[createrkid]

Note to mods: please move to appropriate thread if this isn't appropriate, apologies. Also tried searching for this on team bhp, couldn't find it.

A German man was rocketing down the autobahn earlier this week with the pedal down in his 560hp 2012 M5 when the worst thing that could happen at those speeds happened. Another motorist merged from a freeway in front of the BMW causing the driver to lose control. According to the man's two sons, who were following him in other vehicles, the speeding M5 bounced back and forth between guardrails on the Highway and ultimately rolled several times over about 320 feet of roadway.

The car then began smoking from under the hood. Luckily, for the driver and passenger, the man's sons were able to spray under hood area with a fire extinguisher and extract the driver and passengers as well as a dog from the vehicle. Amazingly, no one died in the accident. The accident was so bad that the section of autobahn was shut down for several hours for cleanup. The driver and the passenger in the vehicle were seriously injured and are in the hospital but are apparently expected to make it. It's also worth noting that the section of the autobahn the accident happened on is one of the infamously unrestricted speed stretches.

Now this happened in 2012. I was surprised I couldn't find it on team bhp, please correct me if I'm wrong. Several other websites reported this accident at the time it happened and it speaks of the structural strength of German engineering. Even the headlight managed to make it through.

[Nikhilb2008]

It's also luck. People sometimes survive high speed accidents like this but some also die at 60kmph crashes.

Also, I think credit should be given to the guard rails on the autobahn. I believe they are of a special engineered metal which absorbs a lot of the impact to take the forces away from the car.

[saket77]

This is more of a side abrasion than a crash, hence the guy survived. It was not a frontal crash, else we all know what happened to the Porsche Carrera GT and the late superstar Paul Walker, which was travelling at less than half the speed of this BMW (about 130KMPH) which actually suffered a frontal crash.

[createrkid]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

It's also luck. People sometimes survive high speed accidents like this but some also die at 60kmph crashes.
.

It might be luck, but still, the car flipped and rolled at 300k. The roof took the impact well, very well actually. You're right about the guard rail aspect. Wonder when they'd install hi-tech stuff on Indian highways. :-\

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by saket77

This is more of a side abrasion than a crash, hence the guy survived. It was not a frontal crash, else we all know what happened to the Porsche Carrera GT and the late superstar Paul Walker, which was travelling at less than half the speed of this BMW (about 130KMPH) which actually suffered a frontal crash.

I don't think the crash killed him. It was the fire.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I don't think the crash killed him. It was the fire.

There was fire at the scene, but autopsies of both Walker & his friend, who was driving, revealed that they died of traumatic injuries, before the car caught fire.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Walker#Death