Rendezvous in Paris

A friend sent me the link to this YouTube video with the following text:

Filming in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris early in the morning . The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine , through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.

No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in 8 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running 19 real red lights, nearly hitting a myriad of pedestrians, pigeons, and driving the wrong way up two bonefide one-way streets.

Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground.

Now, this is crazy. The driver could have killed someone else countless times, not to mention himself. And I hate to think what could have happened to the car! That said, it is an amazing video.

1 June 2009