Red Bull unleashes the former F1 driver on the Tail of the Dragon.
Red Bull's Formula 1 team is enjoying immense success right now and expects to soon build its own hypercar too, but the energy drink company's motorsport exploits are not always limited to the track. The company will often take on wild stunts to further market the brand, with some of its highlights including a zero-gravity pit stop performed in 2019.
The latest of these stunts sees former F1 and NASCAR driver Scott Speed take to America's most twisted road, Tail of the Dragon, on Route 129 with his heavily modified Subaru WRX STI. This 11-mile stretch of road has 318 twists and turns, making it a mecca for driving enthusiasts.
As you can clearly see and hear, the Subaru he's using is far from stock. It's an RX-spec model, with the turbocharged flat-four tuned to develop 600 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. As you'd expect, this grunt goes to all four wheels, and while there isn't too much gratuitous sliding (this isn't a Gymkhana video), the tricky road still requires a bit of opposite lock as Speed attacks it at, er, speed. The drone footage is particularly impressive, but we imagine that this entire film felt a lot more frantic from inside the cabin; the camber changes on this narrow path require intense concentration to master.
Sadly, although the road was obviously closed specifically for this film, Red Bull opted against timing the run. Then again, with such a narrow strip of asphalt at Speed's disposal, trying to push at ten tenths is probably a bit too stressful. But considering how successful the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is, perhaps the Tail of the Dragon could someday host a race weekend where a select number of time attack competitors give it their all. It would be a very difficult event to put on, but since the US has so many lovely driving roads that are restricted by super low speed limits, it really seems pitiful that they never get driven the way they could.
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