Skip to main content

Put your foot down, get home early from the office this Friday

Many cities want to show off their tourist credentials by driving tour operators around well-maintained, scenic routes and even make a video to lure travellers. But sometimes it pays to take a somewhat different line, as the Californian city of San Francisco did in 2012. San Francisco’s hilly streets became a global image for the Pacific coast city after the 1968 Hollywood blockbuster movie Bullitt. The star Steve McQueen, driving a fastback Ford Mustang, pursued at breakneck speed the villain, who was d
June 4, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Many cities want to show off their tourist credentials by driving tour operators around well-maintained, scenic routes and even make a video to lure travellers. But sometimes it pays to take a somewhat different line, as the Californian city of San Francisco did in 2012.

San Francisco’s hilly streets became a global image for the Pacific coast city after the 1968 Hollywood blockbuster movie Bullitt. The star Steve McQueen, driving a fastback Ford Mustang, pursued at breakneck speed the villain, who was driving another iconic American so-called muscle car, a Dodge Charger. Few can forget the thrilling chase through the streets where the cars would become airborne only to slam down on the road with parts falling away due to impact.

If you want a more modern version, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal click here Visit Ford Fiesta rally car video false http://www.traffixdevices.com/blog/2013/01/traffix-devices-featured-in-ken-block-video/ false false%> to see a custom-built 485kW (650-horsepower) Ford Fiesta rally car charge through the city’s streets.

According to a New York Times newspaper article in 2012, the video was created for use in the Japanese motorsport genre gymkhana: drivers hurl their cars around obstacles, often in controlled skids or drifts, and are awarded based on the speed with which they dispatch the course’s mandated challenges.

The video is the fifth in a series of gymkhana-style productions financed by DC Shoes, the apparel company co-founded by the driver Ken Block. Watch him execute 360-degree drifts around cones, people, vehicles, moving trolley cars and much more.

To read the New York Times article with an interview of Ken Block, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal click here Visit ken block on the making of gymkhana page false http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/ken-block-on-the-making-of-gymkhana-5/?_r=1 false false%>.

Related Content

  • World of Asphalt 2019
    December 12, 2018
    Tomorrow is your last chance to save 35% when you register for World of Asphalt 2019! Register now to attend the asphalt industry’s largest trade show and educational conference on February 12-14, 2019. Find solutions from 450 Exhibitors who will display their newest products and innovations. There’s no better place to train your team than World of Asphalt. With over 120 sessions to choose from, your whole team will leave with the right tools to grow.
  • Australian capital Canberra looks to upgrade street lighting
    September 12, 2016
    The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government said it is seeking proposals for the management of Canberra city’s 79,000 streetlights to improve cost and energy efficiencies.
  • VIDEO: The ‘Hey! Watch out!’ traffic lights system
    September 5, 2016
    Time for a taxi ride around New York City, but back in 1928. Sit back and take a cruise, albeit tongue-in-cheek, around some of central New York’s better streets. But look closely. Rail lines were a prominent feature of those wider city streets as cars and trams mixed it along the boulevards, with people happily running between vehicles any which way. The roads surface looked as if there were no wear course, but simply a base course.
  • Bonfiglioli is launching heavy duty drives for large machines
    January 6, 2017
    Bonfiglioli Trasmital has developed a new series of travel drive gearboxes for use in large, heavy duty tracked machines. The firm is now offering three new product sizes, the 722C, 724C and 726C, which extend its range of tracked travel drives. The 722C develops a maximum torque of up to 330,000Nm, making it suitable for use on excavators of 120-150tonnes, as well as cranes and drilling rigs of 180-230tonnes. The 724C develops a maximum torque of up to 450,000Nm, and is specially designed for large cranes