Faleceu Hiromu Naruse, piloto chefe de testes da Toyota

[cornetas]

http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/hiromu-naruse-2010-06-24

...faleceu no seu reino, perto do Inferno Verde.

[Kaizen]

"Toyota driver killed

Toyota has confirmed that its chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, was killed in a crash outside the Nurburgring earlier this week.

It is reported that Naruse was driving the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition, and collided with a BMW, also believed to have been driven by a test driver. Both the BMW driver and his passenger survived the accident, though have been seriously injured.

This is hugely sad news. Naruse, 67, was a true legend of the industry, joining Toyota in 1963 and working with Toyota Motorsports since 1970. He was intimately involved in the development of every quick Toyota of the last 40 years, from the Supra to the MR2, 2000GT and, most recently, the LFA itself.

Known as the 'Nur Mister', Naruse was renowned as a brilliantly quick driver around the Green Hell, and is believed to have completed more laps of the circuit than any other Japanese driver. Recognised as Toyota's top racer, he was also the personal track driver of CEO Akio Toyoda himself.

TopGear was lucky enough to get a passenger ride around the 'Ring with Naruse in the LFA late last year, where he explained, in inimitable fashion, his philosophy on developing cars.

"We want the customer to feel that the product is delicious," he told us, "and think 'wow, I want to eat that again'. I am confident that with our seasoning, Toyota's cars become all the more delicious."

This week, Toyota has lost its master of seasoning."

[Kaizen]

Paz à sua alma.

Vi-o a "dar calor" no LFA em Nurburgring e fiquei surpreendido por ver um velhote a "desbundar" tanto e tão depressa.

Um revés para a Toyota e para os entusiastas de carros desportivos.

Reportagem pós acidente

[blardY]

..bolas, que fim triste.

[Kaizen]

... e que homenagem mais sem jeito!
Um homem que teve como último projecto o Lexus LF-A é homenageado com uma versão "West Coast Customs" sem sentido através de um produto em fim de ciclo de vida, de uma joint-venture com a PSA, grupo que só tem trazido desgraças à marca? Enfim, algo continua (muito) mal no reino da Toyota!


Contributo do nosso amigo JRunner:

New hot hatch will be a rear-wheel drive with a front mounted engine
By Alex Ricciuti August 10, 2010 9:00 am



Toyota may be developing a hot-hatch variant of the Aygo compact car in honor of Hiromu Naruse, the automaker's chief test driver who was killed in a car crash in Germany this past June.

The new hot-hatch will be a rear-wheel drive with a front-mounted engine, unlike most others in its class.

Based on the Aygo, as well as taking inspiration from the GRNM (Gazoo Racing Master of Nurburgring) Hot Hatch Concept which premiered at the Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this year, the car will feature a 1.5 liter engine sourced from sister brand Daihatsu and a double wishbone rear suspension. Weight will be kept down to less than 1,000 kg.

The model will be slotted beneath the FT-86 in the Toyota lineup and its base price will be around 1.4 million yen (£10,250/€12,326). To keep costs down, Toyota may build the car at the Daihatsu plant in Osaka. The car could debut sometime in 2012.

The idea for a low entry-price, rear-wheel drive hot hatch was Hiromu Naruse's own. Naruse was killed while testing a Lexus LFA in a crash with another test vehicle, a BMW 3-Series, on a road near the Nurburgring circuit in Germany.

Naruse was 67 years old and had been with Toyota since 1963.
Source: Autocar