If you watch a lot of automotive content on YouTube (and I’m sure you do), you’ve probably come across a channel called WhistlinDiesel. The star of the channel is a young man named Cody Detwiler. On his Instagram page followed by nearly five million people, he identifies himself as the “CEO of Destruction.” That’s not an overstatement. His YouTube channel is full of “durability tests” in which he drives vehicles to their breaking points and finds other (often silly and funny) ways to dismantle or outright destroy them. He’s both infuriating and entertaining. Many of the vehicles he decimates are models most people could never dream of buying (such as a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen); at the same time, it’s fascinating to see somebody treat them as if they’re just old junkers to be crushed by a monster truck. Granted, obliterating a high-end car no doubt draws attention and ups his view count, but there is an odd and interesting lack of reverence for the vehicles Detwiler turns into scrap metal. As the video below shows, one of the latest victims of his antics was a Rolls-Royce Phantom VII.
The video starts with Detwiler “borrowing” the car from James Bergener of Sweet James Accident Attorneys so he can drive it from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back. He’s not supposed to get a scratch on it, which is a farce, much like the rest of the video.
After bolting away, he and his pals proceed to bang up the front passenger door at a gas station while feeding the 6.75-liter V12 behind the Pantheon grille. They then drive through – and on the banking of – the aqueduct, taking a few minutes to slide around in the stinky water and burn some rubber off the rear tires.
After leaving the car in a restricted parking zone, Detwiler and his crew return to find it with a boot on one of its front wheels. Detwiler just powers through it, ripping up the tire, wheel arch, and rocker panel in the process. After getting the tire fixed, the guys get two wheels of the massive sedan up on a wall before violently thudding back to a level driving position.
It’s not long before other parts are removed. Using a reciprocating saw, one of Detwiler’s friends cuts off the mufflers and catalytic converters to let out the V12’s pure, unfiltered raspy growl. Interior parts start falling off once the guys take the Phantom on some dirt trails. To violently remove the Spirit of Ecstacy ornament, Detwiler calls upon one of his Instagram friends. It’s not long before the lavish wood and leather interior is torn apart by hand…and crow bar.
After that, Detwiler and his friends make a detour to Tennessee, where they set the Phantom loose on a steep hill and let gravity take car of the rest, which it does with extreme prejudice. But that’s not the end of the Phantom. Detwiler brings in his friend “Cuddles”, an excavator. To nobody’s surprise, Cuddles is not very gentle. It ends up ripping out the steering wheel and mangling the doors.
To clean up the Phantom after the days of abuse he inflicted upon it, Detwiler pulls out his “big detailing brush.” That’s code for a skid steer with a clearing mower attachment. That quickly turns the Phantom into a ragged convertible and a giant grenade that pelts Detwiler’s garage with shrapnel.
I’m no legal expert, but I think Sweet James may have a case here…
