Every petrolhead has a bucket list. Some say even regular people have bucket lists, but I would not know.
Jay Leno is a serious petrolhead, and his successful career has allowed him to pursue most of his dreams. Among them is riding in a car that can wheelie.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, which comes from the wonderful world of motorcycles, performing a wheelie means riding on the rear wheel of the bike.
In the case of automobiles, it means driving on the rear wheels alone, and this usually happens with cars that have been prepared for drag racing, and come with massive power figures.
However, Jay Leno's bucket list was more definite than that, because he is Jay Leno. He wanted to ride in the “Hemi Under Glass,” a customized Plymouth Barracuda.
The vehicle has moved its tuned Hemi engine in a mid-rear position, to improve performance on the drag strip.
Created 50 years ago, the car was known mostly for performing wheelies due to its impressive power figure, now raised to 2,500 HP. The driver of the Hemi Under Glass, Bob Riggle, has been driving this car since it was made, and explained he built it for racing, not for show.
However, its potential for entertainment has changed the original destination of the vehicle. Instead of racing, it performs shows in which it is driven on its rear wheels alone, mostly thanks to the new weight distribution and massive output.
Jay Leno met up with Riggle at the Irwindale Speedway in California to film a video for Jay Leno's Garage. The latter is an online show in which Leno showcases vehicles from his collection, as well as other interesting creations.
The segment should have showcased the pair riding in the 2,500 HP Plymouth on two wheels, which happened for about ten seconds. Unfortunately, the pavement was not smooth enough in the area they were driving, and a few bumps made the 80-year-old driver lose control of the beast, turning the stunt into a barrel roll.
Fortunately, Leno and Riggle were wearing safety gear and were strapped in racing seats and seatbelts, which performed their jobs flawlessly. Both were uninjured after the wreck, and the car's engine has also been unaffected, while the body will need some TLC. Feel free to view the video below to see for yourself.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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