Cars were born to fly, but jumps can easily go wrong. Jalopnik readers have put together the ten most painful, spine-crunching failed jump attempts in modern automotive history.
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Having already seen Hollywood's greatest jumps and the best car jump videos, we figured we need to show every impressionable Internet user out there just how easy it is to screw up a car jump.
You would think it would be easy. Set up some kind of ramp (perhaps made out of a hill, or a log and a few planks of plywood) and then mash the gas pedal. Oh no, it's not so simple.
You see, not only do you have to get into the air; you have to come down at some point. This is called a landing and enterprising hoons typically get it wrong. You don't want too much speed or too much air if you don't have a ramp or some snow to take your fall. Otherwise the car is nose-diving into something very hard, or you're going to endo.
So which terrible failed car jumps did we forget? Let us know in Kinja below.
Photo Credit: Dallas Observer
10.) That Bro Truck Is Just For Show
Just because you gave your truck a lift kit, doesn't mean it can do offroad stuff.
Suggested By: daender
9.) The Dukes Of Worcester
It's important to not just think about the ramp you're building, but consider how the car is going to land. You don't want to take a nose dive like this ‘70s Mopar.
Suggested By: ThnderbltDoherty
8.) Worst Ramp Ever
That said, it's important to make sure your initial ramp is well-secured, lest you end up like this jovial, very crashed Canadian redneck.
The vehicle isn't technically a car, but this motorized contraption gets the point across about ramp-construction.
Suggested By: PODIMUS
7.) High-Speed Camaro Crash
Railroad crossings seem like such a good place to jump your car. The approach is long and smooth, so you can get big speed, like this Camaro SS. However, judging by the way this Camaro wrecks itself, big speed isn't really a good thing.
Suggested By: IAmDashSR
6.) Chevy Nose Dive
The driver reportedly had every intention of wrecking this truck, and suffered no major injuries. Still, the way it plows into that wall of dirt is just painful to watch.
Suggested By: PTLmarketingLTD
5.) FJ Cruiser Sand Dune Flip
Driving in the desert always looks easy in YouTube videos. Even professional Dakar racers make the same mistake as this Toyota driver, nose-diving into the far side of a sand dune.
Suggested By: Maxximtl
4.) The Toll Booth Jump
Amazingly, the drunk woman behind the wheel of this Die Hard-esque jump was not seriously injured in the landing.
Suggested By: PTLmarketingLTD
3.) Mid-Air Endo
having seen so many videos, by now you should be an expert in car jump technique. Certainly you'll know that there's such a thing as too much speed and too much air, as this end-over-end crash demonstrates.
Suggested By: $kaycog
2.) Firebird Jump
Like the toll booth jump, it's amazing that the driver survived this wreck while running from the police being asleep. Michael Knight would be proud, as you can see in the gif version of this vid.
Suggested By: Brian, The Life of
1.) Ken Powers Disintegrates Over The St. Lawrence
Kenny Powers' magnificent failure to jump the St. Lawrence back in 1976 almost wins both our ‘best' and ‘worst' car jump videos at the same time. Even when you disintegrate mid-air in a rocket-powered Lincoln, you win on style points.
Suggested By: kerberos824