It flattens to a pancake.
Top Gear famously used a Toyota Hilux pickup to show its incredible strength against abuse. It was even placed on top of a 200-foot tall building as it was being dismantled. WhistlinDiesel has been testing the truck and eventually dropped it from 10,000 feet.
It’s easy to get started. The Hilux is hooked up to the Kaman K–Max heavy-lift helicopter by the team. It drops down to 500 feet. It lands on its hood first, which is quite a sight. The frame may have been damaged because the wheels are closer than they should be.
According to the video, it is impossible to verify that the engine is still running as renting choppers for the stunt costs $100,000 per minute. The pilot begins ascending to 10,000ft after the team has hooked up the truck to the helicopter once more.
Because the K-Max does not have enough space for passengers, the WhistlinDiesel crew films from another helicopter. It can’t climb as high without the guys opening the doors. However, a crew member refused to ride the windy ride.
The Toyota’s wheels drop and the pickup spins in a fashion that is not dissimilar to a helicopter blade. Although the GoPro camera mounted on the truck stops recording, the view blurred as the pickup spins faster and faster.
The pickup is released by the helicopter and takes only 29 seconds to drop to the ground. It is incredible what happens next. It’s almost like a pancake. It is amazing how flat the truck looks after it collides with the ground.
WhistlinDiesel has already planned a follow up video in which the team would verify that the engine still runs. This would answer the question about how tough the Hilux is.