Some astounding images of two mangled Porsche 911s in the mountains above Los Angeles are circulating. It seems that the cars collided with enough force to rip one of the flat-six engines out onto the road. Ancillary parts can be seen strewn across the pavement as a rescue helicopter works in the background.
In these images that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department posted on X, we can see that the two cars involved are a 991-gen 911 and a more elite GT3 RS model. (I originally thought it was a 997, but nope.) The location called out, Monte Cristo Campground, is on the Angeles Forest Highway between Pasadena and Palmdale a little north of Angeles Crest, though the police are referring to it as Angeles Crest Highway. Colloquially, people sometimes call all of these roads “ACH.”
Frequenter of the forest and unofficial car-meet hoster J Ryan posted that “Apparently one was making a U-turn and got hit by the other one,” but nobody was badly injured. That’s unverified, but consistent with the damage you can see in the pictures.
It looks like the white GT3 RS hit the silver 911 from the side at the back, which would explain its rear-mounted engine ending up on the floor. And since both cockpits and all the glass look intact, it is possible that everybody onboard is OK. It would’ve been a scary few seconds in those cockpits, though. But somehow, the right taillight on the sans-engine car is still working in the sheriff’s video clip.
I’m not one to finger-wag in situations like this, especially when we don’t know the whole story, but these images should certainly serve as a reminder to never outdrive your eyes. Be careful out there—around any blind corner could be somebody dead-stopped or sideways in the road.
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