Stunts

In one of the more daring demonstrations of automotive automation, Hyundai put together a convoy of its new 2015 Genesis sedans and let them drive down the road without drivers in them. A team of stuntmen and stuntwomen started off driving the cars, and then escaped through the sunroofs, leaving the cars to drive on their own, following a single lead driver.

Paul Swift is known for his incredible precision stunt driving skills. However, he’s performing his tricks in sports cars. But for this promotional stunt for UK automaker Vauxhall, Swift was handed the keys to an unlikely vehicle – a light commercial utility van called the Vivaro.

Daredevil driver Guerlain Chicherit’s attempt to set the world record for the longest ramp jump did not end well for Chicherit or for his 1000 horsepower Monster Energy/Team Toyo MINI Countryman. Fortunately, although his car came down nose-first onto the ramp, Chicherit was able to pull himself from the car and, while he was badly banged up, he thankfully had no lasting injuries.

46-year-old skateboarder Tony Hawk proves he’s still got the moves, as he uses his skateboard to jump over the roof of a moving MINI Cooper S Hardtop. It’s a short stunt, but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous or death-defying.

While the Mythbusters pretty much debunked the fact that you could walk or run on water, if you’ve got a fast enough vehicle, you can actually drive it across the surface of the water. Icelandic Formula Offroad driver Gudbjørn Grimsson has broken the record for driving on water, hydroplaning across the surface of a small lake with his off-roader.

A while back we told you about Blackout, a promo clip for Castrol EDGE motor oil, in which Ken Block and a team of drivers would be challenged to race in total darkness. Well, the clip just dropped, and while it wasn’t really shot in complete darkness, it’s still great fun to watch.

To demonstrate the capacious cargo space of its 2015 Transit vans, Ford drove the world’s smallest production car, the Peel P50, into its 487 cubic foot cargo area. While that in and of itself isn’t that impressive, what they did next was pretty nuts.

Ken Block’s Gymkhana videos never cease to amaze, like in Gymkhana 6 in which he hooned and drifted his 650hp Ford Fiesta ST RX43 around a course strewn obstacles, never missing a turn. Damon Fryer of Daily Driven Exotics decided to recreate his own Gymkhana using his Lamborghini Gallardo.

For driver Ken Block’s Castrol-sponsored action video, he takes on 2014 FIFA World Cup star Neymar Jr. and a team of freestyle soccer players. While Block speeds dangerously close to the footballers, they weave in and out, attempting to score goals against his high speed rally car.

Plymouth Motor Corporation created this video back in the 1930s to show just how tough the 1936 Plymouth automobiles were, somehow equating the Plymouth engineering laboratory and stunt-testing of the cars to medieval torture techniques. Although the film starts out a bit macabre, the driving footage is shocking. 

Stunt driver and Pikes Peak champ Mike Ryan gets behind the wheel of 2500 horsepower super-turbo Freightliner semi to pull off an epic series of stunts. In the clip, Mike takes on driver Daniel Leavitt and numerous other obstacles in a maze of shipping containers at the Long Beach harbor.

Daredevil driver Guerlain Chicherit’s attempt to set the world record for the longest ramp jump went horribly wrong when his Monster Energy/Team Toyo MINI Countryman went nose-first into the landing ramp and cartwheeled end-over-end to a stop.

We’ve seen some video from a crazy attraction in India where daredevils and lunatics drive motorcycles and beaters at high enough speeds to get them to cling to the wall of a cylindrical room. It turns out that Mazda attempted the same stunt on with one of its spritely little Mazda2 subcompacts a couple of years back, and it’s quite a sight.

We like to think we’re pretty good behind the wheel of our cars around here, but the fact is that we’ve got nothing on pro drivers. Whether we’re watching at racers driving on the track, rally course or stunt performers, there’s plenty left for all of us to learn.

A few seasons back, Top Gear attempted to recreate the famous barrel roll stunt from James Bond’s The Man with the Golden Gun. They failed quite spectactularly. For their never-broadcast DVD special Top Gear at the Movies special, they bravely attempted the stunt a second time, with decidedly better results.