A pair of Muscovites including local blogger Igor Moroz carried out an unusual stunt, renting a Mi-8 transport helicopter fitted with a winch, attaching a Mercedes Gelandewagen (G-Class) luxury SUV and dropping it from a height of 300 meters.
According to local media, the twenty minute flight cost the men 250,000 rubles (about $4,000).
The vehicle appeared to be fully functional before the drop, shown drifting in the snow. However, inquisitive commentators on Moroz’s YouTube channel suggested that the G-Wagon that was dropped and the one showed driving around weren’t the same, and that the blogger has switched the more expensive SUV out for a cheaper clunker model.
After an eight second descent, the SUV was flattened into a pancake, and taken off to be scrapped.
According to local media, Karelia’s transport police are now conducting a probe into the incident, and the blogger may receive a fine.
The Mercedes G-Wagon, originally meant to be a transport vehicle for the West German military during the Cold War, became popular among wealthy Russians, including the criminal underworld, in the 1990s. Well-known for its ‘timeless’ design, a G-Wagon from the mid-1990s can go for between 650,000 and 1.2 million rubles ($10,450 to $19,300), according to auto.ru, while a brand new one can sell for as much as 14.8 million rubles ($238,000).