Unbeaten after all these years.

azione

DON'T DRIVE
AFTER WATCHING
THESE ADRENALINE
BOOSTERS!

We all like racing and tracks.
But there’s something about
street racing that appeals to our
childish side. We don’t do it, but it

doesn’t mean we’re not fascinated by

the idea. Sprinting through traffic,

avoiding moving obstacles, racing to

the lights, watching for gaps, it’s all

socially unacceptable, yet utterly

exhilarating. So let’s leave that to

movies, where we live
impossible lives. 

 

For the discerning petrolhead, none
does it better than Bullit or Ronin. 
It’s all about true driving skills,

and realistic movement of the cars. 
Sure, the muscle cars wouldn’t survive

such jumps, nor the Peugeot 406 would

go over sidewalks and keep speeding

as if nothing could bother it.
But the magic is that most stunts
on both films were no product of CGI,
and aren’t sped up. 

Driving a BMW 535i at a real

100 mph through oncoming traffic
(in fact, a geek may spot an actual M5

in some frames by some details)?
The car chase scene in the movie Ronin

(1995) was shot in 4 hours on a Sunday

evening and required 100 stunt drivers

to drive the incoming cars. Quite some

skill and training was needed to make

that happen.

DeNiro, initially refused riding in

the 406 (faking the driving) while stunt

coordinator Jean-Claude Lagniez

drove the car from the passenger side

while going against the traffic.

He was only convinced after both

Frankheneimer and his wife did
a run themselves.

HOW ABOUT THE CARS?

For the cool factor, there’s no doubt
a Peugeot 406 can’t rival a Dodge

Charger, with those sinister looks which

match with the “bad guys” role so well.

But when you put the sexy Mustang

against the agile and arguably gorgeous

BMW E34, things may level up for

Ronin. Yes, the coupé shape can’t be

beaten for style, and the V8 rumble is

cool enough, but doesn’t that spine

tingling straight-six owl still give you

goosebumps after all these years? 

27 YEARS EARLIER
IN THE STREETS
OF SAN FRANCISCO!

Who but McQueen would think of

getting two muscle cars on a precise

full-send in a real city ambiance? In the

60’s, when safety measures boiled

down to locking the door (you can

actually see him doing it in the making

of) before doing jumps  that would

make Rovanperä blush. 

In Bullit, McQueen did his own
driving, as one would expect of a true
petrolhead. That includes the contact

moments with the Dodge and the

mother of all one-wheel-peels when

he reverses and then launches at
an intersection.