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This year’s Sun Valley Tour de Force speed trials were canceled early after an entrant rolled their Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet at nearly 200 mph. Footage of the crash has spread across social media, though it’s tough to watch. Both occupants reportedly survived the crash, but now have serious injuries.
The Sun Valley Tour de Force is a high-dollar automotive gathering that takes place in central Idaho. The crown jewel of the event (which includes activities such as scenic drives, a car show, and live comedy) is a “no speed limit” run down a closed 3.2-mile section of Idaho Highway 75 according to Idaho Statesman. Naturally, this attracts the fastest things on four wheels that aren’t drag racers or land speed cars—a Bugatti Chiron set the event’s overall speed record at 253 mph. Unfortunately, not all runs go as smoothly, as in the case of this Porsche convertible.
An unidentified individual entered a black 911 Turbo Cabriolet (believed to be a 997) in the event, bringing a passenger along with them. While approaching the finish line, the Porsche skewed off the road in a plume of smoke at speeds reported to be between 190 and 200 mph. The car is speculated to have suffered a tire blowout, as a Facebook commenter who claims to know the driver says they were skilled and experienced. In their words, this “wasn’t his first rodeo.”
The Porsche leaves the road surface and catapults into a roll, one violent enough to rip the drivetrain from the car as shown in a TikTok video filmed at the crash site. The family of the driver has shared that pilot and passenger are “alive, but severely injured” according to the Idaho Statesman. At least they appear to have been wearing helmets.
Another clip caught the crash from a different angle, where you can see the vehicle tumble:
This year marked the seventh running of the annual event. This promotional clip from last year’s run will give you some more context to how things are supposed to go:
Whether or not this will shut down the unlimited-speed run in the future remains to be seen.
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