Drag Car Grenades Differential At Launch

There are few things as thrilling as cutting a low 60-foot time at the drag strip. It is always great when everything works out right. Alas, it can be almost as entertaining when things go horribly, horribly wrong. This video is yet another reminder of what can happen when good cars go boom.

This Youtube video, posted by blownhemi three weeks ago, shows an Australian dude launching his car, only to grenade the rear differential. BOOM!

The car in this video may not be familiar to most of you. That is because it was never made in America. Rather, the vehicle in question is a Holden Torana, GM’s subsidiary down under. The name comes from the Aboriginal word meaning “to fly”, which is exactly what this differential does when the driver tries to launch his car. The burnout went just fine, but once he actually tried to launch…he didn’t make it far.

Now you might be saying to yourself “Well, those Torana’s are old and most of them came with six cylinder engines, so that must be the stock differential. No wonder it exploded!” Not the case. According to blownhemi, the rear end was in fact a Ford 9”, universally hailed as one of the strongest differentials ever built – hell, even the Aussies know it. The Torana leaves a trail of metal bits and leaking fluids in its wake, and the pinion was left attached to the driveshaft like a dismembered arm. But at least nobody got hurt, so we can fully enjoy this destructive video.