Every time they make a commercial, automakers have to pick the best angle to show a car at – top, three-quarter view, exhaust and engine bay. But never have we seen a commercial about the underside of the car, and that’s because cars don’t fly, they are glue to the road and that’s the way we like them.
But the Ford Fusion did have to do a bit of flying in its latest TV ad “Cliff”. You might be inclined to think this is a fake computer animation, but that’s not the case. Ford asked big time Hollywood stunt driver Garvin Cross to actually jump the Fusion off a ramp.
Cross was involved with The Fantastic Four, The Watchman, Mission: Impossible and Inception, so he didn’t disappoint. Here’s what he said:
“It was a two day set up (10 people each day) 2,000 boxes (80 foot long)placed 50 feet from the jump takeoff. I had tarps separating each level and then it was tied together in sections (3 cubes)and then tied again with sash cord and shrink wrap. The boxes were 6 feet high. The jump ramp was 5 feet high with a kicker bar that released when the front wheels impacted it. I drove at 52 miles an hour (set with a calibrator) . Tire height was at 10.5 feet for a 90 foot jump to the top of impact on the boxes (onto my Go Pro). I landed another 60 feet forward. The theory for the way I built the box rig was to create a system that worked similar to an air bag. I wanted to spread the impact throughout the whole surface of the boxes and not just one area of it.”
The Fusion had its airbags removed, the seat welded to the floor. Weight was added to the back to balance it out. Make sure to check out the car in flight, because you’re not going to see it anywhere else!
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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