CAR CRASH HEAVY, GLASS SHATTER AFTER IMPACT (20th Century Fox)

This is a rare car crash sound effect that is believed to be in the 20th Century Fox Sound Effects library. It's sometimes called the "wilhelm scream for cars" by some who know anything about it, but anyone who has played Driver: You Are The Wheelman on either PS1 or PC will know it as the crashing sound used in game. 

Though it's unknown exactly when this particular crashing sound was originally recorded, the earliest known films that it's heard in (The French Connection and Vanishing Point) were released in 1971. However, what is clear is that all the known early titles it showed up in are 20th Century Fox films, indicating that 20th Century Fox was the only production company that utilized it within the first 3 years of its existence. It would not be until 1974 when The Towering Inferno was released to theaters when another movie production company (Warner Brothers in this case) gained access to it. The latest known usage for it was in 2 trailers (Maximum Overdrive and Jumping Jack Flash), both movies being released in 1986, though it's not known exactly when it was last used.

It's not known whether or not the sound is copyrighted, but what is known about it is that there's one individual known on YouTube as "77Pacer" who knows more about the sound than anyone else. He has a copy of the PC Port of "Driver: You Are The Wheelman", which 'drives' his love affair for the sound. He loves it so much that he not only adopted the sound for his own sound effects library, but he even utilized it in his own movies (including Return of the Black Thrasher: The Movie). He even has it as the default notification sound on his Android mobile phone. 

NOTE: The reason 20th Century Fox is believed to be the original owner of the sound effect is due to the fact that 18 of the titles the sound effect is used in are 20th Century Fox productions. 12 of the titles also have American Sound Effects engineer Theodore Soderberg (1923-2012), who is believed to be one of the guys who owned the sound.

Used in

TV Shows

• M*A*S*H

Movies

• The French Connection (1971)*
• Vanishing Point (1971)*
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)*
• The Last American Hero (1973)*
• The Seven-Ups (1973)*
• The Towering Inferno (1974)*
• Race With The Devil (1975)*
• The French Connection II (1975)*
• The Kansas City Massacre (1975)
• Cannonball (1976)
• Gator (1976)
• Silver Streak (1976)*
• Wizards (1977)*
• The Driver (1978)*
• Hooper (1978)
• The Terminator (1984) (original mono soundtrack only)
• Commando (1985)*
• Mischief (1985)*
• The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
• Return of the Black Thrasher: The Movie (2009 original and 2017 Improved Edition)

NOTE: A * (asterisk) means that the listed title is a 20th Century Fox produced/distributed film.

Video Games

• Driver: You Are The Wheelman (1999)(PS1)
• Driver 2: The Wheelman is Back (2000)(PS1)

Trailers

• Vanishing Point (1971)*
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)*
• The Seven-Ups (1973)*
• 99 and 44/100% Dead (1974)*
• The Towering Inferno (1974)*
• Race With The Devil (1975)*
• Silver Streak (1976)*
• Smokey & the Bandit (1977)
• The Hunter (1980)*
• Eyewitness (1981)*
• Impulse (1984)
• Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)*
• Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Audio Samples

This is a version of the Driver crashing sound which has been spliced together with the second half of the equivalent second half heard in the trailer of "The Seven-Ups" (1973) to better match the original master of the sound effect.

The original crashing sound file from the PC Port of "Driver: You Are The Wheelman". Originally in .WAV format, but was later converted to .OGG for uploading. Compared to the sound effect listed above, which represents the original master, this one is a bit truncated at the end. This particular version of the sound was actually recorded from the parking garage scene in The Driver (1978).

Clean, Full Length and Unedited Link to the Sound Effect

Freesound

So far the closest to the orginal master copy as anyone can get on sound effects wiki. If anybody has a much better sounding version, PLEASE let me know. Thank you very much.