Is Demolition derby strictly an American pastime?

From Wikipedia: Demolition derbies originated in the United States and quickly spread to other western nations. In Europe, this type of event is called banger racing, although in a demolition derby, racers do not race against each other, instead aiming specifically to destroy the other cars. The first Demolition derby in Australia took place in January 1963.

Here’s a film of a demo derby from Germany, 1970.

The History and Future of Demolition Derby

The redneck things we ‘Merkins think up!

I heard a report on the radio that the demolition derby is rapidly disappearing from the scene in America, because heavy metal cars with big engines are getting ever more difficult (and expensive) to find.

I can’t imagine a post 1980 car in a demolition Derby.

There were two events last night. First was a figure of 8 race in two divisions small and large pick em up trucks. We only stayed for one round of the Demolition derby, last car standing event. There was quite the show of humanity there, (for further reference plz see Wal-Mart after dark) there were some mid-sized cars not taken out by the cash for clunkers program. That was a tragedy for the spectacle.

@stanleybmanly I’ve seen a few places for racing and demolition derbies that had Four-banger classes. The last demo derby I went to, the four-banger class was dominated by a VW Squareback due to it’s rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. (For those that don’t know, many demo derby losses are due to a cracked radiator.) The important thing isn’t size, but rather having the field comprised of roughly equal cars.

@Dutchess_III No need for me to imagine; I’ve seen it. They actually hold up better than the older ones in some ways, especially around the driver’s seat where it really matters. Most derbies forbid intentional rams to the driver’s door anyways, but they sometimes happen, and those with side impact beams tend to fare better than cars that are nothing but sheetmetal in the ~18 inches between the door and framerail. Also, a modern unibody car is less likely to get the engine knocked back through the dashboard; a distinct possibility considering that everyone else there is trying to ram your front end because that’s where your radiator is.
Naturally they’d be in their own weight class though, as despite the differences in construction that allow newer cars to withstand impact better, putting a 2800-pound car versus a 3800-pound car isn’t fair from a competitive viewpoint.

Demo derbys? Best was an American checker cab. They were tanks.

I remember Chrysler Imperials were pretty formidable too. So much so they got banned.

God we spend way to much time on our cars.

I agree. We need to spend more time with our goats.

Oh god, laughs, especially after you get my last answer.

It and the term may have originated in the US but it is practiced everywhere there are cars these days. But now it’s usually referred to as “commuter driving.”

We have demo derbies up here in Canada too.

I found This from Belgium. Pretty good footage of little cars duking it out. A bit different from full on demolition, but looks like a ton of fun.