# How strong would you have to be to pickup a car like this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407 "2005-09-13T06:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wishbone\_Ash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Wishbone\_Ash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wishbone_Ash)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/1 "2005-09-13T06:39:43Z")
In the movie Twins Arnold Schwarzenegger lifts the rear end of a Cadillac up by 45 deg. Did he really do this? How strong would you have to be to do something like that? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/2 "2005-09-13T07:03:10Z")
Using a 1998 Cadillac Eldorado with a mass of 2180 KGs a length of 5.096 meters and a wheel base of 2.743 meters. [link](http://www.internetautoguide.com/car-specifications/09-int/1998/cadillac/eldorado/) I calculate that you would need approximately 7500 N of force or 1680 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/3 "2005-09-13T14:05:36Z")
And a powerlifting enthusiast would be fortunate to leg press half of that. Two powerful men might be able to lift the back of a Cadillac, and not to 45 degrees, either. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/4 "2005-09-13T14:10:27Z")
Powerlifting records for a squat are in the 400-500 lb range so I don’t think anybody could lift 1680 lbs of Cadillac to a 45 degree angle. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/5 "2005-09-13T14:35:26Z")
There was some kind of show once where the contestants bet on stuff, and one bet was where 4 huge powerlifters tried to lift a pretty small car off the ground via bars welded to the wheel hubs. They (surprisingly) failed. Cars weigh more than you think. ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/6 "2005-09-13T14:48:52Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Using a 1998 Cadillac Eldorado with a mass of 2180 KGs a length of 5.096 meters and a wheel base of 2.743 meters. [link](http://www.internetautoguide.com/car-specifications/09-int/1998/cadillac/eldorado/) I calculate that you would need approximately 7500 N of force or 1680 pounds. did that calculation take into consideration that the engine is in the front? (I mean, the front half of the car is going to weigh significantly more than the back half). Would that affect anything? I know I used to see some sporting event a while back where one of the challenges was seeing how long you could hold up a car (smaller than a caddie, but still…), and another was walking down a track carrying a metal cylinder in each hand which the commentator likened to “carrying a fridge in each hand” (don’t know the weights, and I assume he may have been exagerating, but I do know that it was several hundred pounds each). ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/7 "2005-09-13T15:01:38Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Powerlifting records for a squat are in the 400-500 lb range so I don’t think anybody could lift 1680 lbs of Cadillac to a 45 degree angle. The world record squat is right around _1200_ lbs and held by Paul Anderson. I wouldn’t be surprised if Arnie had help for the movie, but I don’t think it’s humanly impossible. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/8 "2005-09-13T15:02:48Z")
> [@rabbit](#): > > …and another was walking down a track carrying a metal cylinder in each hand which the commentator likened to “carrying a fridge in each hand” (don’t know the weights, and I assume he may have been exagerating, but I do know that it was several hundred pounds each). That’s the farmer’s walk. I believe that the competition weights are 350 lbs. each. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/9 "2005-09-13T15:33:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Cars weigh more than you think. In c. 1978 about 6-8 of us lifted up our fraternity brother’s Honda Civic (much smaller car back then than today) and carried up the stairs through the double front doors of the house into the foyer. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strong-would-you-have-to-be-to-pickup-a-car-like-this/321407/10 "2005-09-13T18:03:30Z")
> [@rabbit](#): > > did that calculation take into consideration that the engine is in the front? (I mean, the front half of the car is going to weigh significantly more than the back half). No > [@rabbit](#): > > Would that affect anything? Probably depending on how heavy the engine is.