Some people ask “why?” and others ask “why not?” The folks over at the EverythingApplePro YouTube channel are definitely in the latter category, because their most recent project involved switching out the brake pads on a 2002 Porsche 911 with iPhones.
Yes, you read that right.
The brake pad swap was undertaken as a kinda-sorta experiment to catalog the durability gap between the iPhone 4S and the newer 5S, as some claim the older phone is actually tougher. Legitimate as that query may be, the test soon devolved into straight up silliness, as nobody would actually do something like this outside of pure entertainment factor. Nevertheless, it did indeed happen, and we have the video to prove it.
First, the 911 Carrera needed a larger brake kit, as the standard calipers simply weren’t big enough to house the smartphones and all their Terms and Conditions agreements. Larger units from the 911 Turbo were swapped in, and after some careful epoxying, four 5S phones were slapped up front while a quartet of 4S’ were charged with stopping duty out back. The emergency brake, which uses a separate mini drum module, was left untouched for, well, emergencies.
If you’re a diehard Porsche fan, you may want to stop reading now.
The test began with a 20 mph run, and right away, the presenter noted that the brakes felt “spongy.” Go figure. At 40 mph, the iPhones were effectively crushed and one of them caught fire — clearly a manufacturer defect — however the 911 still came to a halt eventually. A little shrapnel here and there, but overall the experiment was going far better than we originally thought.
Before the 60 mph test commenced, the host expressed concern, admitting that “This was not a good idea.” Proving him right, the Porsche simply refused to properly stop from freeway speeds, spraying metal and plastic onto the road in protest. A horrible groaning sound emanated from the hubs, but eventually the e-brake brought the car back to rest.
After popping the calipers off to inspect the damage, we were surprised to see that one of the iPhones — a 4S model — actually survived. It’d be tough to make a conference call on it, but the screen still activated, dimly flickering to show some signs of life. We doubt it’s covered under insurance, though.
