Toyota has confirmed reports that its chief test driver, 67-year-old Hiromu Naruse, has has been killed in a head-on collision near the Nurburgring. Naruse was driving the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition when he collided head on with a BMW. The German car’s test driver and his passenger were seriously injured.
Reports from Germany say that the prototype Lexus (said to cost 1.5 million euros) veered into oncoming traffic. Police are investigating the crash and have yet to determine its cause.
Naruse joined Toyota in 1963 in the Vehicle Evaluation and Engineering Division, and had been involved with Toyota Motorsports since 1970. He was heavily involved with the Lexus LFA project, the classic Toyota 2000GT from the 1960s and all sporty Toyotas in between. His death will be a big loss to Toyota, including chairman Akio Toyoda, who had Naruse-san as his personal on-track driver.
sticky acceleration paddle ?
must recall all LFA immediately.. LOL!!
tut tut….. what a pity…..
So? The story in the end told u to drive BMW is more safe…
Anyway R.I.P…
Better than another guy which died instantly in a crash… Safety is always priority in Europe, if not why their EuroNCAP are so respected? Time for us to think about our road safety regulation on cars spec..
Other European & US already implement that ABS+ Air-Bags + ESP (VSA) as standart on road selling cars.. Some may even thinking of setting a limit that at least 3 star above safety rating cars can be sold in their countries in future… The sad thing is for us even ABS + Air-Bags are not standart and people are complaning the cost of all these are even more expensive compare to their life… Time to wake up… Dont want until some of ur family died then regret of getting a better safety equip car…
samething happen as 67year old man sit in BMW collided head in any condition.
let me guess…
Stuck accelerator paddle?
Rest in peace Hiromu-san.
so this shows tht BMW is tougher.
Paul, the video after the crash can be viewed here http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/23/breaking-toyota-chief-test-driver-dies-lf-a-germany-ring/
my condolence, LFA is the best supercar for now…
Rest in peace Naruse-san, you will be missed.
At least he died doing something he loved…
Whatt a dedicated and loyal worker, typical Japanese.
Work till golden age, and 40 years still with the same company.
We Malaysian jump ship whenever chance come.
Perhaps we can learn something.
Employer, look after your staff better.
Employee, loyal to your boss.
Japanese work culture is different. Unless you’re headhunted, you will not get the same level or higher if you jump to a new company.
Some employee in malaysia, their perfomance are judge by colour not peformance…some employer like color more ….something to think about
Another problem for Toyota. RIP Naruse-san.
The BMW test drivers are safe!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KOwQDctOM
A big loss, sad…
Shocking News……. :-(
condolence to his family..such a big loss
=(
:( :( :( :( RIP
R.I.P
rest in peace toyata test driver san..
died gloriously in a RM6million prototype supercar… who else to match that???
ayrton senna in f1? cost millions to produced. plus, roland ratzenberger too.
Sorry…
This shows that even with the best car & best driver, road is still like tiger mouth…
Means they use real human to do crash test?
Ah…
Whatever had happened, that’s how a ‘Samurai’ should die… bravely, not on bed.
Agreed….
sapa P1 punya chief test driver?
tg azizan
Ouch! As automotive enthusiast, that really hurts…
Just look at both cars………………….. Lexus LF-A and BMW(5er?) :-(
RIP Naruse-san.
My condolences to the deceased family too.
oops, Lexus LF-A Nurgburgring Edition…
from god we come to god we return
R.I.P Hiromu Naruse
God, another talent..
I thought Nurburgring is a closed circuit. Feeling sad on this accident .
To all road user please drive safely..
This was not on the Nurburgring and this was not a BMW ‘test driver’.
The accident happened on a public road and the BMW driver was on the way to the shopping centre.
1st?
may his soul rest in peace…
R.I.P!~
High speed accident
Salute !!!!! R.I.P…….
R.I.P
…. sad
RIP Hiromu san
pity him
Sad
the rumours are true.
this is a great loss to auto industry. my thoughts are with his families, and of course Toyota.
so long Naruse san.
wow! both are legend…
This a real crash test
.
I’m surprised that at age 67 , he are still a test driver.
Maybe its the passion that is still in him.
And he gave his soul to the one thing he enjoys most.
R.I.P Mr.Naruse. May God Bless Your Soul.
The creator of Nissan Z, Yutaka Katayama still test his own cars.. He is almost 100 years old…
http://www.wheelosphere.org/special-chat-with-yutaka-katayama-creator-of-the-z-series/
Sorry for him. Sorry for the cars too.
so safety wise,BMW still beats Lexus
Toyota steering power steering issue! Veer all over the place. FAIL!
RIP to one of the respected loyal toyota Chief test driver.
Toyota need to investigate why it crash in a narrow road. Since normally small and narrow winding road based on common sense will not drive fast. Could it be another throttole problem involving run away toyota?
The net pic shows that it looks like outside of the track.
RIP.
…24 ppl like this?
Condolences to their families and the Toyota family.
