Racing the streets of Paris

[Embassy]

This might be a repost, but I saw it on another forum and thought I'd share it.



Open the link at the bottom of the page, and then hold on!!!!
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. If you haven't seen this before it is a classic, if you have seen it I apologize, but it's still a classic. Turn on your sound and enjoy...............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqHrCLt3Geo

[Dr Caleb]

Ok, that was cool!

[Embassy]

As with any great story, there are corrections or conflicting facts:

The film was shot in a single take, without any special effects or stuntmen, with the director driving the car.

* The idea for this film came to Claude Lelouch after hiring a gyro stabilized camera mount for a film he was working on at the time.

* The film is nine minutes long because the film cartridge in the camera could only hold 10 minutes of film and it was taken in a single shot.

* Lelouch was arrested shortly after the film was screened but was later released without charge.

* The route taken in the film is 10.42 km long (6.48 mi). It takes the driver 7:57 to cover that distance, giving him an average speed of 78.64 km/h (48.86 mph).

* According to recent claims by Claude Lelouch, he was driving his own Mercedes in the film, and later dubbed over the sound of a Ferrari 275GTB to give the impression of much higher speeds. Calculations made by several independent groups using the film show that the car never exceeds 140 km/h (85 mph), which seems to lend credence to his recent comments.

* Three people were in the car, with Claude Lelouch at the wheel.

* Resulting in a notable contrast of moods, the original release of this film in the U.S. was as a short showing before Woody Allen's Interiors (1978).

* Until recently, there was no confirmation of who was driving or what car he was driving. Over the years, various sources claimed an F1 driver was at the wheel of a Le Mans Matra 675, Ferrari 275 GTB, or an Alpine A110. However, Claude Lelouch confirmed on his official website in March 2006 that he was driving, and it was a 6.9 litre Mercedes.

* This footage is now being used as the music video for Snow Patrol's latest single "Open Your Eyes". (March 2007)

http://www.geocities.com/oflint/Mercedes_not_Ferrari.jpg<!-- / message -->

[SID210SA]

Gotta call BS....its a great video...but....I dont think anywhere did he hit 140...the scenery just wasnt moving by fast enough, not to mention on the long straigt away there was a car that he passed...that if he was doing 140 anywhere it would be here and he didnt fly past this car...unless that other car was doing like 120. And the sound didnt match up with the driving at some points....just my thoughts....but it is a good video.

[W4LTD]

I wonder how many of the "passengers" had to change their underwear when they got out of the car?

[bluesfan]

To get a true feel for this type of driving try it thru Denver or Chicago. Would be imposable with the left lane slow pokes and roads tore up all the time. We used to do lower Wacker on straight pipe Harleys and new dates in the late 70's. Object was to see who had the loadest screamer on the back.