MAARTEN DE BOER/GETTY IMAGES , DISCOVERY

From the April 2016 issue

C/D: Were there automotive myths too tough to test?

JH: There was one we walked away from. It involved a tanker truck full of liquid oxygen. It’s one thing if something’s dangerous, and another if it’s unpredictably so. What do you do if it doesn’t work? What happens if this pure oxygen gasses off and drifts over a nearby freeway? Do all the cars take off at 250 mph? Or do they just burst into flames? You have to think through that sort of stuff.

AS: Backwards Porsche was really difficult. The myth was that some cars were more aerodynamic going backwards. We bought a cheap 928 and pulled the body off the floorpan and spun it. It was the toughest car I’ve had to drive. But we were able to prove that it wasn’t more efficient going backwards rather than forwards.

C/D: Was there a car you felt guilty wrecking?

AS: I personally felt it was hardest to cut into a Toyota Corona. But for every single car we’ve destroyed on the show, there’s a fan club that has angrily written to us and said, “How dare you ruin this wonderful example of a great car.”

JH: There have been a couple that were—arguably—collectors’ cars. The most expensive cars we’ve ended up buying are Chevy Impalas. We destroyed one, two, three . . . four classic Impalas. I take that back, it’s five. We just destroyed one for an episode that hasn’t aired yet.

Porsche 928 MAARTEN DE BOER/GETTY IMAGES , DISCOVERY

C/D: Is being famous worth the hassle?

AS: One hundred percent. There are tiny inconveniences. Like it’s hard for me to go to a Best Buy and just browse. But the feedback I get is incredible, and it’s paid for a really nice life for me. I don’t begrudge it at all.

JH: That’s questionable. You do get special treatment. I can call people up I want access to and get them on the phone. And we’re treated with a great deal of respect. It’s seductive, though, and you get into a mode where the celebrity is a goal unto itself. And I have ethical issues with that.

C/D: Did you guys have a laserlike focus on becoming the kings of basic cable?

JH: The only reason I ended up here is that, as a small businessperson running my own effects company, I would take on anything I had access to, to pay my rent. It was a good call. And we’ve been shooting the show for 40 weeks a year for the past 14 years.

C/D: It’s been 14 seasons. Are you exhausted?

JH: Yeah, pretty much. I’m excited that now I can afford to get away from the damn cameras. I’ve got two major engineering projects I’m pushing forward. One is a ship for the Office of Naval Research. The other project is a system I devised to deal with these big fires that are popping up in the West. It involves giant robotic tanks of water.

C/D: Are you ever jealous of Top Gear?

AS: That deal they made with Amazon is pretty friggin’ sweet.

C/D: Are you happy to be done with MythBusters?

AS: No, I’m not happy to see it end. Having a behemoth like MythBusters on our back has been intense. So I definitely look forward to a greater amount of time and space to stretch my legs. That being said, I’ve gone through all the stages of grief.

JH: Oh, yeah.

Left: Adam Savage. Right: Jamie Hyneman. MAARTEN DE BOER/GETTY IMAGES , DISCOVERY

C/D: What’s next for you?

JH: One of the things I’m likely to start building in my shop is a vehicle wherein each wheel has basically a flight-simulator base as its suspension. It’s known as a hexapod; it’s basically a tripod but each leg is two pistons. So you have six axes of freedom on it. This will be something that can not only do what lowriders do, but shorten or extend its wheelbase and jump forwards, backwards, or from one side to the other. In an off-road situation it could be rolling at speed toward a ravine and then leap across it.

AS: I’m also pitching new shows. And Jamie and I sold a scripted show to CBS. It’s about a couple of special-effects guys, based on us, who get hired by the CIA.

C/D: Is there anything you’d have done differently?

AS: No. Most shows like ours don’t get to say goodbye and film a final season, let alone a final episode. Mike Rowe didn’t get that. I’m really grateful to get to put this show to bed on top.

JH: There are a lot of things that I’d do differently. But I can’t imagine being more fortunate than I have been.

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