Today, everyone (and apparently everything) is taking up surfing. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Renault F1 surfer car.
Formula One is the fastest single-seat racing car class in the world. These high-tech machines accelerate to 100 km/h (62 km/h) in six seconds.
An F1 car reaches speeds of up to 224 miles per hour (360 kilometers per hour) on asphalt and weighs approximately 1610 pounds (730 kilograms), excluding fuel and driver.
But the Renault Sport Formula One Team decided to test their powerful vehicle in one of the world's harshest environments: the open ocean.
"During a brainstorming, we came up with the original idea of having an F1 car on a surfboard. Then, it snowballed into much bigger ideas," explains François Puentes, head of marketing of Renault Sport Racing.
The F1 car racing team wanted to produce a never seen before, out-of-the-box TV and web commercial. And they flew to Australia to shoot the stunt.
"The initial reaction was 'yes, you're crazy.' and then 'no, it's not feasible.' But from the moment the project was approved until the shooting, it took about four or five weeks."
An F1 Car Needs an XXL Surfboard
Because of the car's XXL dimensions, Renault F1 had to commission the construction of the surfboard. Many things could've gone wrong, but the shooting went smoothly.
Professional surfer Ellie Jean-Coffey was one of the stars of the TV ad, alongside official 2016 Renault drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer.
"I've never seen a board that big, let alone a race car on top of it. It's quite wild," said Jean-Coffey.
The crew added extra flotation to the board in case a rogue wave flipped it. But everything went well, and Renault returned to F1 with a tan and in grand style.
"This is an embodiment of our passion for life and how we want to enjoy everything we're doing around this sport. Hopefully, people will appreciate and get the vibe that we're putting out with the team," concludes Andy Stobart, head of communications of Renault Sport Racing.