Category Archives: They Did What?!

People are strange.

BMW Tests Hydrogen X5 With Hand Grenades

“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” the saying goes. BMW has taken that expression to a whole new level. According to The Drive, BMW took a fuel cell powered X5 and tested the structural integrity of its hydrogen tank protection by blowing up a grenade under it. Seriously.

It’s only slightly less crazy than it sounds. There was no actual hydrogen in the tank when they tested it, so if the tank was pierced, there would be no earth-shattering kaboom. But still, that’s pretty extreme measures.

The best part is the tank survived, completely intact, because the armor did its job.

Tesla Model S Plaid Beats Hayabusa in Drag Race

As a general rule, pretty much any motorcycle can beat pretty much any car in an acceleration run. That’s part of the fun. But as with many things, Tesla turns that assumption on its head with the Model S Plaid. It beats not just any bike, but a Suzuki Hayabusa, one of the premier drag bikes there is. Edmunds proved it.

OK, we know the Tesla Model S became stupid fast when it’s “gone to plaid,” yet another thinly veiled reference to high-speed travel in Spaceballs. But this beast has 1,020 horsepower in a rather ordinary four-door sedan. That is, to one might say, ludicrous.

Airplane Flies Through Tunnel at 150 MPH

Red Bull is all about the stunts. The crazier, the better. For their next trick, pilot Dario Costa flew his Zivko Edge 540 through not one, but two Turkish tunnels at 150 mph, reports Aero News Network.

I look forward to seeing the full video, but this teaser shows us just how fast and narrow this flight was. This is the sort of insanity I try in Flight Simulator X Steam Edition, not in real life.

Speak Softly and Carry a Train Horn

People just don’t look where they’re going. Or sometimes, they do, but they just don’t notice you’re there. Just ask any motorcycle rider. The Mazda Miata is basically a motorcycle with four wheels. One enterprising owner compensated for his car’s small size by installing a train horn. This video shows how the horn and the car’s nimble handling saved him from a crash.

I’ve owned three Miatas myself. All of them have received major horn upgrades, though never quite as serious as this one. The tiny car comes with the most wimpy horn I’ve ever heard on a car. You can barely hear it over the already quiet engine. Loud pipes don’t save lives, but it’s certainly important to be heard when the other driver’s eyes have failed them. That’s where a nice loud horn comes in handy. It’s loud when it needs to be, and quiet any other time.

What you see here is an experience I’ve had many times during my Miata ownership. It’s just a bit more extreme than mine. If I ever get another Miata, I have to start looking for a train horn.

Octogenarian Loses License for Speeding in a WRX

It’s an all-too familiar story, some guy driving his Subaru WRX like he’s Colin Mcrae getting busted for going nearly twice the speed limit. The driver’s probably some kid wearing a flat-brimmed cap vaping more smoke than Cheech and Chong, right? Nope. This time it’s an 80-year-old driver from South Australia, caught doing 113 mph (182 km/h) in a 62 mph (100 km/h) zone, thus proving that stereotypes are not always accurate. Read all about it at Drive.

These Guys Built a Motorcycle Out Of Harbor Freight Parts

Bikes and Beards has done some crazy stuff over the years, but this takes the cake. Using only items that you can buy at Harbor Freight, they’ve built a complete street legal (mostly) motorcycle. Seriously. You have to see it to believe it.

I once built a Harbor Freight trailer, back when they sold them as kits. While it never fell apart on me, the electrical system needed to be completely replaced with something that actually works. This is the same company that recalled its jack stands for failing, and replaced them with jack stands that later also got recalled for failing. Would you trust your life to Harbor Freight parts? I wouldn’t. But these guys did, and I admire them for it.

Don’t Be This Guy

Racing is supposed to be about how fast you can go, not how well you can keep a faster driver from passing you. The Drive brings us an example of one guy who clearly didn’t get this memo.

Christopher Ball, who shot this video, is doing all the right things. He’s clearly the faster driver. He’s giving his competitor room when they go side-by-side through the turns. He’s attempting to make good clean passes. The other guy, though, seems more interested in blocking, weaving, and pushing him into the wall than having a good race. DON’T DO THAT!

One of my best karting experiences was at Bushnell Motorsports Park. I was ever so slightly faster than this other guy, but not so much faster that I could divebomb him in a turn. We ended up side-by-side for half a lap, which is an eternity in race time. At no point did we block each other or even make contact. Eventually I made the pass, but he sure made me work hard for it. THAT is how racing is supposed to be.