Jessica Hawkins thought she might die at the launching of the brand new Range Rover Sport.

The 27-year-old Jessica Hawkins was taking part in a photoshoot at the Gaydon headquarters when she got behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vulcan to drive it onto a turntable. But as she began to accelerate, the car suddenly spun out of control and began heading straight for a group of onlookers.

Fortunately, Jessica was able to regain control of the vehicle and bring it to a stop just in time. “When I got in the car, I just had this overwhelming feeling that something bad was going to happen,” she said afterwards. “I’m not sure what happened, but I lost control and the car started spinning. I thought I was going to die.”

Despite the scare, Jessica was uninjured and the photoshoot went ahead as planned. “It was a close call, but thankfully everyone is okay,” she said. “It just goes to show that even the most experienced drivers can have an off day.”

“I remember I was doing a job for Aston Martin once and I had to get to Silverstone for an F1 event. I had the Aston Martin Vanquish, which at the time was their flagship car, and I got lost on the way there. I thought I might die.”

Thankfully, Jessica made it to her destination safe and sound, and she’s since become one of Aston Martin’s most recognisable faces, appearing in advertising campaigns and events around the world.

The Aston Martin F1 reserve driver was at the wheel of the very first Range Rover Sport to be launched off the side of a cliff, and she knew that if anything went wrong, it could be fatal.

Fortunately, everything went according to plan and Jessica Hawkins survived the stunt unscathed. “When I saw the car coming towards the edge of the cliff, I did have a moment of ‘oh my god, what am I doing?’ But then I just went for it,” she said.