Autoblog

Watch Top Gear complete a world record double loop

Chris Shunk — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos

The Top Gear team has made a bit of history at the Top Gear Festival in Durban, South Africa, as a stunt driver pulled off a double loop in front of a crowd of over 15,000. The event involved a 26-foot tall double loop track that looks to have come right out of a Hot Wheels box, except that it weighs over eight tons. The stunt vehicle of choice was a custom-made buggy with a throttle lock that could travel at a constant 24-26 mile per hour speed that the math geeks said was necessary for a successful "Deadly 720."

Scroll below to watch a nearly two-minute video that starts with cheering crowds and the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond and ends with the buggy stunt. We're thinking the best part of the video was the in-buggy view of the double loop.

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Watch Top Gear complete a world record double loop originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top Gear Live to attempt Deadly 720 double loop

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Safety

Successfully piloting an automobile around a giant loop is no easy task, but it's just not spectacular enough for the crew of Top Gear Live. Billing it as a world-first event, the live show's stunt drivers will attempt to spin their way through a giant loop twice in succession during the Top Gear Festival in Durban, South Africa on June 16 and 17.

Dubbed the Deadly 720, the loops themselves stands 26 feet tall and weigh eight tons. A custom-made buggy featuring an accelerator lock that allows the driver to put all his concentration on navigation will enter the loop between 24 and 26 miles per hour. Any deviation from that predetermined speed will result in a failure by the event's calculations.

"There are absolutely no margins for error, which is probably why no one has ever been mad enough to try it before," says Top Gear Live Creative Director Rowland French. Read all about the planned stunt by scrolling down below.

Continue reading Top Gear Live to attempt Deadly 720 double loop

Top Gear Live to attempt Deadly 720 double loop originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch Chinese driver nail world's largest loop-the-loop

Jeff Sabatini — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:41:00 EST

Filed under: China, Etc., Videos

Anyone who has ever set up a Hot Wheels track knows that there is no more awesome an automotive stunt than the loop-the-loop. While some would argue that a good old fashioned Duke Boys jump takes the prize, we feel that the case for driving upside down is just irrefutable. That there are apparently people actively setting new world records for driving around loop-the-loops only makes us more convinced.

A new Guinness World Record for circling the largest loop-the-loop was set just a few months ago by Li Yatao, who drove a Youngman Lotus L5 around a loop with a diameter of 42 feet, 2.69 inches. The car appears to have had both front and rear bumpers removed to improve ground clearance during the run, and of course, a full roll cage was fitted. Yatao is a driver on a Youngman factory team - yes, that Youngman, the would-be suitor for Saab.

Go ahead and watch this amazing video for yourself, after the jump.

Continue reading Watch Chinese driver nail world's largest loop-the-loop

Watch Chinese driver nail world's largest loop-the-loop originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Etc., Videos, Fiat

Stunt driver Steve Truglia loops a Fiat 500 - Click above to watch the video after the break

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]

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

Video: Fiat 500 does 360-degree vertical loop at AutoRAI originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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