It has three times the horsepower of the average car . It 's notoriously difficult to handle , even for professional drivers . And now , it 's known as the car actor Paul Walker was riding in when he died . Both Walker and his driving team partner , who was behind the wheel , died after the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT they were in slammed into a pole and burst into flames . Los Angeles County authorities say speed was a factor in the crash and are investigating how fast the exotic car was going . So why is the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT so different from other street cars ? Here are five reasons : . 1 ) It flies on the road . The sports car has a top speed of 208 mph , a very high-revving V10 engine and more than 600 horsepower , said Eddie Alterman , editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine . Police rule out 2nd vehicle in Walker crash . `` This was not a car for novices , '' Alterman said . `` Actually , the Carrera GT program began as a racing program . '' Todd Trimble , an exotic car mechanic in Las Vegas , said the Carrera GT is a `` very hard car to drive . '' `` It 's ( a ) pure racer 's car . You really need to know what you 're doing when you drive them . And a lot of people are learning the hard way . '' 5 things to know about Roger Rodas , who died with Paul Walker . 2 ) It 's incredibly expensive . Brand new , the car costs $ 450,000 . An oil change alone costs $ 900 , Trimble said . 3 ) The engine is in the middle . Having the engine in the middle of the car means it 's more agile and turns more quickly than a car with the engine in the front or in the rear . The Carrera GT is able to change direction `` very quickly , very much like a race car , '' Alterman said . `` It was beyond a super car . It is what we call a hyper car . '' 4 ) It has no stability control . The Carrera GT is also unusual because it has no electronic stability control . That means it 's unforgiving with mistakes . `` Stability control is really good at correcting slides , keeping the car from getting out of shape , '' race car driver Randy Pobst said . Pobst coached the actors in the second `` Fast & Furious '' movie -- including Paul Walker . `` Paul was by far the best driver -- a natural car guy , '' he said . Alterman said learning to drive a car like a Carrera GT can be extremely tricky . `` Every car is sort of different . And this one , especially since it had such a hair-trigger throttle , because it changed directions so quickly , there is a lot to learn . '' 5 ) There are only 1,300 of them . Porsche made only about 1,300 Carreras GTs -- and they 're disappearing fast . `` They 're getting rarer and rarer , '' Trimble said . `` Most of the time , when they do get wrecked , there 's not much left of them . '' Walker and other stars who died during production .
The 2005 Porsche Carrera GT goes up to 208 mph and has more than 600 horsepower . Hide Caption 8 of 11 Photos:10 It is what we call a hyper car , '' a Car and Driver editor says . The car costs $ 450,000 new , and an oil change alone costs $ 900 .