Blindfold Hotlap in a Volvo S60

The guys and gals at Volvo Cars know what it takes to make a promotional video. Actually they didn't, until they found professional racing driver Jonny Reid, one of the most skilled racing drivers in New Zealand. The 27-year old fearless New Zealander was given a brand new 2011 Volvo S60 to do a few laps around the Hampton Downs raceway in Auckland, before attempting something that to us mortals seems impossible: doing a timed lap while blindfolded.

Yes, you heard us right, he did a lap on the track guided only by the feel of the car, his knowledge of the track and co-driver Earl Bamber's voice.

Bamber's assistance was crucial, otherwise Reid wouldn't know exactly how much to turn as the young co-driver stated himself: "The radio started beeping, so i went to switch off the radio and stopped talking to him and he's like 'Dude, keep talking to me!'."

The feeling of not knowing where your car is heading must be torturous, especially when you're traveling at an average speed of 70 mph (112 km/h), and reaching a top speed of 119 mph (194 km/h). His final lap time was 1:28 which is quite an impressive feat, considering he successfully endured a whole lap's worth of listening to Bamber's effeminate voice.

Not that there's any relevance to it, but the lap record for the track is 1:01.856 in a FIA F3 spec race car, so the Kiwi got pretty close, considering he was driving a stock Volvo that's renowned for it's safety. According to the organizers, Reid had several attempts, but in the end he managed to pull it off.