Posted on 05/04/2009 3:41:04 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan
On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris early in the morning . The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine , through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.
Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground.
Yup that is what a Ferrari sounds like. Nothing sounds quite like a Ferrari.
Amazing. The bit going through the circle around the Arch de Triumphe was scary. This is a very famous film in the auto racer world. The acceleration and downshift sounds are amazing.
A ping for known racing fans and other afficiandos of extremely dangerous things.
Ping, just going by your name.
I was kind of shocked having walked in many/most of the areas he blasted through.
The way he handled the mass of the mid-engine car was amazing.
Either French birds fly a lot faster than American birds or this film shows some signs of being filmed at more normal speeds and simply speeded up in replay, IMHO.
I turned Mark Levin down for this, it better be good.. :-)
WHOOOOA DaDDy!!!
You will not be disappointed.
Paris is so scenic.
I wish I could afford to go there and rent a car.
SWEEEEET!!
WANT!
That was intense. Thanks!
How about a FReepEr Rendezvous in Paris .. ?
I’m not proud, I’d drive a Porsche.. or a BMW, hell, a yugo.. Giddyup!
Tork’s buying. :-)
You gotta love it! And anybody who says there are no Frenchmen with guts is full of merde. I’ve known plenty. They may “march to a different drummer,” but when it comes to courage, they have plenty.
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Ping to further vehicle nuts.
The route was as follows: Bd Périphérique at Porte Dauphine · Avenue Foch · Pl Charles-de-Gaulle · Av des Champs-Elysées · Place de la Concorde · Quai des Tuileries · Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel · R de Rohan · Avenue de l’Opera · Pl de l’Opéra · Fromental Halévy · R de la Chausée d’Antin · Pl d’Estienne d’Orves · R Blanche · R Pigalle · Pl Pigalle · Bd de Clichy · (aborted turn at R Lepic) · R Caulaincourt · Av Junot · Pl Marcel Aymé · R Norvins · Place du Tertre · R Ste-Eleuthère · R Azais · Pl du Parvis du Sacré Cœur. [8]
I see why he was in such a hurry...LOL
Shot in a single take, it is an example of cinéma-vérité. The length of the film was limited by the short capacity of the reel, and filmed from a gyro-stabilised camera mounted on the bumper of a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9.[2] This model, which could reach a top speed of 235 km/h (146 mph), was only available with a 3-speed automatic transmission. Yet, one can hear gear changes up into 5th, as well as heel-and-toe down-shifting with a high-revving engine indicating speeds of well over 200 km/h. Calculations made by several independent groups showed that the car never exceeded 140 km/h (85 mph)[3], while another[4] estimated that the car had peaked at 220 km/h (136.7 mph). Lelouch himself claimed that the top speed achieved was over 200 km/h, somewhere between 230 km/h and 240 km/h.[5]It is suggested that the sound was dubbed with the noise of Lelouch's 275GTB, which has a corresponding number of gears and a similar engine note.
Indeed.
It adds a deeper meaning to an othewise simply spectacular drive.
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