FUELLED by methanol alcohol, this Chrysler PT Cruiser currently holds a world record for the longest wheelie. Car enthusiast ‘Nitro’ Mike Kunz, of BC, Canada, has a long established passion for drag racing and chose to modify the vehicle into a wheelstander. He said: “I had to be different. PT Cruiser was the new age of the Hot Rod coming out. And in this business, most people have a truck for wheel standers, and I wanted to be a little bit different, out of the box. So PT Cruiser seems to be right up that alley.” With a top speed of 130mph, this car set the record for the longest wheelie at 2,500 feet in 2012. But Mike is hoping to go even further and plans on breaking that record. He said: “I'm looking for a longer airstrip maybe California or something that has a long airport, where a guy could try and go maybe 5,000, 6,000 feet." Mike is somewhat of a legend on the racing scene and has travelled across the USA to show the car at different race tracks where fans can even sign its front end. Mike said: “The kids love signing the car. I wish I could have been able to do that when I was younger, you know, write on a hot rod car and watch it go down the racetrack.”
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MotorTranscript
00:00 It's done 130 miles an hour. It looks mean and it holds the Guinness World Record for
00:07 the longest wheelie in a car.
00:09 COMM: After 30 years on the racing scene,
00:21 Nitro Mike is somewhat of a legend.
00:23 NITRO MIKE: When I was younger I was into boats and snowmobiles and street bikes and I just got into drag racing.
00:30 Drag racing to me is our passion.
00:32 COMM: And while his current vehicle of choice may have started life as a family hatchback,
00:37 it's now a very different beast.
00:40 NITRO MIKE: The only thing PT Cruiser on this car is the body. The cage itself is chrome moly.
00:46 It's stretched to 117 inches for handling purposes. It's a 446 cubic inch Chrysler.
00:54 It's got an 871 blower on it. It makes about 12 to 1400 horsepower.
01:00 COMM: And it's been modified with one thing in mind.
01:04 NITRO MIKE: This is a specially built wheel stander. It's designed to wheelie.
01:12 COMM: But why a PT Cruiser?
01:14 NITRO MIKE: Had to be different.
01:16 COMM: And fuelled by methanol alcohol, this vehicle has a top speed of 130 miles per hour.
01:24 COMM: Mike loves to perform at motor events across the USA.
01:34 NITRO MIKE: We do a lot of travelling with this car.
01:39 Every weekend we're trying to put on a show, different events, different tracks from the West Coast all the way to the East Coast.
01:47 When we built the fiberglass front end for it, I'm not a painter, so in order to give it some colour and character,
01:58 we let the fans and the kids sign the front of the car.
02:01 COMM: And eight years ago, Mike took his Cruiser to another level.
02:08 NITRO MIKE: On August 12th, 2012 in a place called Arlton, Ontario, we set the Guinness World Record for the longest wheelie in a car.
02:18 It went 2500 feet.
02:20 We thought the car for sure could do a fair distance. It was whether the driver could do it or not.
02:29 COMM: And now Mike has his sights set on his own record.
02:35 NITRO MIKE: I'm looking for a longer airstrip, maybe California or something where a guy can try and go maybe 5, 6,000 feet.
02:43 Let's do this.
03:00 The speed of this car, the best it's ever done was 130 miles an hour.
03:05 It's got a pretty big wheelie bar on it so we don't flip it over backwards.
03:11 The foot box area is wide open so that you can see where you're going when the car is up in the air.
03:18 Come on up, grab a seat and get ready.
03:25 [BEEP]
03:26 It was fast and it was loud. It's awesome.
03:44 The baddest TT Cruiser I've ever seen.
03:53 They get to watch the car go down the track.
03:55 They got their signature on the front of it.
03:58 It's good for the sport.
04:00 It's the greatest show on earth.
04:05 [MUSIC]
04:08 (whooshing)