Skiing is an automotive driving

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 spec ...

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 balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...

(such as a

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to 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 ...

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 definitio ...

) 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 (American English) or tyre (British 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 (engineering), t ...

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 entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series ''Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'', ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

'', and two of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

movies. 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: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

also uses it in his displays and once rolled a

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...

whilst attempting to drive around Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

at the

Wales Rally GB Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international 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 (WRC) calen ...

in 2005. In the ''

'' series,

KITT KITT or K.I.T.T. is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure franchise ''Knight Rider''. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared i ...

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 group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

in the 2007 ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' 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 ''Transformers'' universe. She is differentiated from "typical" women in her age group, having inherited mechanical skills from her father, Cal, a grease monkey and paroled car thief. The character ...

, and Bumblebee stops to eject her and

Sam Witwicky Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

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-thriller film. It is the third and final installment in the original trilogy of the '' Transporter'' franchise. Both Jason Statham and François Berléand re ...

'' 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. - Daryl is driving in a car chase to escape 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, Grand Prix van Nederland, het rennersveld stuntrijden Simca, 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