The New York Post is reporting full details of the Porsche Carrera GT crash story, the details of which are markedly different than what we initially received, reported and ultimately retracted yesterday. According to the Post, Port Chester, NY body shop owner Chris Numme had performed minor repairs on the silver GT and was transporting it back to a Greenwich, CT Porsche dealership (presumably New Country Porsche, though the article doesn't name them specifically) on November 24 when the accident occurred.While on the way to the dealer, Numme was forced swerve to avoid a truck that was creeping through a stop sign. While maneuvering, he upshifted to second gear and the car lost traction, jumped onto the sidewalk, and hit the utility pole. He was not speeding, according to the report. An eyewitness described the crash as being very loud, and was shocked to see Numme and a passenger exit the car. Numme, as was widely reported earlier in the week, did suffer a broken foot. His passenger, who is not named, experienced neck and back pain. Local police did not cite Numme for any traffic violation.
The car's owner is investment banker Robert Greenhill of Greenwich, former chairman and CEO of Smith Barney. As for the replacement of the car, it is being handled by Numme's insurance company. The report we were initially given that the car was replaced the following day appears to be wholly inaccurate.
[Source: NY Post]
Reader Spy: Chevy Volt caught on set of Transformers 2
Spy Shot: Production interior of Chevy Volt (maybe)
Rumormill: Lexus LF-A... Stillborn?
Ford reveals 2010 Mustang badge
REPORT: Chrysler may sell Dodge Viper rather than kill it
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Nissan Murano
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Dodge Journey R/T
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Jeep Compass Sport 4x2
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Porsche Carrera S
First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit Sport
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vcash @ Dec 1st 2006 10:51AM
Makes more sense now - Nume is a standup guy - He's pricey but very professional and is constantly working on exotics. Too bad this accident happened - I wonder if this will take a hit on his rep and if the big greenwich dealers will stop reffering him.
Bob-o @ Dec 1st 2006 11:00AM
That's quite a lot of damage given the residential setting. I call BS on the story.
Mike @ Dec 1st 2006 11:09AM
"A truck started to creep through the stop sign".....and he crashed the GT. You'd think the guy would come up with a better story than that.
First of all, why would he upshift in this situation???
Second, upshifting should not cause him to loose traction! If he down shifted or gunned it while still in 1st, then I might believe his story!
He's just an idiot that doesn't know how to drive a manual transmission!
andrew @ Dec 1st 2006 11:15AM
I liked the first story better, can we get that one back? this one is just stupid.
Aphid @ Dec 1st 2006 11:16AM
This sounds more suspect than the fake story.
brian @ Dec 1st 2006 12:05PM
Mike,
One of my buddies was driving an old VW bug in the rain. He was making a left hand turn, shifted into second, and lost traction and spun out into a ditch. He wasn't driving crazy fast either. So, it is possible to upshift, lose traction, and wreck.
Terenus @ Dec 1st 2006 12:07PM
Haha, the original story sounded more real than this B.S.
Chance @ Dec 1st 2006 12:24PM
Has the Post provided any indication of the speed the GT was travelling at the time of the accident?
The severity of the frontal impact leads me to believe the car was going in excess of 35 mph.
Mike @ Dec 1st 2006 1:36PM
Steve, I don't doubt you know what you are talking about, especially owning a 911 Turbo!
He probably did panic and screwed up! Under normal - nonpanic - driving conditions, I don't see the reason for upshifting in this situation.
Michael Karesh @ Dec 1st 2006 1:37PM
35 mph can easily cause that level of damage. As little as 25 could have caused it, though my seat of the pant's estimate is 30-35. Check out the iihs and nhtsa videos some time to see how much damage a collision at this speed can cause. Also remember that the car hit a pole, so the impact was very concentrated.
As for the upshift being the problem, I also don't see it. What I do see is someone who wasn't paying attention at the precise moment he needed to be, then over-reacted. Happens all the time to all but the most skilled drivers.
Having the truck involved does explain how the car hit a pole on a straight residential street.
C @ Dec 1st 2006 1:54PM
1) How fast was he going in first that he had to swerve, and couldn't just stop?
2) If this was a sudden lift-throttle oversteer spinout, wouldn't the rear of the car have hit something?
