In the 1960s Gerry Anderson science fiction television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, the puppet heroes rode into combat in Spectrum Pursuit Vehicles, one of whose features was the driver and passenger facing backward in their ejector seats to reduce the likelihood of injury in case of collision. The driver faced a video panel showing views to the front and rear, with controls flipped to simulate driving looking forward.
Would this actually work? With the aid of a French prototype ship called Sparkmate, Tom Scott decides to find out.