Wednesday 4th July 2012

Time for Tea: Hot Wheels loop-the-loop

We had Goodwood last weekend; in LA this happened...

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As a young boy, I devoted lots of my time to playing with Hot Wheels cars; some were smashed in my own improvised stunts or using the extra Hot Wheels toys, some were kept in a little collection that I may or may not still own… (You do still own them, don't you Matt - Ed.)

For those of you who have ever owned any Hot Wheels toys (hopefully a majority), you will know how hard completing a loop-the-loop was. Go too fast and the car would fly off the track; go too slow and it would roll back down, swinging back and forth interminably, mocking your lack of judgement.

But X-Games in Los Angeles over the weekend, Hot Wheels itself proved a loop-the-loop is possible; and they didn't demonstrate it with one car; they used a pair.  The two drivers, Greg Tracy (green) and Tanner Foust (yellow), were reportedly subjected to forces of 7G laterally going through the loop, but their pain certainly makes for a great stunt.

So sit back and enjoy the video, enjoy your cuppa, and get those Hot Wheels out of the loft when you get home…

 

[Fluffsri]

As a kid in the UK I had Matchbox! LOL

[blackchrome917]

Tanner Faust (made up name)... isn't he the guy from Top Gear USA?

I'd love to see Clarkson try that stunt!

[Krikkit]

blackchrome917 said:

Tanner Faust (made up name)... isn't he the guy from Top Gear USA?

I'd love to see Clarkson try that stunt!

Yep, but he's more professional racer/stunt driver than TV host.

What a cracking thing to do, matchbox eat your heart out!

[The Hypno-Toad]

Hmmmmm..... not sure...

Terrible isn't it? You can doubt so much on the internet these days?

The jump at the end just doesn't look 'right' to me.

If it is genuine, it is very cool. I had a Hot Wheels loop when I was a kid, played with it all the time.

[Strawman]

blackchrome917 said:

I'd love to see Clarkson try that stunt!

I doubt he'd cope with pulling "7G laterally" if that is what they did.

[The Black Flash]

Crazyness.

[monthefish]

Cool as f**k.

Next year they need to do the 'high-speed/downforce/sticking to the roof of a tunnel' thing.

[bobbo89]

The jump at the end looked horrendous, probably had something to do with the suspension they were running (or lack of it!)

[EDLT]

The Hypno-Toad said:

Hmmmmm..... not sure...

Terrible isn't it? You can doubt so much on the internet these days?

The jump at the end just doesn't look 'right' to me.

If it is genuine, it is very cool. I had a Hot Wheels loop when I was a kid, played with it all the time.

The landing looks weird because the cars have almost-solid suspension.

[The Wookie]

Pffft, there's a Chinese company that does this stunt at trade shows on a shonkily constructed ramp... for some reason that escapes most of us here

[Disastrous]

Very cool but the obvious question is, could we do it??

By that I mean, what's involved skill wise? Could any reasonably competent driver simply pin it, old the wheel straight and complete the loop? I want a go!

[CY88]

Only need to be goping just over 50mph too.... easy.

[gionascm2]

Very cool!

[TonyHetherington]

ba-rilliant!

[robinessex]

7G ? Laterally ? Nope. Vertical G, yes. 7G ? Doubt it. Anything over 1G will stop the car from dropping on it's roof. Maybe we ought to design this into the next F1 track !!!

[dtrump]

small niggle.....video says double loop.....looks very much like 2 single loops to me

o well still impressive and fun to watch

[bobda]

Meh, it's been done by Fifth Gear... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiZoVAZGgsw

[scubadude]

blackchrome917 said:

I'd love to see Clarkson try that stunt!

Not Clarkson per say but Top Gear already have beaten this with a real double loop-
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/top-gear-live-w...

[luke111s]

Big balls test passed!

[The Danimal]

is it just me or does this leave anyone else feeling a bit ... meh....?