zo’n carrera GT is dan ook een beest van een sportauto. door dit tragisch ongeval botste ik terug op onderstaand interview van Joshua Dowling met Walter Rohrl (Nov/2002)
The release of Porsche’s Carrera GT, which will challenge the Ferrari Enzo for the title of the world’s fastest car, has been delayed because one of its most experienced test drivers says it is too powerful for mere mortals.
Former world rally champion and Porsche test driver Walter Rohrl told Drive the new Porsche supercar is “the first car in my life that I drive and I feel scared”.
Rohrl, who has been testing the Carrera GT in prototype form for the past three years, said it is so powerful that it spins the rear wheels in each gear up to fifth in its six-ratio box.
Earlier this year, Rohrl said, the engineering team was about to cancel a day’s testing at the famous Nurburgring circuit because of wet weather. But, Rohrl said, when he insisted the car had to be tested in slippery conditions, he discovered the car’s daunting performance.
“I came back into the pits and I was white,” Rohrl said. “I immediately said to the engineers that we need one button for the wet and one button for the dry”, referring to the need for a traction control switch.
Originally, he said, there were no plans to fit electronic traction control to the Carrera GT but his insistence has forced Porsche to develop a system at late notice.