A Porsche test driver has been killed following an accident in a 911 cabrio prototype, it has been reported. The driver, a 51-year-old Porsche engineer, was driving the car on the A5 Autobahn in what is thought to be an endurance test of the new car.
The vehicle apparently came off the road and hit the guard rail. The accident involved only the one car and happened at 2:45am just past the Weiterstadt exit on the motorway. A spokesman for Porsche was quoted as saying the engineer ‘was one of the most experienced test drivers.’
Police and fire department personnel responded to the scene from nearby Darmstadt. An investigation has now been launched by the public prosecutor.
Witnesses said the driver, who has been with the company for 25 years, had been driving at a high rate of speed in the 998 prototype. He was being followed by a second Porsche test driver in a camouflaged four-door Porsche Panamera prototype, but he avoided the collision and escaped unharmed.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)