Video: Fiat 500 does 360-degree vertical loop at AutoRAI

If there's an automotive spectacle that rivals the jump in sheer visual excitement, it's got to be the classic vertical loop (aka loop-de-loop or loop-the-loop). There's just something special about seeing a car go vertical, then upside-down and back all in one swift motion that makes the crowds go bonkers... and Shell (purveyors of gasoline that they are) used such a stunt to good effect at the 2011 AutoRAI show in The Netherlands.

Waiting for you past the jump are a trio of videos that include different angles (in-car and out, plus a bonus behind-the-scenes look) of a specially prepared Fiat 500 coupe tackling the famed vertical loop, which looks like a giant spoked bicycle rim more than anything else. Most of the videos are in Dutch, but the stunt driver, Steve Truglia, speaks English... so you won't be completely lost.

Click past the break to see it all go down for yourself.

[Source: Youtube]