3) If the front of a car hit a pole I'd expect it to be from understeering during a sudden swerve, or when exiting a tight bend, gunning it, and being surprised that the rears hung on--causing you to rocket straight across the intersection.
Not that I drive a CGT, but physics is the same for everyone.
Ironside @ Dec 1st 2006 2:18PM
I'm surprised the replacement will be covered by the mechanic's policy...when I worked for Mercedes-Benz, I had a Mercedes-Benz insurance card that would cover any damage to a vehicle I was driving on the job.
Steve @ Dec 1st 2006 2:49PM
Mike says:
"Second, upshifting should not cause him to loose traction! If he down shifted or gunned it while still in 1st, then I might believe his story!"
Of course upshifting can loose traction. The wheels are still going to spin at a different speed, faster or slower is irrelevant, especially if you have a powerful car like that with a proper manual.
No doubt he could have done it, I've been able to slide my 911 Turbo while upshifting. You just panic, shift up a gear, but end up flooring the pedal rather than matching rev's. The wheels then spin, it's why you can chirp the tires going UP gears in any good car.
vcash @ Dec 1st 2006 3:07PM
To Peter - Nummes body shop is about 3miles from New Country Porsche and Miller - where this car was probably headed. You see a lot of affluent investment bankers test drive these 6 figure machines up and down close to the road where the porsche crashed.
Also, I am pretty sure Numme also knows how to drive stick pretty well - considering the number of dinged up exotics that are dropped of at his shop. If its any validation - he has backed my Mazda 6 MTX into the garage - not that it is the same as a Carerra GT.
Car videos & Motorcycle videos @ Dec 1st 2006 4:01PM
The Carrera Gt is a very hard car to drive, Take a look at this one taking off it looks like it is about to get out of control, but the driver saves it.
http://www.dpccars.com/car-movies/11-22-06page-Porsche-Carrera-GT-with-straight-pipes.htm
apt34 @ Dec 1st 2006 4:32PM
Why would he upshift to second? That shouldn't cause a loss in traction unless he chirped into second by staying on the throttle too long or by powershifting (which I don't know why he would've done in an emergency situation anyways.)
In an emergency, GENERALLY SPEAKING there are two options:
1) STOP, or at least try to as hard as possible
2) Get out of the way! This may require swerving, or perhaps significant throttle input as well
Now, I suppose we're assuming the drive did the latter. If that was true, why would you want to upshift if you need to hit the throttle? Unless he was cruising around near redline in first gear, I don't think that would have done anything.
Does the article mean to say that he *downshifted* into second? Because then this would make a LOT more sense. A premature downshift and hitting the throttle will multiple the torque going to the wheels, and considering most second gears, he had a high possibility of losing traction with such a maneuver.
Regardless, why didn't he just stop? It seems they were relatively low speeds, so wouldn't a emergency brake + swerving do it? I mean, we're not talking about a Ford Econoline with drum brakes. I need more info on this situation.
Oh and #16, it looks like he tried to almost floor it while he was still turning (or so it seemed)! That is definitely not a good idea... was the driver experienced?
Fabulo @ Dec 1st 2006 7:03PM
A friend of mine flipped his mom's car on a Saturday night. He swore he hit a speed bump, in a straight line, and he was doing just under the speed limit (~35mph). His mom believed it.
This account of the accident makes as much sense.
Yeah right.
mulad @ Dec 1st 2006 7:37PM
Uh, so, the Carrera GT doesn't have traction control?
Chris B. @ Dec 1st 2006 8:47PM
First off, as mentioned before, it is most definitely possible to lose traction while up-shifting. Also, from what I've read from various sources, the CGT is a pretty difficult car to drive. It has a bottom hinged clutch pedal for one thing, making it a lot tougher to get a feel for if one is used to the normal drop down mounted pedal. It also has the insanely uber grabby Porsche Composite Ceramic Clutch set up crazyness, which probably makes the driver envious of F1 paddle shifters. [For the first day or two :)]
Tom Winch @ Dec 1st 2006 9:52PM
It seems obvious to me that the reason he crashed the Porsche is probably that he "downshifted" to 2nd, not upshifted. If he had upshifted to 2nd, that would mean he was cruising around in 1st gear. It's more likely he was in 3rd, saw the truck entering the intersection, then simultaneously swerved, downshifted, & braked which could definitely cause the car's rear end to break loose.