This American man took a leased Volkswagen Jetta into a demolition derby, and let’s just say the car was barely recognizable by the end.

Zander Cook, the co-founder eight-figure revenue fintech company Lease End, had a rather unorthodox idea.

He and a co-driver were going to enter a leased car into a demolition derby car race.

Could they win the whole thing? Maybe. Would the car make it out in one piece? We doubt it.

A demolition of derby is not for the faint of heart – or the weak of cars

When it comes to motorsports, fierce competition is always assured.

One need only look at the various drag races doing the rounds online to see proof of that, whether they involve a Skoda family SUV or a Tesla Cybertruck.

But demolition derbies are in a league of their own when it comes to white knuckle adrenaline.

As the name suggests, these derbies are about as rough-and-tumble as it gets.

So it will strike many as a unusual choice to enter a leased car into such a ruckus.

But that’s exactly what one American man – Zander Cook – did.

This Volkswagen Jetta was in for a wild ride

The demolition derby in question was the Bump N’ Rub in Oakley, Idaho.

From the get-go, Cook was clear on what was a stake.

“We wanna lease a brand new car, tear it up, race it, and try to turn it back in,” he said.

“You know [the lease company] are not going to take it back in, right? And then we’re going to buy it out. It’s frigging sick, I love it.”

Cook and his colleague Dalton would be driving the Jetta in question.

Before they took it to the track, the Lease End team carried out some modifications.

This included removing the back seats, taking out the glass windows, and installing a new bumper.

The Jetta was now demolition derby ready – or as ready as it would ever be.

How did things go down at the demolition derby?

As you might expect, this derby was a ferociously competitive endeavor.

The Lease End team proved victorious in three heats, and ultimately came second in the championship.

But despite their triumphs, the Jetta wasn’t in such good shape by the end of the video.

Dents, dirt, pieces hanging out the car, you name it.

But the car was still drivable, and that’s the main thing.

By the time they returned it to the dealership, it was looking like it’d rolled off the set of a Mad Max movie.

“We can’t take it back like that,” the dealership employee said, to the surprise of absolutely nobody.

“That’s not going to be good. That’s not normal wear and tear.”

What prompted Cook and his team to take on this stunt?

“Honestly, we just thought it would be fun to see what would happen if we tried it,” Cook told Supercar Blondie.

“We didn’t think we’d get as far as we did in the race, and we certainly didn’t think the dealer would take the car back in the end if it was super trashed, but there was a strange thrill to racing a car you’re almost ‘not supposed to’ race.

“Winning several heats and coming in second … before getting disqualified … ended up being a blast.

“And, luckily, we had already built a pretty easy platform to buy out the lease quickly in the end, so it was a bit of us showing that we’re willing to ‘eat our own dog food,’ use our platform, and show you can buy out virtually any car lease with it pretty easily, even if it’s totaled.”