Watch This Subaru WRX STI Bomb Down a Bobsled Track
Mark Higgins goes for gold in his 2014 Isle of Man TT record car.
Move over Cool Runnings: we've got a new crown for the most unlikely bobsledders. Apparently, nabbing the four-wheel record at the Isle of Man TT course in 2014 and 2016 just wasn't exciting enough for Mark Higgins and Subaru, as the team decided their next move would be something none of us have seen before: driving the 2014 record car (albeit highly modified from its tarmac-gobbling form) down a freaking Olympic bobsled track in Switzerland. And while you might think a manufacturer's involvement would limit the danger a bit, the video published today makes it clear just how insane this really was.
The good folks at ProDrive, no stranger to Subaru's antics, had only a few weeks to modify the hell out of the already-prepped TT record car, since the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is the only one in the world to use natural refrigeration—meaning the whole stunt had to come together especially quickly. The team added stiffer shocks, larger bumpers, a whole new safety cage and net, extra bracing all around, and tungsten-studded anti-puncture tires that are actually now banned from the WRC.
The Track
That's a lot of twisties.
The track itself was featured in the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics, but is still used regularly to host smaller events. Starting at 6,076 feet, the mile-long course plunges 426 feet as it twists and turns, featuring two vertically-banked, U-shaped corners near the bottom that prompted Higgins to declare the odds of success "50/50."
And, well, he's basically spot on with that assessment. Check out the video to see what happens: