Category Archives: Stunts

Ken Block’s Gymkhana Six

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It’s that time of year again! Ken Block along with sponsoring partner Need for Speed have come out with a new installment of the epic “Gymkhana series”.  Having covered the infamous series for the past few years there is nothing in the world like it.  This latest version picks up where the fifth installment from the streets of San Francisco left off. Titled Gymkhana SIX: The Ultimate Gymkhana Grid Course this new version is set in an industrial area where once again Block is able to do the impossible; drifting between shipping containers, hitting man-made jumps while narrowly avoiding Lamborghini Aventadors and cops on Segways.

Ken-Block-Gymkhana-6

Ken Block in Gymkhana 6

After watching the six and half-minute video it’s no surprise this series is one of the most watched and shared web franchises of all time.  Ken Block truly is a magician while in the driver’s seat of his purpose-built, out of this world, 2013 Ford Fiesta ST RX43.  I only wish I was a member of Ford’s marketing team when the deal was signed to get Block to switch from Subaru.  I’m sure they pay him a pretty penny but seriously there is no better advertisement in the world for the blue oval.

Please beware after watching this film you may think you are a rally star but I’m afraid you will still be an armchair star like the rest of us.  Please note: video participant is the best professional stunt driver in the world…..Don’t try this at home.

Record Setting Burn Across the USA

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On Sunday October 20th, Ed Bolian set a new record for driving across the United States of America, in, wait for it, 28 hours and 50 minutes!  Bolian, his co-driver and support passenger, piled into a 2004 Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG in mid-town Manhattan and drove at an average speed of 98 mph and a moving average of 100 mph. They stopped for a total of 46 mins along the way and arrived in Redondo Beach, California a little over a day later.

Ed Bolian

Ed Bolian and co-driver Dave Black

Their vehicle, a CL55, had two extra gas tanks fitted that could hold a total of 67 gallons (400 lbs worth) of gas in the vehicle.  This allowed them to travel 800 miles between fill ups (they stopped only three times for gas during the whole journey). They also never took a bathroom break (although one would think the co-driver may have been tempted to sneak one in during the refueling break). Additional equipment in the vehicle included police scanners, CB radios, two GPS units, two iPhones running traffic (and speed trap-related) apps and two laser jammers.

On route

On route

The sub-30 hour mark beats the previous record set by Alex Roy in 31 hours and 17 minutes in 2006.

Read all about the preparation and the journey on Ed Bolain’s blog and over at Jalopnik.

Source: Ed Bolian.com, Jalopnik.com

Drifting videos

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You may have already seen some of the coverage of rally superstar Ken Block‘s Toronto tour stop. Well, if you are wanting more on the event, the guys from Autoblog Canada have published their full interview with Ken.  Of course, the real cool part would be to see the video of their drive along which I guess we have to wait to see since they have not published it yet.  In the past, we have published many Ken Block Gymkhana videos which are always worth checking out.

On a related note, we recently came across a cool new drifting video created by Sylvania Canada. Shot in an undisclosed location SYLVANIA Canada and Canadian Tire teamed up to capture the beauty of drift racing at night. In making the video, drift drivers modified their cars with SYLVANIA Silverstar® zXe Twin Halogen Headlight Bulbs and absolutely rip it around a challenging outdoor course.

Audi RS 6 Avant – Man vs. Machine

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To celebrate the latest incarnation of the formidable 2013 RS 6 Avant, Audi UK has commissioned a very cool new video titled ‘The Duel ~ Man vs. Machine’ which has officially launched on their YouTube channel.

This epic video pits man against machine in an egg throwing battle the likes of which has never been seen before. Starring “Parkour” superstar Damien Walters and 007 stunt-driver /Top Gear’s ex-Stig Ben Collins the rules of ‘The Duel’ are simple – To cover your opponent in as much paint as possible, within the allotted time.

The 2013 Audi RS 6 Avant has a four liter, V8 twin turbo engine that produces a monstrous 560 HP and almost certainly can lay claim to being the world’s fastest production family car.  This is certainly different from the station wagon we all grew up with that’s for sure…..

IMG_4279

Audi RS 6 Avant

Audi RS 6 Avant

Audi RS 6 Avant

Audi RS 6 Avant

The only bad thing about this story is the painful fact that Audi is not bringing the RS 6 Avant to North America.  We have one word to say to Audi and that is – Why?

For the full specs and details of the Audi 2013 RS 6 Avant please refer to the following here. In addition, to get a glimpse of the “behind the scenes” making of this video check out the ‘How To Make An Omelette’ video here.

Car Stunt in Saudi Arabia

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Take a look at this crazy video from Saudi Arabia. The first part of the video shows two guys changing, or swapping, car tires while driving down the road on two wheels, while the latter part shows another vehicle driving down the highway on its side while the passengers hang out on the side of the vehicle.

This video and others like it have been described as ‘sidewalk skiing’. We’re not quite sure where the ‘sidewalk’ aspect comes in, but it’s an interesting video to say the least and something that isn’t likely to happen down the Trans Canada Highway anytime soon!

http://youtu.be/_8GeMrIzlhI

Miata Frisbee Video

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For all the Ultimate Frisbee and Miata/MX-5 fans out there, Mazda has produced a video for you.  Shot as part of Mazda’s Fun in the Sun promotional campaign in the UK, the video features passengers in two Mazda Miata’s throwing a Frisbee back and forth to each other, while the drivers perform various maneuvers. The video was shot at Longcross racetrack in Surrey. Both the driving and Frisbee skills are impressive, however, we wonder how many takes it took to get these shots!

2013 Audi RS4 Avants in Head to Head Paintball Duel

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Take a look at this cool video of two 2013 Audi RS4 Avants going head to head in an aircraft hanger with paintball guns mounted to the hood of the cars.  They make their way around obstacles while trying to score hits against each other.

http://youtu.be/rxhif43pLJ0

The drivers, Jim Dowdall & Colin Skeaping, who are professional stunt drivers, demonstrate some amazing driving skills in the video.  It also looks like they had a lot of fun.  This is of course little wonder when you consider they are driving the RS4 Avant, which has a 4.2 liter V8 engine that produces 444 hp and goes from 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds!

In case you were wondering points were scored for hits, flair and creativity.

You can also check out the making of video below:

http://youtu.be/LIJaYiSWNcY

Audi RS4 Avant

MINI JCW Countryman Backflip

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Check out this video of the world’s first successful unassisted automobile backflip on camera.

http://youtu.be/Ry-ofJHatGs

Guerlain Chicherit pulled off the stunt yesterday in the winter sports resort of Tignes in his native France using a MINI JCW Countryman. No word yet on what modifications were made to the vehicle.

Chicherit is a four times freestyle skiing world champion, he has also won the French rally championship on two occasions and is a veteran of the X-raid Team.

Source: BMW

Source: BMW

Source: BMW

 

 

James Bond Cars – Part 2

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In the continuation of our favourite James Bond cars, Part 2 looks at a couple of Aston Martins and provides an overview of all the cars Bond has used throughout the film franchise.

Aston Martin V8 – The Living Daylights (1987)

Timothy Dalton drove the Aston Martin V8 Volante as James Bond in the 1987 film The Living Daylights.  There are actually two different versions of the V8 used in this film. In the beginning of the film Bond is driving the V8 Volante, a convertible, while later in the movie during the main car chase (see below) it has a hard top.  The car used to film these scenes was actually a non-Volante V8 saloon.

Nonetheless, who can forget the cool features of this car.  This included laser beams built into the front hub caps that can cut a car in half and front missile launchers that locked on to a target by using the old school temperature sliders.  Of course, the most memorable feature of this car is the outrigger skis and studded tires that appear at the touch of a button.  These allowed Bond to jump over his enemy’s with the help of the on board jet booster!

