ALEX ROY: Driving a car is what drove me as a kid to want
to grow up, so I could have a real car.
Because as a kid, I had Hot Wheels.
And I don't think there was any kid who ever had Hot
Wheels who didn't simulate incredible jumps, crashes,
police chases.
Which is why when Hot Wheels called me,
I was really excited.
Now I've been to the FBI Tactical Unit, I've been to
some other places I still can't talk about.
And I've done some crazy things.
But one thing I would never, ever do is attempt to
replicate what I did with those Hot Wheels
cars in real life.
So when Hot Wheels called and said that I was invited to see
something so unbelievable that they wouldn't even tell me
what was until I showed up, of course I said yes.
Are we in the right place?
MALE SPEAKER 1: You must be Alex.
ALEX ROY: I am.
MALE SPEAKER 1: We're expecting you.
ALEX ROY: Thank you.
MALE SPEAKER 1: Gotta have your cell
phones off at all times.
ALEX ROY: Done.
MALE SPEAKER 1: You're gonna follow the van
10 feet behind it.
Don't stray off the path, we're
gonna take you to staging.
Get ready for the experience of a lifetime.
ALEX ROY: Thank you.
Even now, I'm not to say where exactly we went,
but it was an airfield.
OK, I knew that it was a big deal to come here.
I mean look how much work went into disguising this test
facility as an airport.
I didn't know that we'd be the only people invited to see
whatever it is they want us to see here at the secret Hot
Wheels test facility.
Oh my God.
In the distance, was some kind of ramp resembling something I
had destroyed many toy cars on.
What the hell is that thing?
I think that's a full sized corkscrew ramp.
It was quite obvious, and I didn't even know what to call
it, that they were going to take the car off a ramp and do
something very dangerous.
You gotta be out of your mind to do that.
Then I was handed a jumpsuit, which made no sense because I
wasn't doing anything.
In 1968, Hot Wheels opened this,
their secret test facility.
Located in front of this clearly fake diorama backdrop
of mountains.
This is where Evil Knievel, Steve McQueen, and many others
have tried, and usually succeeded, in performing
extremely dangerous stunts.
Stunts performed in the full size actual cars designed by
team Hot Wheels.
Which after having been executed successfully, were
then miniaturized into the Hot Wheels that all of us-- at
least I did--
bought as a child.
I thought it was done in reverse.
The fact that Hot Wheels are taking literally the exact
cars that I had a kid, and building them life size, and
doing this with them?
I mean.
It would have here they're going to attempt a full size
corkscrew jump.
Now the record as I understand is 72-ish feet.
In the Olympics when records are broken, they're usually
broken by a margin of less than 1%.
This is clearly a lot more than 79 and 1/2 feet.
It could be 85, could be 90, I don't know.
This might be one of those things that makes you believe
that there still is car culture in America.
Awesome.
Do I even have to explain why this is awesome?
If anyone ever told me that there were ever, ever real
life size Hot Wheels Hot Wheels, I would never have
believed them.
What is great about being a kid is that you believed the
mythology behind the toys.
An then to grow up and find out the mythology is true is
why I'll never grow up.
This is what I dreamed of driving when I was six.
There are two amazing things about this car, come closer.
Closer.
These were what racing seats were back in the day.
But more importantly, the shifter is actually made of
the metal glazed spine of its first owner.
It's awesome.
Let's go to the next one.
How many brands who make anything, especially in cars,
literally are making makeup for guys?
A rim, a paint job, an accessory, who cares?
But these guys are actually financing, creating a brand,
and building upon their brand, by doing real things.
And that's what passion for cars is all about.
So I'm OK with these guys.
And if I had kids, I'd buy 'em some Hot Wheels, because I
want to see more stunts like the they're trying here today.
Good for them.
I did get a tour of the ramp itself.
Alright, what is the optimal speed at which to hit this
ramp, make this jump happen safely?
MALE SPEAKER 2: First of all, you're at the test facility.
So we don't talk about speeds, we don't talk about rates.
I can tell you that one mile an hour is
seven feet either way.
One mile an hour under, you under revolution seven feet.
So that's how critical--
ALEX ROY: The angle of the cars landing is.
MALE SPEAKER 2: Absolutely.
Two mile an hour off means we're landing upside down.
ALEX ROY: It doesn't take an astronomer, or an astrologer,
or weatherman to know that on a very windy day you don't
want to take a car at any speed up a ramp
that goes like this.
Explain to me exactly what's going to happen when
the car hits this.
MALE SPEAKER 2: When the car comes in, it's
got to be 100% precise.
The reason we picked the open wheel is the driver can watch
his front tire hit dead center into this ramp.
When the tire hits this ramp, go ahead and
pull this ramp back.
Go ahead pull this bar back.
Ramp drops, and instantly sends the car into a rotation.
That's as simple as it is.
It's just instant rotation, once he's done, he's
committed, the car's now going to be upside down and flying
through the air.
ALEX ROY: An arm sticking out, whose sole purpose
it was, was a trigger.
So when the car hit it, it would drop the left side of
the car to begin the twist.
That's crazy.
It's been almost seven hours since we arrived here at a top
secret Hot Wheels test facility to see this world
record attempt.
But sometimes even though all the preparation, all the
engineering, all the planning, there are
things beyond our control.
In this case, the wind.
I was pleased to see that they were waiting for
the wind to die down.
I was also, as a fan of destroying actual Hot Wheels
cars, hoping they would just give it a go.
If they get 30 seconds clear, no wind, they're
going to give a go.
And we're not leaving until they do, or the sun goes down.
And then they did.
It went off the ramp, and triggered the arm.
I would never, ever do that.
Damn, good for Hot Wheels, man.
Good job, awesome.
I mean yeah.