Josef Tödtling has built a career around fire. To be more specific, he set himself on fire. On June 24 in Vienna, the Austrian stuntman pulled a car 328 feet in 56.42 seconds while completely engulfed in flames, earning a Guinness World Record for the fastest 100-meter car pull during a full-body burn.
The footage feels unreal. Flames consume his protective suit as he leans into the harness and drags the car down the street. One of his crew walks beside him carrying an extinguisher, just in case the very real threat of disaster strikes. At the finish line, Tödtling collapsed while three extinguishers were emptied over him before the flames were out.
Guinness called the stunt among the most dangerous ever attempted. The feat demanded months of preparation, protective layering that could withstand searing heat, and a support team trained to react in seconds.
Even with all the precautions in the world, the danger of death has a very small margin of error.
Stunt Performer Sets Record by Pulling a Car While Literally on Fire
Tödtling is no stranger to fire-based records. He once held a full-body burn without oxygen for five minutes and 41 seconds. He has been dragged by a vehicle for nearly 1,910 feet while aflame.
He has raced 200 meters on a bicycle in under 50 seconds while burning. In 2023, he zipped more than 200 feet along a wire with flames trailing him the entire way. These exploits earned him the nickname “Burning Joe.”
Pulling a car while on fire adds another level of punishment. The act alone demands explosive strength and stamina. Add fire, and the stunt becomes a terrifying countdown, with heat building inside the suit and smoke creeping into every breath.
For Tödtling, the risks are part of the point. He continues to chase new challenges that push further than the last. Each of his feats is designed to test how much danger an audience can watch before looking away. Guinness keeps creating categories for him, sealing his reputation as the man who treats fire as both costume and opponent.
This latest stunt leaves little sense that he’s finished. The fire is now an integral part of his identity, and the audience has grown accustomed to seeing him push limits that most wouldn’t approach. The question is no longer why, but when the subsequent ignition begins.
The post Stunt Performer Breaks Record by Pulling a Car—While on Fire appeared first on VICE.
