In January, we started a search for the most unbelievable saves in the car world. Near-misses, near-spins, and heroic recoveries were all fair game. After twelve months, these are the eight greatest, craziest saves of 2012.
Our searches of LiveLeak, YouTube, and sometimes WorldStarHipHop have given us what we believe to be a fairly authoritative list of the greatest saves of the year. Since any and every road incident is recorded thanks to the massive proliferation of cheap dash cams, we feel like if there was a great catch, we'd have seen it.
Still, there's probably some Russian Dash Cam video that we forgot about. If you think we did indeed miss something, post the YouTube link in Kinja below.
Now, in chronological order, are the greatest saves of the year. Which one do you think is the craziest?
Photo Credit: Oes Records
Rally Audi Dodges Spectators, Logs, Cliff, Forest
As early as January 6, we had a Save of the Year contender. This Audi S2 came into a hairpin at Austria's Jänner-Rallye backwards and managed to avoid hitting not just a number of spectators, but some serious damage to the car itself.
The Luckiest Nissan GT-R In The World
In March, this drag-racing GT-R missed the wall two or two-and-a-half times in a very sketchy 360 spin across both lanes.
A Nissan GT-R Slides Sideways At 233 MPH
AMS Performance took their "Alpha Omega" GT-R to the Texas Mile in April and had the fastest save of the year by far. The car hit a dip right after the driver opened the parachute, skewing a full 90 degrees sideways. The driver who collected the car deserves a medal for this save.
The Greatest Drag Racing Comeback Victory We've Ever Seen
Normal drag racing rules state that if you cross into the other lane, you're out. This is not the case in Wisconsin's King of the Street drags in May, when one old Mustang slid behind his opponent, slid back into the original lane, lost traction again, and then blasted forward to win the race. Unreal.
Race Car Driver Dodges Pileup At 150 MPH
The Formula 2 driver in this clip, Dino Zamparelli, came through one of the most daunting corners in the world (the deadly Eau Rouge) on one of the fastest circuits in the world (Belgium's Spa Francorchamps) and entered into the track's infamous fog. Awaiting him was a huge pileup of his fellow drivers across the middle of the track.
At around 150 miles a hour, he slid past the wreckage and onto the grass. Not only did he get away with just a broken rear right, he gained four places in the race.
A 900 Horsepower Miata Dodges The Wall At 140 MPH
This might just be the most impressive impromptu drift we've ever seen. The RB26 Godzilla engine in this little MX-5 overheated, spewing hot coolant on the rear tire and causing a massive slide. The driver caught the car with more than a dab of oppo, keeping it out of the narrow confines of the Sacramento drag strip at least a half dozen times.
Rally Evo Never Lifts
Putting your foot to the floor when your car is sliding out of control isn't always the best plan, but it worked for this Evo at Poland's Rally Rzeszow in August and it made the driver look like a boss.
Korean Driver Saves Car From Indiana Jones-Style Destruction
While the driver in this clip never really recovered his car from some 11/10ths loss of traction, there's no saying that veering out of the way of a runaway utility truck like you're Indiana Jones isn't an absolutely epic save.