94 Acura Integra

Classic Ad: Acura Integra

When I first saw this ad for the 1994 Integra, I remember thinking it was just about the coolest thing around. A full-scale Hot Wheels course in the desert? With roller coaster-quality dips and sweeping hell-driver turns? And a precariously narrow-gauge track that faithfully reproduces the plasticky, safety-cone orange of the original ? Well done, friends. The stunt-action driving even looks realistic — at least until you get to that loop-de-loop, which is obviously faked.

I was prepared to give Acura a pass on that until I saw this ad for the 1984 Ford Tempo , which took to the company’s Arizona Proving Ground a full decade earlier and, for all I can tell, executed the real thing, without the aid of computer animation. I suppose it’s possible the Tempo’s loop-de-loop was fabricated, but unlike the Acura ad there is no fine-print confession that the whole thing is a dramatization. Even if we dock them style points for track design, the Ford guys win on realism alone.

Still, I remain skeptical. Could a production car really pull off a Hot Wheels stunt like that? Where’s Tanner Foust when we need him?

Ask and ye shall receive: As our contributor John Pearley Huffman points out in the comments, the British television show “Fifth Gear” executed this stunt in 2009 , using a heavily modified Toyota Aygo and a 40-foot loop. Some interesting behind-the-scenes footage, including the challenges involved in constructing the loop, can be found here .

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