[1]Burnouts in car equipped with a manual transmission require a basic knowledge of how to drive a stick or bad things can and will happen. Doing a burnout without a line-lock is not impossible, but you have to know what you’re doing or this YouTube [2] clip shows what can happen your car. One guy lets a friend behind the wheel of his C5 Corvette with “student driver” displayed across the back of the car. Normally burnouts are not part of driver’s education, but after this colossal failure it is doubtful that will ever happen again. The novice behind the wheel the revs the engine and proceeds to create a cloud of toxic smoke.
When the smoke begins flow from underneath the middle of the car those with half of a brain cell realize it is not tire smoke – it is the visual confirmation of the death of a pretty pricey clutch. Generally a successful burnout involves revving the engine to certain point then releasing the clutch pedal and working the throttle and brake pedals with one foot or switching once tire shredding is achieved. Obviously this beginner did not have his dance steps memorized because there were no black marks on the pavement. All of the glorious smoke in this clip was not created from the shredding of tires, but the painful and incredibly smelly death of a clutch. Next time it would be beneficial for the instructor to make sure his pupil actually knows what they are doing before turning one of them loose with a Corvette. Perhaps next time a C5 equipped with an automatic would be the safer choice?