Remember when you were little and you played with Hot Wheels? Didn’t you ever think that it would be cool if there were a life size version? Something where you were the driver and your car was doing the loop with a grand finale of jumping through a fire ring while your teen idol heart throb girlfriend, Alyssa Milano, was waiting to give you a nice big kiss after you completed your daredevil run?
So maybe that was mine. Maybe yours was a bit different. Yet, as little boys, we all thought it would be sweet if we could drive real life Hot Wheels cars and pull off the stunts we created in our bedroom. Well look what bounty the internet has brought us my friends. This will make you feel like you are eight years old all over again. This is a bonafide life size Hot Wheels car on a life size orange Hot Wheels track.
I just made your heart beat a little faster didn’t I? That’s okay, I promise no one will be passing judgment on you over here. I love this kind of stuff! This guy goes screaming down the track and makes a flying hail Mary leap into the air. He lands a bit left and low, but pulls it off like a pro, complete with a skid stop finish! (more…)
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My cars never did that. They were lucky to make it through my first run in one piece. Maybe it was because my Hot Wheels track had dangers present, like live firecrackers, and stu
My cars never did that. They were lucky to make it through my first run in one piece. Maybe it was because my Hot Wheels track had dangers present, like live firecrackers, and stunt supervisors who were GI Joe action figures. This guy pulls off that jump that you have in your head as a kid. It is a combination of the Dukes of Hazzard and Evil Knievel. You can see this race car driver a million times and it never gets old.
Guess Who the Race Car Driver is?
However, pay attention to the end. As the race car driver lands, the stunt coordinator says something very interesting. It makes your ears burn. He says,”Driver you just crushed the world record.” Now we have a ball game on our hands folks, speaking metaphorically of course. I did not know there was a world record for life sized Hot Wheels race cars, so what could this guy be talking about? Well I did a little digging for you. The record is for a four wheel vehicle distance jump. The guy driving our Hot Wheels car is Tanner Foust. If that sounds familiar to you it’s because he is one of the regulars on the USA version of the television show Top Gear. He launched that little suped up performance car 332 feet in order to break the world record. This beat the old world record by 31 feet. That’s about the length of a large in ground swimming pool for references purposes. The real story behind this feat though, involves one of the trial runs. Tanner had a mishap and was almost killed. He had to mend a bit before he was well enough to attempt the real life jump. That says something right there. It is one thing to have the man orbs to attempt a jump like this to begin with, much less attempt it after an almost fatal test run! He is on Top Gear though, so that could explain some of it.
His Stunt Car Was a Performance Beast!
Maybe he went through with it because he was driving a beast of a vehicle. Tanner was sitting behind the wheel of an 850 horsepower beast! The Pro 2 Style truck was lightweight (right about 3,000 pounds), and had an awesomely modified suspension to help with the landing. Driving that thing is the stuff of dreams. Oh, and the take off speed required to complete the jump? Well that would be a cool 104 mph. The bright orange track makes the racing vehicle look like it is going a lot faster though. Team Hot Wheels is in the process of putting together several more events like this. It is a new way of engaging a different sector of their customer base. They understand that kids are interested. Family friendly events like these are a way to get an entirely new generation of enthusiasts interested in those little metal race cars and that bright orange stunt track. They are currently working on corkscrews, double loops and a few other neat real life stunts. If they turn out as good as this one, you will see many more pieces like this I’m sure!
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