Cars can't fly, but these ten videos chosen by Jalopnik readers show the most daring, most foolish, most memorable attempts to get airborne in ground transportation.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Audi
10.) Dave's Lumina jump
Suggested By: skinnayyy
What happened?: Are you bored? Do you have a car and a questionable sense of indestructibility? This is what you'll end up trying to do – catch massive air in a complete junker.
Evel Knievel Rating: Equivalent to jumping 16 out of 76 possible busses
9.) Daigo Saito's drift jump
Suggested By: TrampaOnline
What happened?: This mid-drift launch at Ebisu demonstrates that perfect car control, not just brute force, can make a perfect jump.
Evel Knievel Rating: 23/76 busses
8.) Alexander Saluk at WRC Turkey 2010
Suggested By: Kiwi_Commander
What happened?: Rally stages are full of crests and "yumps" that should not be taken flat out. Hearing the sound of important pieces of Saluk's Mitsubishi crack on the landing explains why you should lift.
Evel Knievel Rating: 28/76 busses
7.) Bigfoot jumps a 727
Suggested By: wheatieboy
What happened?: Before Dan Runte jumped Bigfoot 202 feet over a Boeing 727, monster trucks just crushed cars and made little in-stadium leaps. This jump changed everything.
Evel Knievel Rating: 37/76 busses
6.) 136 mph rally jump
Suggested By: interrogator_chaplain
What happened?: This is Barry Johnson on the 2007 Jim Clark International Rally.The landing apparently bent the rear of the car down six inches, broke the shock absorbers, and sent both driver and co-driver to the hospital.
Evel Knievel Rating: 41/76 busses
5.) Drunk toll booth jump
Suggested By: uziy16
What happened?: Yasmine Aida Villasana did not intend to launch her Chevy Impala over a toll booth on Memorial day 2010, but that's just one more thing that can happen to you when you drive drunk. She only shattered her wrist in the fiery landing.
Evel Knievel Rating: 48/76 busses
4.) Pearn's Suzuki Sidekick jump
Suggested By: Axel-Ripper
What happened?: You need a serious safety crew, a sizeable budget, and many long hours of preparation to pull off a big jump with any guarantee of safety. This video shows none of those things.
Evel Knievel Rating: 58/76 busses
3.) Car jumps another car in a race
Suggested By: 87CE 95PV Type Я says GO CELTICS GO!
What happened?: At the 2010 Autoquad races in St-Ferdinand, Quebec, one car actually passed another car while airborne. Take that Zanardi.
Evel Knievel Rating: 67/76 busses
2.) Kenny Powers' Superjump
Suggested By: Mekkon
What happened?: In 1976, Canadian daredevil Ken Powers did not jump his rocket-powered Lincoln over the St. Lawrence River, as he had planned. With a $1 million budget, "The Superjump" was set to be one mile long, but it didn't work. It wasn't so much a failure, but rather a lesson for all humanity.
Evel Knievel Rating: 76/76 busses
1.) The Hot Wheels jump
Suggested By: skinnayyy
What happened?: Tanner Foust makes every childhood dream come true, launching what is basically a life-sized hot wheels car down a ten-story drop and soaring 332 feet through the air.
Evel Knievel Rating: 78/76 busses