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How the Challenger Hellcat and Pennzoil Put Together the Best Car Ad Ever

Car commercials aren't what they used to be. You can't show dangerous driving or go over the speed limit while on the road. I have a friend who works in advertising, and he told me that every customer gets 3 different approaches/pitches – safe, neutral and naughty. But 99% of them go for the safe one because they don't want to offend PETA or some other organization with a million Facebook likes.
How the Challenger Hellcat and Pennzoil Put Together the Best Car Ad Ever 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
Pennzoil decided to tick the "naughty" box anyway with its commercial that gave a visual interpretation of performance engine oil. The result is one of the coolest 90 seconds of footage we've seen all year, showing the 707 hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat drifting through the intersections, running red lights and doing all sorts of naughty stuff.

Needless to say, we loved every moment of it  we officially do not condone this kind of dangerous behavior. But if you'd like to know how professional stunt driver Rhys Millen managed to have so much fun perform those dangerous stunts, which you should never try at home, watch this next clip.

Unfortunately, the behind-the-scenes video doesn't show how is or how they pulled the actual "airlift drift". In our previous article, we suggested it was fake, and our readers seem to agree with us. But it's not like sitting at a keyboard and analyzing a video gives you the right to judge it. After all, 42YO New Zealand racer Rhys Millen is a legend in the business, after he became the first driver to get backing from a manufacturer in the D1 series (in 2004 from GM). And let's not forget the guy has two rallycross seasons under his belt as well.

The good news about the video is that you too could drive like this if you spend $60,000 on a brand new Hellcat. The bad news is they're practically sold out at the moment, so you might have to follow our guide on how to get one.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

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.
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