Driving an Armored Ferret Through Suburban Tennessee Is Real

It's been some time since the Ferret armored car has seen any combat, considering the model was built between 1951 and 1972 and was taken out of service during the '80's, but that doesn't change the fact it was designed to take part in armed conflicts.

Granted, the Ferret was more of a reconnaissance vehicle, meaning it was just as happy to stay out of trouble as a glasses-wearing straight A's student, but it did offer some protection against light weapons and came equipped with a .30-caliber Browning light machine gun.

Certainly then, this thing's place is in a museum, and not the streets of Tennessee. Or so you would think. Apparently, driving the Ferret over there is perfectly legal, and the vehicle does come equipped with a set of headlights and turn indicators. In has no crumple zones, however, and it weighs over four tons, so crashing into it is not advised.

Have a look at it? Sure, but not many people would jump at the chance of driving it, but when you run a YouTube channel that feeds on views, that changes instantly. So Doug DeMuro, the same guy who took a Hummer H1 to the drag strip, among other things, answered the call.

It's safe to assume there was a line forming behind the Ferret, but it wasn't so much down to the relatively slow speed of the military vehicle, but because everyone was matching its speed so that they could take a better look at it. If we got to see a 50-year-old British armored vehicle on the street every day, we'd be living in a very strange world.

The Ferret can actually do 93 km/h (58 mph), and it goes pretty fast in reverse too, but operating it is apparently a nightmare, so it's not very confidence-inducing for a first-time driver. But seeing the McDonald's employees struggling to keep a straight face as the Ferret pulled up to the drive-through window was definitely worth it.