Jumping into Netflix’s Hyperdrive

A 1000hp Lamborghini Huracan prepares to take on the Hyperdrive course.

What if obstacle course…but with cars? It’s easy to imagine that being the single-sentence pitch for Netflix’s new series Hyperdrive. A more apt description of Hyperdrive is from its producer Chris Cowan: “American Ninja Warrior” meets “Fast & Furious.” Executive-produced by actress Charlize Theron, the series pits “elite street racers from around the world” against the “biggest, ’baddest’ automotive obstacle course ever built.”

The Hyperdrive course is no doubt one of the biggest such tracks built. It sits on a 40-hectare area of the Eastman Business Park in Rochester, New York. It was the center of the Kodak empire, and it’s now the home to dozens of new companies.

Instead of the usual race track with corners, straightaways and the like, the Hyperdrive course is instead comprised of six or more obstacles. These include the “Supernova,” where drivers must perform a 180-degree reverse turn without toppling-over pylons, and the “Light Box,” where a driver has to spin 540 degrees within two narrow boxes. One of the largest constructs is the towering “Leveler,” a six-story seesaw that racers must charge up, then stop just short of the edge, allowing the platform to swivel down to let them continue on the track.

The contestants are race drivers—street racers, none of them professional racers—pulled from around the world. Their disciplines are varied. Some are amateur track racers, while others are into drag racing; many are into drifting. They include a millionaire industrialist from the US, a law student from South Africa, and a drift racer from Japan.

The racers are allowed to build and modify their own cars and bring them to the show. The sky’s the limit when it comes to budget, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the richer contestants have an insurmountable advantage. Case in point is the aforementioned millionaire contestant, who brought to Hyperdrive his Lamborghini Huracan. With 1000hp and computer-controlled all-wheel drive, it seemed to be the car to ideally tackle the course. However, the nature of the obstacles favored cars that were easy to drift and pitch around, something that the track-oriented Huracan resisted. Drivers who are at the bottom of the time sheets in each episode are eliminated.

The first driver in the series is the colorfully-named Fielding Shredder. He’s a 33-year old rally instructor who powered through the track in his professional drift car, based on a 1997 Nissan 240SX.

Netflix Hyperdrive executive producer Charlize Theron enjoys a ride in one of the race cars.

Hyperdrive wouldn’t draw you into binge-watching its 10 episodes if it featured anonymous contestants and their machines. So there’s some drama thrown in, in the back stories of the various contestants. Stacey-Lee May, from South Africa is a law student who gained a measure of fame and some sponsors with her “spinning” videos, where she pirouettes her 1986 BMW E30 3 Series in a series of donuts. Her father reportedly sold his tow truck to help fund her Hyperdrive campaign, and he also acts as her spotter during her track run. The girl’s emotional exchanges with her dad as she navigates her course will have viewers shedding tears.

May had a tough time in Episode 1, but latter episodes offer eliminated racers a chance to return to the competition. Executive producer Charlize Theron is a certified petrolhead, having done a lot of her own driving in 2003’s “The Italian Job.” Fellow cast members Mark Wahlberg and Jason Statham deemed her as easily the best driver among them. She subsequently starred in two other automotive franchises, the “Fast & Furious” and “Mad Max” series.

Driving is in her blood-Netflix Hyperdrive executive producer Charlize Theron checks out one of the race entries.

“Netflix drove full-speed into the genre of car culture and competition this …and audiences around the world connected with the compelling stories of these cars and the people who love them,” said Bela Bajaria, Vice President of Content for Netflix. “Fueled by that response, we’re partnering with best-in-class producers to expand our unscripted programming for motor enthusiasts and novices alike.”

Shot at night, Hyperdrive looks like the world’s most delirious action movie. The series powers away on sheer entertainment value, thanks to its mix of fast cars, interesting drivers, and car-crushing danger.