Want to be a Toyota test driver? Anyone??
video and picture if the incident: http://www.rhein-zeitung.de/regionales_artikel,-BoosNuerburgring-Chef-Testingenieur-stirbt-bei-Unfall-mit-Super-Lexus-_arid,102517.html
head on collison in nurburgring?
Oh…. Ah….
Eventually a Toyota Staff die in this Toyota make car. Somemore Lexus marque!
This disaster crash test (non intended) prove BMW chassis is slightly safer than Lexus/Toyota.
woww…what a waste…
R.I.P Hiromu Naruse, May your gas tank never run dry and your tires stay at optimal temp and wear. May you enjoy God’s voice (LFA at full song) and God’s breath (the gentle buffet of air as a race car goes by) forever.
RIP…
I’d like to know if it was mechanical failure of some sort or driver error.
I couldnt imagine any better way to die for a man of his stature. RIP. *respect*
67 yrs old driving a performance car? the reaction..eye sight not as good as a young person.
Sad… Toyota racing development dept will be slowing down..
see the picture of the crash @ http://lexusenthusiast.com/2010/06/23/lexus-lfa-crash-in-germany/
The road is very narrow. How coincidental that his LFA crash into a BMW, which was also test-driven? How can both cars test-driven on the opposite direction?
My deepest condolences to his family, and Toyota.
old to be a test driver………bt we all die eventually !
condolence to his family… even an expert giler driver like him dies in car accident… we Malaysian, always neglect safety like talking on handphone or sms while driving. moral of the story, be careful when u r driving, remember your love one…
agree with you. whatever car u drive, be careful. dont claim you are very expert driver.think other people.
he is a test driver, ppl pay him for driving fast, wat are u talking about?
I put question to his age and also traffic control at the track during the time of the accident
what an uneventful year for toyota.
condolences to the family.
12 pictures from Germany’s tabloid website:
http://www.rhein-zeitung.de/regionales_artikel,-BoosNuerburgring-Chef-Testingenieur-stirbt-bei-Unfall-mit-Super-Lexus-_arid,102517.html
His too old to drive that speed car.. if u can see the driver site. not really too bad that can cause the death..
u see the 3 series.. airbag everywhere.. u see the lexus? i cant see it.
anyway toyota shouldnt give the green light to OLD man like him.. even there are very2 super senior in fasters driving.. its bcoz older, tulang cepat reput if get impact..
the family should cry for this. and also should smile for the pampasan that they will get after this..
67 is considered young for a country with people the have the longest lifespan in the world!
can see a lot of airbags in BMW…
Air-Bags really save life.. Here is the evident found in the BMW..
Greetings,
What a sad tragedy. Hope that Toyota will produce some other great people like those that past.
-TRD Fans-
not to sound cynical here.. so who were driving in the opposite direction?
Toyota vs BMW = BMW wins
RIP ….
You will be remembered by most…
may your soul rest in peace
condolence to the family, what a great lost for toyota group.
shocking..i really want to know what caused it
Condolence to toyota teams & management. Maybe the next test driver more daring & able to provide more technological values!!!
He born 2 drive, and die bcox of driving…
Sad day. R.I.P
Kesiannn
A great lost to toyota, when they trying their best to produce more sports and exciting car. His demise is untimely and a big lost to all. At least his did what he did best to his end of life.
Let’s hope this does not stop toyota from producing the new LFA and many more sports cars.
RIP hiromu san.
Looking at both cars, both are badly crushed. I think the Jap die due to internal injuries, age is the factor. His internal organs were no more resilient. This is like when your car is being hit hard from behind. You might not injured physically, but internally, your organs crushed!
i agree wif u amiran… his death mostly due to his age. not the car. the video showed both front of the cars practically had same damage… both wif airbags working… LFA’s dashboard n steering r still in position… Ppl should stop talking about the mechanical failure about toyota…
@ simpz I really agrre with you. Some ppl here keep saying it’s toyota’s fault, sticky pedal, bmw wins etc etc… Really, someone died and that’s all the can say. Also agree with Amiran’s statement.
R.I.P. Mr. Naruse
yeah, you can see that both cars are relatively intact…it seems the lfa suffered more damage but thats just the CF bits flying apart, also notice the bmw has its windshield popped…nobody can say which car is inferior which is superior in safety for sure….then theres the bmw/conti fanboys with their elitist complex……pickin at SAPs which is totally unrelated and bmw>toyota and what not…oh well…
this is the real car crash, Japanese and German.. super car and family sedan.. good and bad.. the truth is, LFA’s airbag did not fire (or the car jz dont have it!!), 3 series air bag were everywhere.. eventhough it bloody expensive car, but if the safety is not there, i think it not worth to spend a bunch lot of money to buy a multy milion car, buy BMW.. it save :) or go for proton.. and drive save.. happy motoring guys
what are u talking about mate..u shud see the video 1st..clearly the LFA car have airbags..n what do you mean we shud go for proton???some of the protons don’t even have any airbags..at most they only have 2 airbags…so stop condemning the lexus as its still a fabulous car anyway….bmw not that great either.might as well compare with a benz and see which one is safer..anyway,
cheers :)
I think the Lexus being a prototype is not fully fitted with all the safety features like the BMW. Maybe no airbag too. Also looks like a plastic (fiberglass) body compared to the steel body BMW
The accident happened on a sharp bent, so its anyone guess really. Either it was indeed the car failure or human error is anyone guess really.
