hurt if he was wearing his seatbelt. The passenger side was pretty seriously compromised though. The A-pillar and roof are severely deformed.

[sdpauly]

sad

R.I.P.

[SSLByron]

Just occurred to me that I've driven that road. Such a tranquil spot for such a terrible accident.

[TheDarkEnergist]

The video does show significant damage, but never shows a good angle. It seems they struck flat on, so the full force of energy is transferred, no deflection. The gentleman that died was 67. Maybe it does not looks as bad because of how well engineered these two cars are?


Can anyone give a summary of what the fireman said?

Significant damage =/= cabin intrusion. Obviously it was a bad crash, but I don't see any points where someone would suffer life threatening injuries on either of those cars.

My friends and I crashed in 99 Chevy Malibu and the passenger wasn't wearing his seatbelt, his face hit the airbag and was pushed up, causing his forehead to both shatter, and dislodge the windshield from the car. He got out of the car without a scratch, just a bad headache.

Not often do you see a crash and think, that's not so bad, someone died? Usually it's the reverse, some horrific looking mangled mess, and people survived. This is all speculation though, obviously I'm guessing until we can find out what actually happened.

Very sad though, it's always rough losing someone with great talent.