Watch a Mercedes-Benz crash survivor return to the accident scene.

Watch a Mercedes-Benz crash survivor recount his famous accident on Chapman's Peak Drive near Cape Town thirty years later.

The Mercedes-Benz crash siteChris White and his original MercedesMr White's current W123A new Mercedes-Benz S-Class on Chapman's Peak DriveLook ma, no hands
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Thirty years ago, there was a famous Mercedes-Benz crash in South Africa. Christopher White made headlines when he crashed his Mercedes-Benz W123 off of Chapmans Peak Drive in Cape Town.

A sheer cliff

White was tired while driving the famous road late one night. A momentary lapse in concentration sent his car plummeting off a 100-metre cliff into rocks below.

Miraculously, White survived and was rescued by an EMS team who had to climb down to the ocean’s edge to rescue him. There was no doubt he survival came down to his choice to fasten his seatbelt.

Watch a Mercedes-AMG SLS zoom off the road in this video.

Famous ads

The accident would become the subject of a famous television advert that Mercedes-Benz created to showcase their car’s safety. Long-time rival BMW created a retort about how its cars can actually “Beat the Bends(z)”. (Though we can’t seem to find it online.)

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Returning to the scene 

Recently, the Mercedes-Benz South Africa took Christopher back to the same point of his crash and let him drive the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Except this time, there was a bit of a technological difference. Watch the video below to hear Mr White recount the event in his own words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_N5suuajsk

 

 

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Written by Banzai Matai
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