An 8-Minute High Speed Drive Through Paris Without Using The Brakes

June 23, 2010 · 8 comments

Click here to get each day’s one thing to see by email!

The above video is the legendary cult classic French short film C’etait un Rendez-Vous, which was shot in 1976 and features a high-speed and dangerously illegal thrill ride. The film was shot in one take, with the camera attached to the side of a Mercedes being driven by an unknown driver who raced through the streets of Paris and didn’t use his brake a single time – including for stop signs and red lights with oncoming traffic. You can read more about the back story here.

If you enjoyed this post, please “like” our Facebook page:

{ 8 comments }

JustMe June 24, 2010 at 6:22 am

Not a Ferrari. Per the Wiki page, it’s a Mercedes.

Giovanni June 24, 2010 at 6:32 am

This short movie was did early morning 15th august 1976.
After the first display to the public, Lelouch has a lot of troubles with the french authorities but no pursuits were applied.
40 years later, Lelouch had explained that it was not a race car but its own Mercedes, which has really stable (oleopneumatic dampers) and the movie camera was fitted at the front of the car…with just 10 mn of film.
He said that he was the driver…but many people (me include) think that it was a race drive
How do you know it was a Ferrari?

thanks
ciao

Giovanni June 24, 2010 at 6:36 am
Josh June 24, 2010 at 9:16 am

Hey guys, good catch with it being a Mercedes and not a Ferrari. I changed the title/writeup – thx for the heads up.

Giovanni July 2, 2010 at 4:13 am

You give us this amazing website with nice things every day, we give you back our help
This is called “mutual collaboration” !! 😀
ciao
Giò

Phang July 28, 2010 at 10:26 am

It’s because the sound added to the video makes it sound like a Ferrari. It also makes it sound like the driver is actually going far, FAR faster than he really is. Look at some of the shots of the driver passing other cars. It sounds like he’s doing 150kph, but he’s slowly passing other drivers that have their brake lights on in slow thoroughfares.

A masterfully made video, but somewhat deceptive.

Piloto loco July 29, 2010 at 12:27 am

I don’t know about this being slow. I mapped the trip over a map, it measures 10.3km roughly from the “Peripherique” all the way to the “Sacre coeur” where the meet happens. Those 10.3km done over the 8mn period that the film lasts will allow the ones equipped with a bezel, or a calculator of sorts, to figure out that the average speed of the vehicle is a hair over 130km/h (read 80 mph for those counting in medieval units). The fastest stretch is along the “Champs Elysees”, the vehicle swallows the 2 km in just over a minute, that is 200km/h (105mph).
When this film was shot the speed limit in Paris was 60 km/h (it is now 50 km/h), I would say that we can forget the Ferrari sound and what not, this film is about a very fast car zooming through West Paris and contrary to what some other contributors have alleged science and math just demonstrated that there is nothing deceptive about the speed, he is going like HELL! The few people that we see walking in a few of the shots demonstrate that this film is not on fast forward either, their movement seems natural and their speed plausible.

Josh July 29, 2010 at 1:02 am

Wow, thanks for the research Piloto. Good stuff. By the way, even if it was at a moderate speed, this is still pretty dangerous and pretty cool in my opinion.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: