Skiing is an automotive driving

stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

where the car is driven while balanced only on two wheels, either the pair on the driver side or on the passenger side. The stunt is generally performed by driving one pair of wheels up on a ramp to lift one side of the car. Alternately, the stunt can be done in a vehicle with a high

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For ...

(such as a

4x4 A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case provi ...

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...

) by turning sharply or at speed. This technique is more dangerous because there is a strong possibility of the vehicle tipping completely over. Another technique is to let some air out of the

tire A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...

s that will be on the ground, so that the car can tip more easily, as well as keep its balance better. Once up on two wheels, the car has to be balanced by steering (much as one would when riding a bicycle), which makes it necessary to drive more or less in a straight line. The vehicle used must also be fitted with a lockable differential (common on 4x4s). The stunt was perfected and first performed at the 1964 World Fair by Tonny Peterson of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Famous uses

The stunt has been used in many movies and television series, including ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American media franchise, entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three-television series: the original ''Knight Rider (1982 TV series), Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequ ...

'', ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'', and '' Diamonds Are Forever''. The British stunt driver

Russ Swift Paul Russell "Russ" Swift (born 24 March 1951) is a British driver who is known for performing stunts and for precision driving. Career Starting out as a rally co-driver, and later moving into the sport of Autotesting, Russ Swift has built his c ...

performs this maneuver as part of his shows and has achieved it in a wide range of vehicles including trucks. His son

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

also uses it in his displays and once rolled a

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the ...

whilst attempting to drive around Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

at the

Wales Rally GB Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international rallying, motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship ( ...

in 2005. In the ''

'' series,

KITT Kitt may refer to: People * Kitt (surname) * Kitt O'Brien (born 1990), American football player * Kitt Wakeley, American composer, songwriter, musician and music producer Places * Kitt Peak, a mountain in Arizona Radio stations * KITT (FM), li ...

had a function button on the dashboard called "Ski Mode" which, when pressed, would cause KITT to drive on two wheels. The stunt was also used by the character

Bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

in the 2007 ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' film, in a scene just before the robot changes the exterior disguise from the 1976 Chevrolet Camaro to the 2009 Camaro. In the movie, Bumblebee's retro look is insulted by

Mikaela Banes Mikaela Banes is a fictional character from the live-action ''Transformers'' movies. She inherited mechanical skills from her father, Cal, a grease monkey and is a paroled car thief. The character is portrayed by Megan Fox in the first and seco ...

, and Bumblebee stops to eject her and

Sam Witwicky The following is a list of cast members and characters from the ''Transformers'' film series and the tie-in video games. Cast and characters Autobots The Autobots are the main protagonists of the ''Transformers'' franchise who come from the ...

from the car. Bumblebee then drives off and skis on two wheels past a 2009 Camaro that drives by and scans it. Bumblebee then returns moments later to Sam and Mikaela, surprising the two, as the newer version of the car. It is also featured in the film ''

Transporter 3 ''Transporter 3'' (French: ''Le Transporteur 3'') is a 2008 English-language French action film directed by Olivier Megaton. It is the final installment in the original trilogy of the '' Transporter'' franchise, but not the last movie, since it ...

'' to ski between two semi trucks in an escape bid by the film's main characters. The stunt is featured prominently in M.I.A.'s music video for Bad Girls. It is also featured in the 1985 film ''

D.A.R.Y.L. ''D.A.R.Y.L.'' is a 1985 science fiction adventure film directed by Simon Wincer and written by David Ambrose, Allan Scott, and Jeffrey Ellis. It stars Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp, Josef Sommer, and Barret O ...

'', in which the title character performs it while escaping from the army.

Gallery

File:Two wheel driving car.jpg, Two wheel driving at Scott May's Daredevil Stunt Show, Musselburgh, Edinburgh File:Soap_box_rally_2_2011.jpg, Red Bull soap box rally Stockholm Sweden, July 2011 File:Grand Prix van Nederland, het rennersveld stuntrijden Simca, Bestanddeelnr 916-4703.jpg, A stunt driver performing a ski stunt in a Simca in the Netherlands, 1964. File:BMW E36 in competition 1.JPG, BMW E36 in competition, 2009 File:Toyota V6 HiLux Heroes at the Royal Easter Show.jpg, Toyota V6 HiLux Heroes at the Royal Easter Show, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ski (Driving Stunt) Hazardous motor vehicle activities Driving techniques Stunts

Famous uses

Gallery

See also

References