You'd think that the GIF format was specifically made for car clips. Given the near-system-crashing quantity of submissions, it may have been so. From a flood of powerslides, moonwalks, flapping doors and flying deer, these are Jalopnik readers' picks for the ten best autocentric animated GIFs.
Note: some indisputable classics had to be left off due to a (completely infuriating and time-consuming) size restriction. And if yours didn't get picked at all, well....
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!
10.) Synchronized Exploding F1 Hubs
Suggested By: Scorpio GTX1
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Let's start things off with a bang. There's another of the same incident from the driver's perspective making the rounds, but for flying-shrapnel value this one is tops.
9.) Drift City Sweetness
Suggested By: DasWauto - Disregard politics, acquire cars
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Insert gratuitous "don't try this at home" warning here. That said, this is like the favorite part of a commercial that you get to watch over and over without the announcer prattling about limited-time offers. Utterly beautiful.
8.) The Save
Suggested By: 6cyl
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Footage from Laguna Seca's Corkscrew Thunderhill would make for an endlessly entertaining highlight reel by itself. In this episode we have a Honda reverting to its more natural two-wheeled form.
7.) Wankel engine
Suggested By: TKBAL-No not Taco Bell
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Sometimes mechanical motion can be hard to describe. [You are getting sleepy.] It helps if you can offer a moving illustration. [You are coming under my control.] Watch the apex seals sliding on the chamber walls [take out your wallet] and you get a new appreciation for the materials and engineering [and send me money].
6.) The Mythbusters rocket sled
Suggested By: dontloseyourdinosaur
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Super slo-mo is a classic film trick. Being able to loop something good on infinite play just lets you observe the molecular-level disintegration happening for the first third of impact without too much extraneous garbage.
5.) Flugplatz
Suggested By: ∞Gîmmî∞Sagaŋ∞ðm∞Drakeŋ∞ Visiting∞From∞Negative∞Earth∞
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: "Flugplatz" literally means "flying place." At most tracks it would be a feature that overwhelms everything else; at the Nürburgring, it's just another part of the whole over-the-top (literally) experience. Black Jack Brabham shows you how it is done, 1967 style.
4.) Nabbing A Spot
Suggested By: IgotsmeaMetro
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Sometimes a GIF is like the six-word novel; it tells as much of the story as you need to let you shape the rest. Unlike the six-word novel, a GIF can involve stunt driving.
3.) Clarkson's R8 And Hammond's 911
Suggested By: NoxoN
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Top Gear has probably been responsible for more automotive higlight shots than the rest of media history put together. Combine ace photography with hot cars driven by clashing personalities, and you get little shots of pure magic.
2.) Nerves Of Nonchalant Steel
Suggested By: Bonhomme7h
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: Winner, Most Utterly Random Interview Moment Of All Time. Strange things happen in this life, but rarely does something so strange end up on film for posterity.
1.) Trollface Goes "Hop!" Like A Boss
Suggested By: Sir Halffast - Proud of BOXER Briefs
Why it's a mini-masterpiece: You can respect the creator of this clip for superimposing each of the faces over each frame of the flick. Or you can just realize your face is making those same expressions as you watch.