Bungee jumping Nissan breaks world record

The Nissan Qashqai is officially a Guinness World Records holder. It's not for the longest range travelled on a tank of fuel, or the highest number of deadly snakes in the boot.

No, it's a world record holder thanks to a daring (and expensive!) bungee jump carried out in France.

Cars don't usually get into bungee jumping, it's more of a human experience but rolling off a custom-built launching platform then plummeting inexorably towards the ground, a modified QASHQAI e-POWER SUV has conquered a record-breaking 65-metre swan dive.

Most people would be too afraid to sit in a bungee-jumping car, for fear of being squished in a gory wreckage... but not French stuntman Laurent Lasko.

The wild stunt saw Lasko bravely steer the stripped-out SUV straight down toward terra firma, providing the foundation for a new TV campaign starring the small SUV.

A month of planning went into the stunt, according to the Guinness World Records team, including building a platform to support the SUV in two positions, horizontal and a 45-degree angle.

Nissan had to come up with a tailor-made bungee cord consisting of eight ropes and stripping everything out of the Qashqai to save weight – except for the driver’s seat and dashboard.

Nissan France's marketing director, Jérôme Biguet, trotted out some fluffy hyperbole to justify the exceedingly expensive (but admittedly cool) stunt, that you can watch in the video.

“The brand has always shown its ability to innovate and shake up habits with audacity and sometimes even impertinence. In its various TV spots, the Qashqai has tried skateboarding, surfing, paintball… each time thrilling activities. The new campaign will see it jumping from building to building.”