Pros: Interesting competition on a crazy track; racers from around the world driving their own powerful cars; beautiful driving and dramatic situations that arise during the races; high-quality filming and editing Cons: The winner of the competition could have been named at the very beginning Hyperdrive / “Hyperdrive”
Reality show genre
Creators: Aaron Catling, Charlize Theron
Netflix channel
Year of release 2019
Episodes 10
Site IMDb
Hyperdrive is a crazy mix of Fast & Furious (no, not the latest spin-off) and American Ninja Warrior, in which the world’s best non-professional racers must compete on a custom-built track with a variety of obstacles and challenging tasks that allow them to show off their driving skills to the fullest. Who is this show for? For those who love fast and beautiful cars, Fast & Furious movies and games like Need for Speed and Forza Horizon.
The main emphasis in Hyperdrive tasks is on drifting with elements of gymkhana, so the bulk of the participants are drifters. Although among them there are racers and cars that seem completely unsuited for drifting, such as the 2015 Lamborghini Huracan of American millionaire and inventor Jordan Martin, which was modified so much that it was possible to drift on it. Of course, the Huracan can’t compare to a 1997 Nissan 240 SX or a 2006 Ford Mustang in drifting, but its 1,000 hp engine does. allows you to make up for lost seconds on straight sections.
The creators of the show, and the producer of Hyperdrive was Charlize Theron, who apparently got into the spirit of crazy racing on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road and Fast & Furious 8, tried to bring together racers from different countries of the world with different backgrounds and on very different cars. The first season also included a twenty-year-old girl from the slums of Sueto (South Africa) in a barely alive 1986 BMW 325, raving about drifting, and a middle-aged couple from Germany with twenty years of drifting experience (personally, I was rooting for the mother of two children, Karina Graf, who set the heat for the youth) . Former racer Joa Barion from Brazil in a 1965 Mustang Fastback and pizza delivery man from San Francisco Farouk Kugay in his 2008 BMW e92. Former model and Japanese girl group member Kisaragi Awano in a Toyota JZX100 Cresta and Frenchman Alexandre Claudin in a huge and hulking 1968 Dodge Charger. Another completely crazy Frenchman, Axel Francois in a dying Toyota GT86 and twenty-year-old cool-headed Brazilian Diego Higa in a 2006 Ford Mustang. Etc. USA, Germany, Brazil, Japan, UK, France, South Africa.
The casting of 28 drivers for the first season took more than 12 months, and then over several nights they competed against each other on a special track built within an industrial park in Rochester (New York). Shooting at night allowed us to convey the spirit of illegal racing and experiment with lighting. The track became more difficult from stage to stage and became a real test not only for the drivers, but also for the cars, some of which literally could not withstand such abuse.
The stages were based on drifting tasks, the ability to spin donuts, make turns of 180, 360 and 540 degrees in a limited space, knocking down special targets while drifting, etc. However, there were also plenty of really crazy tasks, for example, driving through a shallow pool, sliding on the bottom of a car on metal rails, and, of course, the symbol of the show – the Leveler. This huge swinging bridge, which had to be leveled with the help of a car and held in a balanced position for 10 seconds, became a real test for many racers. Well, between special sections, the participants had to squeeze everything out of their cars in order to catch up with the gap or win back penalty seconds. Plus, power was important in the knockout competition, in which drivers had to synchronize around a small course with several obstacles.
The first season of Hyperdrive turned out to be somewhat predictable, the winner could be guessed after just a few races, but it was quite dramatic. There were enough hurtful defeats, miraculous rescues, tears, sweat, and even accidents. Let’s be honest, watching the competition was incredibly interesting; I personally devoured 10 episodes of the first season in just two days. And the creators of the show have already started casting for the next competition, so if you or your friends want to try your hand and challenge the best drifters in the world, register on the official website, maybe Ukraine will be represented in the next season of Hyperdrive.
Conclusion:
One of the best car TV shows in history
