Paul Russell "Russ" Swift (born 24 March 1951) is a British driver who is known for performing

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery sp ...

s and for precision driving.

Career

Starting out as a rally co-driver, and later moving into the sport of

Autotesting Autotesting involves a series of tests, generally around traffic cones, to measure precision driving skill. The tests often include stopping with the front and rear wheels straddling a line, and always end stopping in a garage (usually marked ...

, Russ Swift has built his career on a sturdy motorsport foundation. After being asked to demonstrate his driving skills locally, Russ realised there could be a demand for precision driving skills to be displayed nationwide. Swift's driving skills were memorably put to the test in 1987, when he performed stunts in a crowded parking lot in an

Austin Montego The Austin Montego is a British family car that was produced by British Leyland from 1984 until 1988, and then by Rover Group from 1988 until 1995. The Montego was the replacement for both the rear-wheel drive Morris Ital and the front-wheel dri ...

for a television advertisement. The close-ups were done by an actor, but Swift (uncredited) was responsible for the driving. It was during the filming of the advertisement that Russ came up with the Parallel Park manœuvre, which has remained his "trademark" to this day. Russ previously held the world record for this manœuvre, parking in a space just 33 cm longer than the car. He has since been beaten by Peter Bell, who did it in a space 27 cm longer than the car. The Montego "Car Park" commercial was featured at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

and in an American review it was deemed the world's most imaginative car commercial. Swift is the leader of the Russ Swift

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

Display Team, who perform driving displays for motor shows, commercials, vehicle launches, and other events. Typically they use a completely standard

Mini Cooper S The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

and/or a

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the 'Evo', is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official versio ...

, though Russ has performed in countless other vehicles, including

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

s, Nissans, MGs,

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rove ...

Black Cab A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common ...

s, Subarus, and 13-tonne

lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

. Swift's career has also seen the use of the classic

s, which he used to capture four British Autotest Championships and a rally win in Sweden in the early 1980s. Swift has collaborated for TV commercials with

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

Standard Bank Standard Bank Group Limited is a major South African bank and financial services group. It is Africa's biggest lender by assets. The company's corporate headquarters, Standard Bank Centre, is situated in Simmonds Street, Johannesburg. History ...

, MG, Mini. He has cooperated with the TV shows '' Top Gear'', '' 5th Gear'', ''Guinness World Records'', GMTV, ''Learner Drivers'' (title sequence), and others, and as an advisor to many police, military, royal and diplomatic drivers. Swift has held three

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

and has done more than 8,000 stunt shows in 50 countries. Russ has collaborated in Jeremy Clarkson's videos and on two episodes of '' Top Gear'', in which he proved that elderly people needn't be slow and poor drivers, by teaching grannies to do

donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

and handbrake parking.

Guinness World Records

Parallel parking 250px, Parallel-parked cars in Washington, D.C. 250px, A motorist gets assistance parallel-parking 250px, Parallel parking animation Parallel parking is a method of parking a vehicle parallel to the road, in line with other parked vehicles. ...

in tightest space *

J-turn A J-turn is a driving maneuver in which a reversing vehicle is spun 180 degrees and continues, facing forward, without changing direction of travel. The J-turn is also called a " moonshiner's turn" (from the evasive driving tactics used by ...

in tightest space *Fastest time doing 10 do-nuts. (Driving)

Appearances

*''Top Gear'' series 1, episodes 3, 6 *''Tiff Needell: Burning Rubber'' (2001) *''Clarkson: No Limits'' (2002) *''Clarkson: Heaven and Hell'' (2005) *''Swiftly Does It'' (2005) (

Duke Video Duke Video is a video publisher and television programme distributor specialising in motorsports. Duke Video was founded in the Isle of Man in 1981 by Peter Duke, son of six-time motorcycle World Champion Geoff Duke. Originally a mail-order only ...

) A documentary following the unique career of the world's No.1 display driver, Russ Swift. '' Auto Traders editors have speculated that Swift is the likeliest known identity of

The Stig The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show '' Top Gear''. Created by former ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, ...

, due to Swift's proximity to the Top Gear franchise, obscurity relative to high-profile drivers, and his skills with cars.

Personal life

Swift currently resides in the village of Finghall,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

. His son,

Paul Swift Paul Swift (August 18, 1934 – October 7, 1994) was an American actor. Career Between 1970 and 1977 he appeared in roles in four of the early feature films directed by John Waters. He additionally appeared as himself in two Waters-relate ...

, is also an Autotest champion.

References

External links

Russ Swift's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Russ British stunt performers Living people 1951 births Sportspeople from Darlington