Well-known car reviewer David Patterson has mad his name reviewing some of the most insane sports cars in the country for his YouTube channel ThatDudeInBlue. He's driven everything from modified oddball cars such as a Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 to performance SUVs including the Lamborghini Urus. That being said, Patterson would have to search very hard to find a vehicle that could take 1.1 million subscribers by surprise – and apparently he's done just that, finding said vehicle in a place no-one would look: Minnesota. What is the vehicle you might ask? Try four massive retired military tanks from a place called Drive A Tank in Kasota, Minnesota.
Taming The Beast
In the video, David receives training on how to drive the massive military vehicles in a British Abbot, learning how to maneuver through the woods using a gas pedal and two hand levers for steering and braking. Patterson describes that although the hand levers and overall size of the tank take some getting used to, after a while it actually started to feel natural to him.
Second, Patterson got to try his hand at what it would be like to he a soldier driving into a battlefield while only looking through a periscope. He compared it to looking through a periscope – with depth perception being very difficult to judge; he needed to turn his whole body in order to see his surroundings, not just move his eyes.
Once he got comfortable driving the tanks, it was then David's turn to drive the massive T54 Russian Main Battle Tank. This behemoth is powered by a 38.8L v12 engine making 580 hp, a manual transmission, and steering lever system similar to the other two tanks. Patterson noted that while the Russian killing machine did have a similar steering system, it was much more difficult to operate describing it as having almost a "two stage" range of motion to it.
Tool Of Destruction
Lastly, it was ThatDudeInBlue's chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of his and the child-at-heart in many of us by getting to crush a couple of family sedans in a Mk 10 Chieftain tank. Patterson grabbed the reins of the 6-cylinder, 12-piston 2 stroke diesel tank and glided right over the two cars with ease.
With a huge smile on his face, Patterson admired the destruction left in his wake making the comment that it was not what he expected driving over two cars would be like, but was surely the furthest thing from being a disappointment.
Source: YouTube