Getaway in Stockholm are video series that were recorded during first decade of 2000s. The concept of them are the same – they film cars being raced through the streets of Stockholm while trying to attract attention from police and escaping them.
Getaway in Stockholm is inspired by short film C’était un rendez-vous, which Mr. A (director of the series) was talking about with friends. On them said there will never be such a film made in Stockholm because police would never let you get away. In spite of this, Mr. A recruited driver Mr. X and started working on Getaway in Stockholm 1.
It’s speculated that Mr. X could be racing driver Jocke Qvarnström (aka Qvarnis), however the identities of drivers are still a secret. It’s only known that they never used their personal cars, most likely to avoid getting caught.
All of the movies are shot in one take to make them realistic and avoid people speculating they have been edited. This is why parts where the cars aren’t driven fast for various reasons are included in the film.
There were total of 10 DVD’s produced and they used to be very popular back in the day. Many of them came out even before sites like Youtube and Vimeo existed and were shared through peer-to-peer file sharing softwares. Back then internet was very slow so it wasn’t unusual to have to download 1 video for 10 hours or longer. You couldn’t alternatively purchase a DVD. Street racing videos weren’t easy to come by back then which made Getaway in Stockholm releases very special and unique.
DVD’s contains a lot of extra footage but we will focus on the main allure that made them famous – racing through the streets of Stockholm and “playing” with the police.
Getaway in Stockholm 1
The first “Getaway in Stockholm” DVD was released in 2000 and features Porsche 911 (993) Turbo.
Running through the streets of Stockholm at speeds up to 250 km/h (155 mph), running through red lights and going opposite way of one way streets immediately made Getaway in Stockholm a sensation and a shocking one at that.
There have been some criticism about Getaway in Stockholm 1 though, for example in the video below at timestamp “6:05” you can see lighthouse flashing suspiciously fast, which might indicate that the video might be sped up. On the other hand engine sounds seems to be spot on, theoretically audio might be edited but that would be quite a bit of hassle. Still, since the DVD’s were of somewhat commercial nature the effort might have been worth it.
Also at 0:54 you can see Volvo trying to stop the Porsche, implying it’s police however many including Ghost Rider himself have criticised that this was set up and the men in the video aren’t real police men.
Getaway in Stockholm 2
Getaway in Stockholm 2 was recorded in August of 2001 and features two cars racing through the streets of Stockholm: 600 bhp Toyota Supra (with fully rebuilt 2JZ engine, single turbo conversion, aftemarket intake, exhaust, intercooler, brakes & dampers however it had stock transmission and clutch. After filming was done the clutch on the Supra was destroyed) and 450 bhp Ford Escort Cosworth.
At the beginning of video you can hear a recording from police scanner. In Swedish they say that there have been multiple complaints about two cars that are driving like maniacs: one of black color and the other one red. It seems like they were aware of what’s going on and decided not to embarrass themselves by failing to catch them.
Despite multiple flaws Getaway in Stockholm 2 is probably the most popular release. First of all many of the cameras broke during recording. Another issue was that back in early 2000s video cameras were pretty big and heavy, which in certain situations made them hard to stay stable. This proved to be an issue with Supra, who’s acceleration was so violent that footage was so shaky it was unwatchable. There was problem with Escort footage too – the microphone malfunctioned, but because footage from Supra was unusable they had to settle with terrible audio quality.
It’s not all bad though, since the Escort plays “cat” part most of video (as in “cat and mouse” racing) it’s very exciting to see Supra backfiring and going sideways at times. During the video you can also see Supra going over 300 km/h (according to speedo, not GPS verified).
Getaway in Stockholm 3
Getaway in Stockholm 3 is shot on early morning and unlike other Getaway in Stockholm movies this one takes place during bright time of the day. It features Honda NSX – a car that became legendary for being the first reliable supercar. When it came out it was just as fast if not faster than supercars made by certain Italian manufacturers, yet was cheaper and didn’t constantly break down.
Getaway in Stockholm 3 features multiple camera angles inluding interior one, beautiful outside drift shot (at 14:36) and even footage from high above shot out of a helicopter. It also features some quality Swedish humor, you might notice that the NSX has a sticker on the back that when translated from Swedish says “flash with blue lights if you want to race”.
At 8:37 you can see Police Special Forces car trying to block the road, but Mr. X is no fool and makes a quick U-turn. Mr. X has claimed that he is a bit more worried about them than regular police because “they seem to have higher testosterone”. After the second movie came out Police was eager to catch the person responsible for these movies. Since NSX is a rare car the owner of the car was afraid to be identified and decided not to drive it anymore after the video came out. Allegedly he sold it to some car collector and the famous NSX has never been driven on a public road since.
Getaway in Stockholm 4
Getaway in Stockholm 4 features Honda NSX that was in the previous movie and Chevrolet Corvette C5. They race each other for nearly an hour and meanwhile attract police attention and as expected get away from them without any issues. So sit back and enjoy an hour of adrenaline filled action
Getaway in Stockholm 5
Getaway in Stockholm 5 features another very special car – a rotary powered Mazda RX-7 FD that’s heavily modified and capable of reaching 300 km/h, which it did in this video. Other than that this is just another Getaway in Stockholm video. You already know what to expect from it.
Getaway in Stockholm 6
Getaway in Stockholm 6 once again features two cars racing each other, this time – Dodge Viper and Porsche 911 GT3 (996 chassis). It’s perhaps not the most exciting release but it’s still worth to watch.
Getaway in Stockholm 7
Getaway in Stockholm 7 features BMW M5 E39 and what many consider to be the best ///M car of all time – BMW M3 E46 CSL. Only 1,383 units were produced so it’s already very special in its stock form, however this one had ESS supercharger that bumps power figure from 355 bhp to 575 bhp. Increase in power often means a need for more brake power and the owner of M3 CSL was aware of this and also installed Brembo brake kit worth $25,000+.
Racing through the streets and playing with police, this video is a classic Getaway in Stockholm.
Getaway in Stockholm 8
In Getaway in Stockholm 8 Mr. X drives 525 hp Audi RS6 with a 4.2 liter V8 engine and all wheel drive through the streets of downtown Stockholm.
There is also some footage of Yamaha R1 driving fast and playing with the cops, perhaps a homage to Ghost Rider who had criticized the first Getaway in Stockholm.
Getaway in Stockholm 9
Porsche 911 GT3 is known as one of the best drivers cars in the world and Getaway in Stockholm 9 features two of them driven by Mr. X and Mr. N!
During the first part of the video both of the drivers race the Yellow Porsche 911 996 GT3’s and tease cops, whereas on the second part Mr. X goes on a solo drive.
Getaway in Stockholm 10
Getaway in Stockholm 10 is the last release and came out in 2009. It is perhaps the most exotic edition due to the cars it features: Lamborghini Gallardo and Porsche 911 GT3 (996) – what a great way to end the series.
This is arguably one of the best releases. Seeing a Porsche and Lamborghini fly through the streets of Stockholm, running away from cops and Lamborghini occasionally backfiring is just beautiful