British daredevil to attempt 270 degrees mid-air barrel roll in £28,000 Jaguar E-Pace in riskiest car launch ever
Stunt driver Terry Grant will attempt to spin 15 metres through the air in the SUV - despite several 'fails' and in rehearsals
THERE was a time when big-air jumps in car movies were real.
Y-e-e-e-e-h-a-h!!! Smokey And The Bandit . . . Blues Brothers . . . Bullit . . .
We knew the cars fell to bits when they landed and were replaced before they drove off. But we didn’t care. There was still some lunatic in the driving seat.
Then along came CGI and all the stuntmen were handed their P45s. Well, almost all of them.
Tonight British nutjob Terry Grant will attempt a BARREL ROLL in a new Jag.
Think Roger Moore and the sheriff in The Man With The Golden Gun — but in front of hundreds of celebrities and VIPs and countless more watching on the interweb.
What could possibly go wrong? Er, lots actually. There were several “fails” in rehearsals.
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This is the riskiest car launch ever — and the biggest gamble since, er, the last Jag reveal in 2015 when Terry nailed a world record 62ft loop-the-loop in the F-Pace.
This time, Terry is driving the E-Pace, Jaguar’s baby SUV, indoors at London’s ExCeL.
He will hit the ramp at 50mph, spin 15 metres through the air, and then land wheels-first on the down ramp. Trust me, that’s the easy bit. That’s maths.
It’s what happens next that’s a potential code brown moment for everyone involved.
The energy is such that, when it lands, it could easily bounce and fall over — and go viral. Egg-on-face time. For ever.
But a happy ending and it’s a Guinness World Record for the “farthest barrel roll jump for a production car” and much back-slapping.
As for the E-Pace itself, that ISN’T a gamble.
It’s a £28,500 SUV with the performance and agility of a sports car.
Hot versions will share the same engine as the F-Type.
I’ll repeat that price again. Yep, £28,500. That’s cheaper than an Evoque and a fully-loaded Qashqai. For a Jaguar.
Bosses won’t talk targets but this car is entering the fastest-growing car segment and is tipped to chalk up 100,000 sales a year. Jaguar: We have lift-off.
You can watch the E-Pace jump on or at 8pm. You won’t miss Love Island at 9. Promise.
TOP TEN SCREEN JUMPS
1. The Man With The Golden Gun
2. 2 Fast 2 Furious
3. Gone In 60 Seconds
4. Blues Brothers
5. Thelma & Louise
6. The Dukes Of Hazzard
7. Smokey And The Bandit
8. Bullitt
9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
10. Transporter 3