Video

Freightliner goes all Gymkhana drifty on us, finishes with big jump

So, it's a safe bet that the following video is the craziest thing you'll see all day. Maybe this week, and quite possibly, this month. It stars, in no particular order, a drifting Freightliner semi driven by Pikes Peak champ Mike Ryan, a dock worker/stuntman being pulled behind said semi, a Ford Crown Victoria driving on two wheels, a drifting Nissan 240SX Coupe, two ramps, a row of Smart Fortwo minicarsand the Long Beach harbor. Yes, this is the sequel to the original "Size Matters."

The result of combining all of these things is a video that makes Ken Block's Gymkhana series look like an advertisement for the Foundation for Safe and Responsible Motoring. If you've never seen what a performance semi can do, this video, where it's drifting about alongside a car, is all you'll really need to see. And of course, this video is also proof that semis can fly (although not over the Smarts, because they were off to the side, slightly).

"The whole thing is unnatural from its very foundation," Gale Banks, President of Banks Power, told Autoblog. "You take a five-ton big rig, it's got a Detroit Diesel engine that we turbocharged and supercharged, added our Straight-Shot methanol injection, and then you do things with it that most people wouldn't do even in a regular car."

While the work on the Freightliner was doubtlessly a challenge, getting this epic film shot was hardly a walk in the park. "Between Homeland Security and the insurance company, we almost didn't get to do the jump," Banks said. "I think anyone who's into trucks, drifting, jumping and insane stunts will dig it."

You can scroll down for the full video of Ryan's run in the Banks Castrol Freightliner.

Share This Photo X