The first cool car video I saw was the movie “Bullitt” – the chase scene is widely regarded as the benchmark for such things. Steve McQueen (possibly the greatest anti-hero of all time and The King of Cool) is a detective who does whatever is necessary to get the bad guys. And, he uses a bad-ass muscle car to do it…
Steve McQueen was the real deal. Think James Dean, Paul Newman and AJ Foyt all rolled into the same guy – McQueen was 10 times cooler than all that, period. He brought us a car chase even our mom’s couldn’t turn away from, he shared LeMans with us, he helped make the movie “On Any Sunday“, and he never stopped trying to escape. If I weren’t a Brian, I’d want to be a Steve…
Now Ken Block is no Steve McQueen, but he has carried on McQueen’s legacy of sharing with young people how stuff with motors is cool. I thank him for that (his latest work is shown below). Block’s latest Gymkhana video is done using a Ford Mustang (the Bullitt car was the 1968 version). Just as Ford has supported Block’s efforts, Ford has recognized Steve McQueen as part of Mustang history.
I believe Block’s video with a Mustang tearing around on city streets begs a recollection of the Bullitt original.
Now for the latest Gymkhana video – essentially, this is just a movie with a car chase without all of the silly dialogue and contrived plot. I love a good sense of humor and like the fact that Block pays homage to the donut shop (4:54) – reference the Traktor Terror video donut scene (1:40). Gymkhana Seven also pays tribute to famous car chases (7:30).
Thank you Ken Block – you’re pretty cool.