Scion Racing pilot Tanner Foust and the Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC grabbed the spotlight during the off season recently with the release of an 18-second teaser video ahead of the premiere of “Street Drift: Mulholland.” The production finds Foust and his car in the Santa Monica Mountains in Southern California to challenge the iconic Mulholland Highway in an action-packed display of fishtailing brilliance.
Foust took a few minutes to answer some questions about filming of the exciting piece and reflect on the upcoming 2010 motorsports season.
helloScion: Where did the idea come from to do this video?
Tanner Foust: I've wanted to drift up Mulholland for years but I know better than to do that without closing it down and making it legal first. We had closed the road down before to shoot “Supercars Exposed” for the SPEED channel, so I knew it was possible, it was just a matter of time. This is a well-known driving and riding road, and the thought of unleashing the 650hp Rockstar Scion beast on its iconic turns was just too much to ignore!
hS: Mulholland Highway is a fairly popular driver's road, known as "The Snake" to regulars. What part of "The Snake" did you guys use for most of the filming?
TF: We closed a two-mile section just west of The Rock Store [a famous hangout on Mulholland in the town of Cornell]. Like you said, it's a very popular place for enthusiasts. Its open canyon views and tight twists through natural rock structures make it an awesome place to enjoy your favorite scooter.
hS: How many days were spent shooting? When was it shot?
TF: We basically had an afternoon in November to shoot.
hS: How did the entire process go? Did you guys have only certain hours of the day to shoot? Did you face any problems during filming?
TF: It took a few hours to get everything done. We scouted it for awhile to look for camera spots and to learn the road, and then fired up the beast!
We had a remote-controlled helicopter that was probably the limiting factor. I wanted to get everything done on the first take and the hilo had a hard time keeping up while climbing the canyon. Consequently, we didn't get to use as much aerial footage as we would have liked.
Some corners we ended up repeating to change the camera angles, but at the end of the day we all liked the idea of only using shots with "fresh tracks."
hS: Have you had a chance to watch the finished video? What do you think of it?
TF: Watching the finished vid makes me so hungry to drive this car again! The sound is insane, the power is addicting, and to have the chance to lay those two fat tracks on one of my favorite ribbons of asphalt was awesome!
hS: Are there plans for more similar videos?
TF: There are so many incredible pieces of road that someone was thoughtful enough to build for us enthusiasts. I'd love to keep producing videos where I can take the ultimate fun machine and run hard on the world’s coolest roads. As long as it doesn't inspire people to put themselves in dangerous situations, I'll try to keep 'em coming.
hS: Finally, in brief, how is 2010 looking for the team? Will there be any significant changes to the car? Will we see any major sponsorship changes?
TF: This is going to be a busy year! I'll be doing a sport called European RallyCross... well, in Europe. Then three more of those events here in the U.S. and X Games 16, in addition to the Formula D series. I'm stoked for drifting this year; we learned some big lessons last year and will have a slightly improved Rockstar Scion tC for 2010. I can't wait!
The full “Street Drift: Mulholland” video debuts in March. For more information and to see the entire vid after it drops, check with tannerfoust.com.