We’re no strangers to death defying stunts. Earlier this year we risked life and limb learning no-handed donuts and driving on two wheels with the help of professional madman stunt driver Terry Grant.
Top Gear Live isn’t shy of a few stunts, either. The world’s most popular car show after our very own Joyride will shortly add to the list of things that shouldn’t be possible in a car, by undertaking a deadly 720 double loop at its latest event in Durban, South Africa.
We’ll break that down for clarity: some nutter is gong to drive a car through one giant hoop, exit it, then immediately drive through a second, giant hoop, risking life, limb and the few brain cells he must have left in a cranium that must surely have taken a battering over the years.
The loops, which are 8 metres tall, are made up of 16 tonnes of steel that, stretched end to end, measure 58 metres. The car that will tackle them is a custom-built dune buggy that has been fitted with special hand controls that lock the accelerator in position, allowing the driver to concentrate on saying his final prayers driving.
In order to have any chance of succeeding, the Top Gear Live buggy must enter the first loop at between 24 and 26mph. Failure to do so will, according to the team, result in painful failure. Any slower than 24mph and the buggy will fall from the top of the loop. Any faster and the suspension will bottom out, robbing the car of vital speed. That, or the driver will black out from the extra G force.
When Top Gear Live first attempted this stunt with a single loop back in 2009, the team used a remote controlled buggy to make sure it could be done. Only once the driverless buggy had completed the stunt a handful of times was a driver allowed to try it for real. This time, however, no remote buggy will be used — they’re throwing caution to the wind and going straight for it.
Top Gear Live will take place in Durban, South Africa this weekend.
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