June’s Spotlight: 5 of the Most Iconic Cars Featured in the Fast and Furious Movie Series:
The Fast and The Furious movie series started all the way back in 2001 and is still very popular today. In this week’s blog post, we will be covering 5 of the most iconic cars ever featured in this movie, and although Paul Walker’s 1999 Nissan Skyline R34 may have taken the title, there are some more that follow not that far behind.
1 – 1999 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R
This seemed like the only real way to start this blog post, not only as a way to pay tribute to the late great Paul Walker but also because why not start with the best of all time? (even if I’m the only one that thinks this way). Paul Walker drove this car in the 2nd movie of the series and this became one of the most recognizable cars in the movie franchise. It originally featured a twin turbo 2.6 liter, six cylinder engine under the hood with 280 horsepower capabilities from the factory.
Unfortunately, this car can only ever be used in movies, as it is not street legal. In the United States, you can legally import the Skyline R34, and use it as a drag car or race car, or also own as a show car.
It was featured again in the 4th movie series, however, in this movie it was upgraded to the 2002 model.
2 – 1970 Dodge Charger R/T
The 1970 Dodge Charger R/T was driven by Vin Diesel throughout the series. In the first movie, the engine was modified with a massive air intake system coming out from the hood and it was rumored to be able to produce 900 horsepower. It came equipped with 7.2 liter, V8 engine.
R/T stands for Road and Track and defines the performance level trim that can be found across the lineup. Today, the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T is worth anywhere between $15,000 to $30,000.
3 – 1997 Veilside Mazda RX-7
This car was featured in a couple of different movies in the series, just different years. It made it’s debut in the 4th release, and was seen again in the 6th and 7th releases – all being driven by the same people, interestingly enough, Lucas Black (Sean Boswell) and Han Lue (Han Seoul-Oh).
For the movie, Han’s Mazda was equipped with a 13B rotary engine and an HKS turbocharger giving the car 300 horsepower and roughly 256 lb ft of torque.
In the United States, any Mazda RX-7 produced after 1995 is not allowed into the country, simply because of the left hand driving configuration of the vehicle. However, if you want one, you do have a couple of options:
- Find a used RX-7 in the United States that is a 1995 model or older
- Have a RX-7 or older imported from a seller outside of the United States
4 – 2000 Honda 2000S
This was a major car driven by Devon Aoki (Suki) first seen in the 2nd release and then again in the 7th release. It featured a custom set of pink vinyl’s and a bottle of Nitrous behind the seats. The engine was a 2 liter aluminum alloy D0HC F20C1 inline 4 with a Comptech supercharger. Pretty badass for a pink car I know. It has the capability of producing 237 horsepower and 208 Nm of torque.
In today’s market, the 2000 Honda S2000 is worth anywhere between $7,403 to $14,811, which is a good piece of information for owner’s of this car to know. In 2009, the S2000 was discontinued, so where exactly did things go wrong? Well, there are a couple of reasons:
- Sports cars are niche products – the S2000 was considered to be a hardcore sports car and pricier than the other models in its class
- The Great Recession – Recessions often have a way of deterring sports car related purchases, simply because people are prioritizing and saving their money for things they actually need instead of giving into their wants
- Redesign alienated some fans – The S2000 was the only widely available vehicle in North America to redline at 9000 rpm, however, various changes were made in 2004 that softened both the suspension and engine
- Cheaper alternatives – The S2000 was priced significantly higher than its competition, the Mazda Miata
- Poor fuel economy – As gas prices began to rise in the 2000s, it weighed negatively against the car
- No automatic transmission – This is was the major reason this car saw a decline in sales. Manual transmission rates for all cars in the United States in 2015 was less than 10% and more than 51% of all Mazda Miata’s sold were automatic
5 – 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VII
We are all entitled to our opinions, but Paul Walker was the one that made this car iconic. It was first featured in the 2nd release of the series and then again in the 5th release (where it was impounded). In terms of horsepower, the car seen in the movie made the same as the one sold from the factory – 276.
Did you know: All of the Mitsubishi EVO’s used throughout the series saw 0 engine modifications?
But this car was unique for more than just the the features, it also stirred up some drama. When the 2nd release (2 Fast 2 Furious) was being filmed, it was September 2002, and the Lancer Evolution was not yet released in the United States, and so Mitsubishi intervened. They intercepted a shipment of EVO’s that were supposed to be delivered for a Rally Team in Austria (the reason these cars were Left Hand Drive). The problem? The cars were EVO VII’s (or 7th generation) and Mitsubishi didn’t plan on selling those in the United States, so their solution was to make them look like the VIII’s (or 8th generation) which were soon to be arriving. This meant “surgery” had to be done to the taillights which was done by Eddie Paul’s technicians and the parts were sourced from a company called “Genera/TYC”.
Both Paul Walker and Lucas Black drove this car.
Final Thoughts
Whether young or old at heart, something that all Fast and Furious fans share is the love of the car community and this movie series is the perfect example of how strong the community really is. Have you seen the latest edition to the series? Let us know what you thought about it either in the comments or over on our socials.
