Richard Hammond has got back behind the wheel of a car that almost killed him.
Richard Hammond has got back behind the wheel of a car that almost killed him 16 years ago
The 52-year-old presenter - who fronted BBC Two’s motor programme ‘Top Gear’ alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May from 2002 to 2015 – ended up in a coma for two weeks after sustaining a brain injury following a horror crash in 2006.
But now Richard, who vowed never to get behind the wheel of the vehicle that resulted in his near-death experience, has shocked fans by doing just that.
Almost two decades since the smash, Richard was spotted posing with the Vampire dragster on YouTube channel DriveTribe - which is owned by ‘Top Gear’ trio Hammond, Clarkson and May – while he teased some upcoming content for 2022.
Speaking in the video, he said: “I’ll be doing what I promised myself I would never do, and get back into the Vampire dragster that so very, very nearly killed me.
“I will be doing what I swore – oh, do you know what, I’m just gonna do it now.”
Richard jokingly greeted the car, which was restored after it had almost disintegrated following the accident.
He said: “Hello again. You look in better shape than the last time I saw you, anyway.
“What’s odd is, I remember the last time I got in this thing, but I don’t remember getting out, so technically I’m still in it.”
Richard's horror crash came while filming an episode of ‘Top Gear’ at the RAF Elvington airfield near York, in September 2006.
He was driving at 319mph in a Vampire dragster - a jet-powered car that has the potential to reach speeds of 370mph - and the front right tyre unexpectedly failed, causing the motor to lose control and start rolling.
The TV star had to be cut out with hydraulic shears and rushed to hospital.
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