Most are built to take a beating and still survive, but there are obvious limits, such as high speed. The vehicle’s engineer underwent one of the toughest tests imaginable. It’s an Opel Corsa hatchback swinging 150 feet high on the world’s toughest trampoline. See who survived in this viral YouTube video “A Car vs. the World’s Strongest Trampoline.”
YouTube video “Car vs. the World’s Strongest Trampoline” by Mark Robert, Ex-NASA Engineer
The YouTube video “The Car vs. the World’s Strongest Trampoline,” which went viral with over 30 million views, is the brainchild of an inventor, engineer, and educator. His popular YouTube channel features do-it-yourself gadgets and science experiments. Earlier in his career, Robert worked as an engineer at NASA for nine years, including work on the Mars rover Curiosity. He also worked on Apple’s self-driving car project.
The average vehicle weighs much less: about 4,000 pounds, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Also, the Opel Corsa Swing Supermini hatchback in the video weighs less—about 2,000 pounds. Therefore, trampolines must be able to withstand shocks. However, there is also a little thing called gravity – which adds to the strength of the impact.
Opel Corsa stunt car was once the best selling car in the world
The Opel Corsa Swing hatchback in the YouTube video may be unfamiliar to many American viewers. However, in many parts of the world, the Opel Corsa and its variants, including the Swing, are ubiquitous. Opel is a German car manufacturer.
In recent years, the compact SUV Toyota RAV4 and the compact sedan Toyota Corolla have alternated between first and second places in the world. Nevertheless, in 1998, the Opel Corsa claimed the title of the best-selling car in the world – almost 1 million units were sold.
The video was shot in Australia. However, the swing-out variant of the Opel Corsa was mostly sold in countries in Asia, such as India and Thailand. With this in mind, it is likely that the Corsa Swing in the video will be imported to Australia as a used model.
Before the car, other items were dropped – bowling balls, watermelons, and a yoga ball filled with water
The “car drop” portion of the video starts at the 9:20 mark. Still, it’s worth watching the entire video, especially with Robert’s details on the engineering aspects of the trampoline and stunt. He also eloquently describes the beauty of science, using as an example the ability to accurately predict the time it takes for an egg to reach the ground after it has been dropped from a roof.
The former engineer and Apple engineer said, “By doing the math, I can tell you that it will take exactly 0.83 seconds for this egg to hit the ground. There can be opposing philosophies, governments, and opinions around the world, but we will never agree on who was right. But If all the scientists and engineers on the planet got together, they’d all be friends, and they’d be like, yeah, we analyzed it too, and 0.83 seconds is exactly what we came up with.”
Also, before the car fell, Robert and his team, as well as Australian scientists from another YouTube channel, threw other objects onto the trampoline. They started small with one watermelon, then moved on to 20 bowling balls and 20 watermelons. Teams moved to other items, including hundreds of water balloons at the same time, a yoga ball filled with water, a large ice block, and a large concrete ball.
On all of these drops, the trampoline easily withstood the crashes. Also, with the exception of the watermelon and water balloons, the items bounced off the trampoline without any initial damage. Even the yoga ball filled with water was still intact when jumping off the trampoline for the first time. It only exploded after a secondary impact from hitting the ground.
The trampoline wins the battle, but the car lives to see another day
However, the car is a much more challenging trampoline. An Australian man shouts, “3, 2, 1!” The Opel Corsa Swing steadily falls and crashes into the trampoline. Like a yoga ball, the car initially bounces off the trampoline with no serious damage, except for the hatchback opening.
However, he was hit hard on rebounds and consecutive tackles. On another bounce, the car hit the outside metal bar that revolves around the trampoline, flipped 360 degrees, and then landed upright.
And as far as trampolining is concerned, he has lived up to the title of the world’s strongest jumper. Other than some slight bending of the bar and stretching on some of the springs, the trampoline held up well. Also, despite the beating the Corsa Swing took, it remained mostly intact. So, the trampoline won the battle, but the car lived to see another day.
It is likely that Robert and his team chose the Corsa Swing supermini because it weighs less than most other vehicles. It would be interesting to see if the trampoline could take a hit from a larger vehicle, such as a full size.