The 5.3L Aston Martin V8 from this era produced 305 hp and had a top speed of 146 mph (234 kph). It could do 0-60 in 6.6 seconds.

Aston Martin DBS – Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008)

The Aston Martin DBS was featured in not one, but two Bond Films – Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008).  While the DBS didn’t have as many of the gadgets that the Q branch outfitted previous Bond vehicles in the past, it made our list for shear style and performance as can be seen the opening sequence of Quantum of Solace (skip to 52 seconds for the start of the car chase).

The DBS has a 5.9 Litre 48-valve V12 producing 510 hp and can do 0-60 in 4.3 seconds.  It’s top speed is an amazing 191 mph (307 kph).

Aston Martin cars are featured a number of times in our list, and with good reason, James Bond has driven an Aston Martin in the series more times than any other car. The DB5 is also rumored to making an appearance in the upcoming Bond movie Skyfall, due to be released this fall.

Check out this great infographic from the folks at http://www.carinsurance.org that outlines the cars James Bond has used over the years.  The list of vehicles by brand at the bottom isn’t exhaustive, however, it does a great job showing how the Bond vehicles have evolved over the years.

A History of Bond Cars (Source: CarInsurance)

As mentioned, the next installment of the James Bond film franchise is Skyfall due to be released this fall. If you want to get a sneak peak at the action (and the cars) check out the official trailer below.

James Bond Cars – Part 1

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The following is a great little montage showing some of the cool vehicles that James Bond has driven over the 24 films in the series.

This got the RedlineNorth Team thinking about some of their favourite vehicles from the series and we’ve decided to profile a few.

Lotus Esprit S1 – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Lotus Esprit – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

First up the Lotus Esprit. Who can forget the underwater scene from the Spy Who Loved Me where James Bond’s white Lotus Esprit converts into submarine mode after driving off a dock into the water. There is also the classic scene with the car ‘driving’ in from the ocean onto a crowded beach – much to the amazement of beach goers.

The Esprit in the film was fully equipped with anti-aircraft missiles, depth chargers and could deploy black ink under water to foil enemy pursuers.

Two Lotus Esprits were loaned to the production company for filming. One was actually turned into a functional submarine. Once the movie was released they became so popular that there was supposedly a three year waiting list to purchase one.

The Esprit S1 (1976) had a 4 cylinder, 2.0L engine that produce 160 hp. Lotus claimed the Esprit could do 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds and had a top speed of 138 mph (222 km/h).

Aston Martin DB5

Aston Martin DB5 – Goldfinger (1964)

First debuting in Gold Finger (1964) but also appearing in Thunderball, GoldenEye, and a small appearance in Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale, the Aston Martin DB5 is the quintessential Bond vehicle.

The car was equipped with machine guns behind the front indicators, a bullet shield behind the rear window and a revolving licence plate that switched between a number of different plates. It was also capable of deploying a smoke screen and an oil slick to foil unwitting enemies, and of course a little red button that deployed the passenger ejector seat!

The original Goldfinger DB5 with gadgets was sold on October 27, 2010 for $4.1m (£2.6m). For a more reasonable price a scaled down electric model of the Goldfinger DB5 can be had for £48.

AMC Hornet

AMC Hornet – The Man with the Gold Gun (1974)

The American Motors Corporation (AMC) Hornet had its Bond debut in the 1974 film The Man With The Golden Gun. The V8, 175 hp Hornet is best remembered for the corkscrew jump over a river during during a car chase scene. A specially modified version of the car which had a lower stance and larger wheel wells was used by an uncredited British stuntman Loren “Bumps” Willert for the stunt. The jump distance was approximately 16 meters (52 ft) and the jump off speed was 65 kph (40 mph).

The original Hornet is still on display at the National Motor Museum Beaulieu, England.

Up Next….Aston Martin V8 in Part 2.