You need three things to be quick on a rally stage: bravery, skill and a purpose-built race car. This guy didn’t have the latter, but he clearly had more than enough courage and ability.
A video posted in 2015 by Fredrik Sorlie, who drives a Mercedes ML55 AMG camera car for a living, recently began making the rounds online, and it’s easy to see why.
The video was from a shoot that Sorlie did for Hyundai that involved him driving the ML55 as fast as he could while the Korean manufacturer’s World Rally Championship driver, Dani Sordo, chased him down. Doing this in a stock ML55 would’ve been impressive in and of itself, as it weighs roughly 5,000 pounds, but with the camera equipment mounted to the SUV and six passengers, the Mercedes tipped the scales at nearly 7,500 pounds, according to Motor1.com.
To keep thinks from getting too out of control, Sorlie reportedly fitted the ML55 with adjustable Ohlins dampers and Michelin X-Ice winter tires.
“I must say the car handled this task exceptionally well. I was able to push pretty hard, reaching speeds that caught both us and Dani by surprise,” Sorlie wrote in the video’s description. “All while staying well within the safety margins we need to maintain for this kind of vehicle.”
Most people don’t realize how much work goes into making even a 30-second advertisement, and this video is a great reminder. Next time you see high-speed action shots in a car commercial, just remember, it took this level of bravery to make that shot happen.
