Real life Hot Wheels is an actual thing with a ridiculous double loop
- Stunt drivers, Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy experienced real life Hot Wheels in 2012
- The loop was six stories tall
- “I felt like I was in a toy,” Foust admitted.
Published on Feb 14, 2024 at 7:49 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Feb 14, 2024 at 8:06 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
If you spent your childhood playing with Hot Wheels you might have never imagined actually experiencing it in real life.
Well stunt drivers, Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy, got to do that in 2012 at the Hot Wheels Double Dare Loop at X Games Los Angeles.
At six stories tall (the length of two football fields) the loop required 125 tons of plywood and steel and a massive 500 gallons of paint.
Requiring “precision, skills, nerve”, it was a one off that had never been done before.
Loading 7Gs of acceleration as they go into the loop at 77-84 km/h (48-52 mph), it is said to have felt like “driving into a wall”.
The added friction of bottoming out could scrub critical velocity, so extra stiff suspension was required.
What’s more, the cars sat three inches higher than the average rally car, on tires inflated to 80 lbs PSI – 60% more than normal.
The stunt driver also experienced zero gravity as they invert – just like astronauts experience.
The jump at the end was “just for fun”
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With a dual English and French degree and NCTJ diploma, Amelia began her career doing award-winning writing and editing for titles and brands spanning Women's Health, the Telegraph, Boots, and Vitality. Amelia joined the SB Media family in September of 2023, bringing her expertise in SEO and reader takeaway. As Lead Editor, her superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a shareable story.
