Jim Clark driving down a bobsled run - the photo

[Henry Carey]

When Ford introduced the new Cortina they got Jim Clark to drive one down the Olympic bobsled run at Cortina D'Ampezzo. Apparently it was the inspiration for the same stunt in a later James Bond movie.

(website reference removed)

Edited by nubbin. on Monday 26th November 23:03

[RedexRob]

amazing what some companies did for a photoshot with Fords...even later on in the seventies

[RedexRob]

What Ford should have done of course was use the glamcabs girls from carry on cabbie !

[CivicMan]

Grrrrr....!

[hostile17]

Would ANY car company, much less Ford, do this kind of stunt these days? Health and Safety people would have a fit, more's the pity!

Imagine Jenson Button ragging the latest Civic down the bobsled run at Lillehammer for an ad. He'd probably get more speed out of it than from his RA107...

[jonnylayze]

hostile17 said:

Would ANY car company, much less Ford, do this kind of stunt these days? Health and Safety people would have a fit, more's the pity!

Imagine Jenson Button ragging the latest Civic down the bobsled run at Lillehammer for an ad. He'd probably get more speed out of it than from his RA107...

IIRC Clark fell and hurt his back during a snow ball fight on this trip to launch/advertise the Cortina. Can someone confirm or disconfirm?

[jbudgie]

Yes, pretty certain this is true.

[Mojocvh]

Cracking photo on page 2 of the pdf....real champions to a man...........

[Henry Carey]

Yes, Clark did injure himself while throwing snowballs, and as a result Jackie Stewart drove his first ever F1 race, in a Lotus. There's not many people that know that! It was the Rand Grand Prix, a non-championship race in 1964, and Stewart won heat two, but Graham Hill won the event on aggregate.