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In Memory of Hiromu Naruse

Posted by Kevin on June 23rd, 2010

Today, the automotive world lost an icon — Toyota’s Chief Test Driver Hiromu Naruse was killed in an accident outside of the Nürburgring racetrack while driving a Lexus LFA Nürburgring prototype.

Naruse-sama was influential in the development of every production sports car produced by Toyota, from the 2000GT to the MR-S, and was so widely respected that even Ferrari acknowledged his expertise, giving him the nickname “Nur Meister (One and Only Master Craftsman)” and referring to him as the “man who knows all the world’s roads”. Naruse-sama was considered the “Godfather of the LFA” and was instrumental in the creation of the Lexus supercar.

An incredible loss for his family, his employer, and the entire automotive industry — my deepest sympathies to anyone touched by this tragedy.

(I would turn your attention to a very nice tribute by Damon Lavrinc from Autoblog, who has shared his experience of meeting Naruse-sama at a recent LFA event — it’s a touching read that pays a deep respect to such an influential man.)

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Comments
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  • W
    WorldofLuxury
  • June 23, 2010
RIP Toyota Chief Test Driver Hiromu Naruse; I praised you so much, especially after your Lexus interview. Regarded as a driving god, you had to show your mortality now, behind the wheel of a specially-tuned edition of Lexus' LFA supercar - the ultimate supercar - also bearing the name of the site of the accident, the Nürburgring. And RIP to the dead soul of the supercar in which Hiromu Naruse contributed so greatly. :`-(
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  • R
    RDS
  • June 24, 2010
Hiromu Naruse not only help on LFA , he also the one that setting Altezza and my dad's old car , Celica !
J
  • J
    JVX
  • June 24, 2010
Looking at the video where the passenger side of the LFA was shown, it appears that the interior cabin is intact except for the front end. I assume this is a high speed crash. I don't even see any skid mark on the road from either vehicles. Did they even get a chance to step on the break I wonder. The impact must be great. Even helmet and seat belt weren't enough to save their lives. This is just a big lost to everyone involved. My sympathy to all the drivers' families and love ones.
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    RDS
  • June 24, 2010
http://www.rhein-zeitung.de/cms_media/module_img/210/105405_1_gross_Kopie_von_IMG_6786.JPG The helmet seems broken after crash !
O
My deepest sympathy to all of the members of the Naruse Family in the name of Lexus Switzerland! You will allways stay in our hearts as a great man who changed a lot and wrote not only Lexus history!
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    FreeSpirit
  • June 24, 2010
but how they got accident ? where the BMW car came from what Happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J
As krew so accurately stated, Damon Lavrinc's tribute on Autoblog is an excellent must-read. It especially resonated with me because, the day before Damon's encounter with Naruse-san, I, too, had the privilege of meeting him and sharing two laps of Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Lexus LFA. I was, at first, stunned beyond words when I heard the news of Hiromu Naruse's demise. Soon enough, however, the words began to flow, and I wrote this article for the Kaizen Factor blog: http://kaizenfactor.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/godspeed-naruse-san-well-miss-you/
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    John
  • June 27, 2010
R.I.P Hiromu Naruse I am a huge fan of his work, this is very sad and tragic news.

J