Top Gear Scores on 'Deadly 720'

A "full house" at the Moses Madiba stadium watched the show's finale stunt.

Practice runs

The show's publicity machine claimed the Deadly 720 would be "the biggest, boldest and most technically challenging stunt yet performed" by Top Gear; its already managed a single loop but at an indoor arena.

Top Gear Live's creative director Rowland French said: “We’ve pulled off some pretty outrageous stunts but this was by far the most audacious. We were all holding our breath as the buggy approached the first loop, knowing that there was virtually no margin for error."

He claimed three practice runs at the stadium failed but "the maths said it was possible to twice defy gravity if we got everything exactly right. Our calculations were proved right...

Giant loops

To avoid disaster, the buggy had to enter each loop at exactly the right speed - it really was one of those epic ‘I was there’ moments. The fans went wild."

Jeremy Clarkson, the "face" of Top Gear, said later: “It was quite remarkable. As anyone who has seen Top Gear live or on TV will know, we are much more famous for mucking about and breaking things like caravans - certainly not for breaking world records! I’m just glad no one asked me to do it… ”

Essentially, the stunt involved two giant steel loops eight metres apart and a special four-wheeled buggy that had to run through them both - just like a child's car game. The speed had to be exactly correct to stay attached to the steel track for two revolutions.

As you can see from the video, it made it, but unlike the usual case in "world record" attempts, the stunt driver was not named... but salutes him/her anyway.