Nerves of steel required for this stunt

The S8 5.2 Audi at the center of "Transporter 3" takes almost as much abuse as does star Jason Statham. To accomplish the tricky stunt of having the car tilt up on two wheels to squeeze between two semitrailers, stunt coordinator Michel Julienne welded the bottom of the car to the side of one of the trailers. Inside the trailer, they set up a small engine that was used to pull the Audi along the side of the truck. While the car's powerful four-wheel drive had to be hobbled to two-wheel drive, it was the tires that took the most abuse. "We had to change the tires very often," Julienne said. "We'd get up to speeds of 60 to 70 kilometers an hour [about 40 mph], but then we'd have to change the tires every kilometer or so." Julienne's son sat in the Audi as it was pulled along the side of the truck. The other truck was not attached but was under instructions to drive as close as possible to the car, sometimes within about half an inch. "It came very close but did not touch," Julienne said. He had no fears for his son's safety, however. "My brother was driving the truck."

--Patrick Kevin Day