Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Risks of Racing Supercars

Porsche Carrera GT. Photo courtesy Porsche Cars North America

A while ago when I was purchasing a vehicle, everyone at the dealership where I made my purchase was buzzing about what had happened the day before. Apparently some guy had ordered a Porsche Carrera GT (this was back when the cars were brand new) and had come by to pick up the German supercar. I wasn't surprised when the dealership employees told me that the guy also came with an enclosed trailer, simply loading the Carrera GT into the back and towing it off instead of driving the car away. I'm sure these guys were thinking that if they had bought a supercar that costs as much as many people's homes they would speed off into the sunset in a cloud of tire smoke. The guy who bought the car was likely thinking of its value, since he likely planned to drive it as little as possible and mostly garage it until later.

There are plenty of people who think that supercars should be driven and driven hard. Unfortunately there are plenty of supercar owners who do not subscribe to this philosophy. There are owners who take their cars rally racing or even on a challenging racetrack like the Nurburgring. Anyone who knows about the 'Ring also knows it's a challenging track, and one Porsche Carrera GT owner paid for this challenge in the form of some new wheels and bodywork. Check out the video below, which unfortunately doesn't show the crash but does show the aftermath in excellent detail. Would you drive your supercar fast on a track?