RIP Naruse-san.
OH GOD… we lost a toyota sports car guru… sad…. To be honest, no matter save ur car is, if u’re going too fast, no way u can survive. Unless miracle happens… From my point of view, he died bcoz he was driving way faster than the BMW. The faster the driver go, the bigger the impact he’s gonna get. Another part, vehicle impact absorption plays a very important role in head on car crash. The material of the chassis body frame is to be considered.
and i think the LFA is much lighter than the family sedan..
R.I.P.
RIP
That one is a prototype car for god sake…..why the people talk bout air bag this air bag there……
And u cant judge a car safety based on one crash…..and the driver is 67 years old….think about it..
I agree… It’s still a sad story, although I don’t really have a liking of Toyota and co.
His age might be the factor (airbags too), and himself as well. From the picture, I somehow felt that Naruse drove on the wrong side of the road in germany. BTW, it’s not in the ring, it’s one of the roads (nearby I presume), named K94.
bro, u know what prototype means ah? prototypes meant to be the exact as the production models la. if toyota is giving its chief test driver to drive that car, sure they equipped it with all sorts of safety aspects as production car.. how come no safety equipment also bring it to the road meh? sure got one la..
BTW, i wonder if this is the LF-A that toyota gives to richard hammond to test in top gear.
Build the supercar and die with the supercar which has nominated the engineering wet dream machine…………..i salute to him. R.I.P
RIP.
And btw, those who yak about LFA not having airbags, watch the video closely.
They yapping about no side airbags. You better go watch video again, even more closely (actually dun need la) and see that BMW also got side airbag.
speed kills
who the heck wants to drive slowly like a grandma in a LF-a anyway? he’s doing a testdrive afterall. with safety helmets and all those. maybe due to his age.
from the picture and video its clear that both car is total lost…!!!!! i believe a 67 yrs old may not withstand the full impact of the accident. Imagine the amount of force/energy.
my wild guess will be the speed of both car is atleasr 150kph
If P1 hit bmw at such speed i dun think u are able to reconigse the shape of the car lol……
Condolence to Hiromu’s family……
this guy kerja sampai mati le
Looking at the accident scene, its actually quite perplexing how the accident occured.
Both vehicles were left hand drive and they had damage on the right side of the car and the LFA was on the wrong side of the road. Typically you’d get a higher propensity of damage to the left side on the left hand drive car….
Wondering if the LFA had suddenly forgotten he was in LHD country.
I don’t think they were actually going that fast either, if they were, they’d be already be bouncing off the armco barriers but they don’t look damaged.
I think the driver’s age probably contributed to his death.
so many ppl giving so many stupid reasons…….first of all how can we compare the safety of a rear engined sports car with a front engined saloon…..sports car are made fast 1st and safe second…..saloon cars are made the other way around…..everything in a sports car is super lightweight where else saloon is not necessary to be so…..u can take a Ferari or Audi R8 and whack it head-on with BMW or Volvo and see who will loose……and there is also the point of impact…..take a 5 series and whack the driver-side of another 5 series at 11km/h……see if the driver can live after that……come on la be matured abit…..most of u punks who give such rubbish reason that he is too old to be a test driver cant even drive ur damn bloody Myvi safely around the neighbourhood and u guys are commenting on a veteran test driver who was probably been driving since u punks were shitting in ur nappies…..u ppl visit car blogs but u all comment like used engine oil :P
typo……i meant 110km/h
Lexus have less airbag look at the video. This is bcoz lfa is a sport car compared to bmw. Conclusion is when u buy a sports car, do not forget to write your will. Speed kills.
just a little tribute from 7tune.com
http://www.7tune.com/hiromu-naruse-cooking-with-the-nur-meister/
Condolences to his family and Toyota
R.I.P Hiromu san
first of all, why did nurbinging authrorities allow another bmw which looks like a normal 5 series to be allowed to be driven leisurely at the opposite direction of the lfa which obviously there to be tested for performance and speed. Head to head collision is not avoidable if the bmw is driven ooposite direction and i believe road is quite narrow. The authorities should investigate in depth what really happened. The truth to be revealed to prevent future mishaps. Not the car but the loss of a life.
R.I.P but the road gonna be haunted,R.I.P but not in heaven
too many people eager to post comment.. but didn’t bother to read in detail first.. typical malaysian attitude.. it happened on a 2-lane road near nurburgring.. not on the track.. dat’s y there was incoming traffic.. and the LFA was a prototype.. of coz not the same as production specs.. or else y wud they call it a prototype.. seems like govt’s “mari membaca” campaign not bearing fruits..