We get asked to do a lot of crazy things in this job and it’s one of the reasons we love it! When we saw Fast and Furious 6 during it’s theatical run, it was obvious that there was a lot of scope to be had with the amazing cars used in the movie, much to my delight as I got to drive some brand spanking new Alfa Romeo’s around a race-track. One thing which didn’t spring to mind was the tank sequence in the movie which became iconic as a 64 tonne tank reveals itself in rather dramatic style in the movie.
Universal Pictures decided that this would make for the perfect press day experience and that it did as I got to drive the smaller brother of the tank in the movie, a 16 tonne monster!This experience will be with me until the day I die, driving around a muddle field in the depths of Northamptonshire! The controls were rather basic with simple two levels to pull, one to go left, and one to go right. With my instructor clinging on for dear-life, I was in control of this former Russian military beast and could pretty much have driven wherever I wanted as nothing was going to get in my way!
After the driving experience, I got to chat with Director Justin Lin about the movie, working with the likes of British Stuntman Lee Milham who drive the tank in the movie and creating a 23 mile-long runway! He also talks about how the original tank sequence was going to be in London’s Picadilly but in the end the cost to make that happen was just too great. he also talks about why now was the right time to leave the Fast and Furious franchise.
Fast and Furious 6 is released on DVD and Blu-ray today, the next time you watch it, make sure you think of me driving the tank!
