The car that actor Paul Walker was riding passenger in when he died on Saturday was traveling at approximately 40 to 45 mph when it came to a bend in the road where the speed limit drops to 15 mph according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation who spoke with NBC News on Monday. The driver, Roger Rodas, apparently lost control of the vehicle ending in the crash that killed the two men.
The two men were traveling in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT. The irony of the Fast and Furious star dying in a car accident has not been lost on the public and his fans. As a result, it seems like it's worth it to take a look at the vehicle the actor and his friend were in when the accident occurred. Below is a list of 5 things worth knowing about the Porsche Carrera GT, a car that is notoriously difficult to handle, via CNN.
It is almost a race car: The sports car has a top speed of 208 mph, a very high-revving V10 engine and more than 600 horsepower according to Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine.
"This was not a car for novices," he said. "Actually the Carrera GT program began as a racing program."
Many other exotic car enthusiasts say that this model was more of a racer's car than anything else.
It's very expensive: The car, brand new, costs $450,000. An oil change, according to CNN, costs $900.
The engine is located in the center: This means that the car can be more agile and turn quicker than most other conventional cars with the engine located in the front or in the rear. It can change direction quickly as a result of its racecar roots.
No stability control: The Carrera GT is an unusual car because it has no electronic stability control. That means it's very difficult to keep on the road if you don't know what you're doing.
"Stability control is really good at correcting slides keeping the car from getting out of shape," said race car driver Randy Pobst, who worked with Walker on the second "Fast & Furious" film.
"Paul was by far the best driver - a natural car guy," he said.
There are only 1,300 of them: Porsche made a small number of them and they're increasing in scarcity every day.
"Every car is sort of different. And this one, especially since it had such a hair-trigger throttle, because it changed directions so quickly, there is a lot to learn," Alterman said.
