25 Furiously Designed ‘Fast and Furious’ Cars

The Gran Torino is a classic muscle car that was introduced in 1968 and stayed in production until 1976. The Torino was available as a two-door fastback or convertible; four-door sedan or station wagon hardtop; and as a pickup similar to the El Camino.  It’s hard to believe that such a jewel of a car was used for racing, but indeed it was. In 1969, Ford introduced the limited edition Torino Talladega.  It was during the early 1970′s that the Torino was updated giving it an aggressive look and modern appeal. The look was so new that it won the Motor Trend’s coveted ‘Car of the Year’ award. A further design evolution happened in 1972 where the grille was enlarged; vent windows were removed from four-door models and the convertible option was no longer offered. The abbreviation ‘GT’ was now labeled as Gran Torino.

The impressive paint job is the attractive feature of this Turbocharged Mazda RX-8.  As far as performance goes, it can hardly compete with the other cars mentioned on this list.  A stock Turbocharged Mazda on the U.S.-market RX-8 has a rating of 238 hp.  The reason why this car makes the list is the impressive paint job done to this car.  The lines accentuates the curvature of the vehicle beautifully enhancing the speed persona.

The 1994 Acura Integra GS-R was the tricked out ride of Edwin (played by Ja Rule) on Fast and Furious.  While the most  noticeable things about this Integra were the graphics and the Wings West RS Racing series ground effects kit. It’s whats not readily seen that makes this car crazy awesome.  The modified Integra boasts of Momo GT rims with red socket lugs, a super modified suspension, cold air intake, 3mm overbored throttle body, TruTime adjustable cam timing gears, Type-R intake cam, red anodized overdrive pulleys for both the alternator and power steering, DC Sports headers and exhaust, MSD 6A ignition and external HVC blaster coil; and an Exedy racing clutch with a lightened flywheel.  Is this car built for racing? You bet it is.

Who can forget the car that gave Vin Diesel a run for his money…literally.  Driven by the undercover  cop later turned racer Brian O’Connor (played by Paul Walker); this car features neon green undercar lights, a see thru roll cage cross beam, a customized center console to fit VDO temperature and volt meters, with customized carbon fiber panels for cut off switches, as well as an upholstered dash with carbon fiber trim.

Universal Studios found Han’s 1997 RX-7 at the 2005 Tokyo Auto Show and was originally showcased as a Veilside-tuned Japanese sportster.  When the Universal film team saw the car they decided to buy the car as is and changed the car’s body color from a red/burgundy and black finish to a more audience-capturing bright orange and black finish while leaving the Veilside kit in place.

Something you will immediately notice about the 2006 Nissan 350Z used by the Drift King in Fast Furious: Tokyo Drift is its lack of boisterous colors.  However, what it lacks in color, it more than makes up in power with a 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 engine with an APS twin-turbo system that produces around 450 horsepower.

The RB engine-powered 1967 Mustang fastback is probably one of the most controversial cars in the Fast and Furious franchise due to its hybrid customization using Japanese parts. Nevertheless, it is still a car worthy to be noted on this list because of its specs.  This Mustang boasts of the famed RB26DETT engine which was pulled from a 2001 R34 Skyline.  This engine is a twin-turbocharged inline six that arguably puts out 320-330 horsepower (even though it claims to only put out about 220 horsepower).  The supped up mustang also boasts of a overhauled suspension system that enables the car to sustain the abuse of drifting.

If this car seems foreign to you, it means you did not stick around to watch the credits at the end of Fast and Furious 4 movie (shame on you).  True this car wasn’t in any of the chase scenes, however at the end of the movie, it’s revealed that Vin Diesel heads down to Mexico and gets himself a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS to replace the Dodge Charger he lost.  Nice replacement don’t you agree?

David Park’s (Ron Yuan) crazy racing machine was this rare gem of a car, the 2000 Nissan Silvia S15. Director Justin Lin loved the Silvias in Tokyo Drift so much; he wanted one for the follow up movie in the Fast and Furious franchise as well. Since the S15 was never released in the U.S., the production team used a few S14 240SXs and disguised them as S15s using clever body kits. There was one genuine S15 on set which is now safely stored away.

The GT-R34 is another Japanese Sports car that is not available in the US due to Federal Regulations. However, this does not stop countless of people from the US wanting (and even trying) to get their hands on one of these racing maestros (and can you blame us?).  The Nissan Skyline GT-R34 shows up as O’Conner’s ride in the opening scenes of 2 Fast 2 Furious  and boasts of twin turbochargers,  2.6 litre engine,  and a straight 6 cylinder (RB26DETT) DOHC block which produces around 330bhp (although published figures when new were very conservative at 280bhp).

Suki’s (Devon Aoki) 2001 Honda S2000 exudes pink glamour (those who don’t like the color pink may disagree) but don’t let the girly paint job fool you, this car was designed for racing.  It has a 2-liter aluminum-alloy DOHC F20C1 inline 4 engine with a Comptech supercharger. It also features a Paxton Novi 1000 Toucan Industries exhaust with a non-functioning Ractive chrome tip. As far as exterior kits are concerned, it features a Veilside Millennium body kit, Motegi Racing 18″ rims, and airbrushed artwork done by Noah of Noah fine art.

It’s hard to out muscle a mustang, and this 2007 Tjaarda Mustang complete with supercharger, side exhaust, oversize Baer brakes and a modified suspension does not make it any easier.  Used in the Fast and Furious 4 as the ‘hero’ car the Universal team borrowed the car from a company called HST International.  Moreover, HST also supplied the production team with two Mustang GTs that were modified to look like Tjaardas but where otherwise untouched mechanically (these where used as stunt cars). For the scene in which the car is destroyed an old beat up Mustang V6 was retrofitted to look like the Tjaarda. Who says that cars can’t have stunt doubles?

This 400-horsepower, V8-powered E39 generation (1998-2003) M5 is a 5 Series sedan (you read me right, sedan) that seemed to naturally be a favorite amongst the producers.  In order to create the stunts and high actions scenes the production team bought three old 540i sedans and four 528i models and redecorated them with orange and black paint and 19-inch wheels. Of these seven BMWs, six were destroyed including three that where dropped off a bridge.

Some of you may be scratching your heads right now asking ‘what in this world is this car doing on this list’.  Fantastic question, you see design is more than just looks; it has to deal also with performance enhancement.  That is actually the case for this ’87 Buick GNX.  Buick did a complete overhaul on this car by fitting it with bigger brakes, a stiffer suspension and, most importantly, a turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6. This improvement made the Grand National one of the fastest cars of its era, and that’s even comparing it too cars like of the Lamborghinis and Ferraris.  No exaggeration folks; this car was a performing beast! The 1987 GNX contributed its speed to a larger turbo and intercooler, less restrictive exhaust and a quicker-shifting automatic transmission.  As far as looks go…who can argue with black on black?  This paint scheme makes the car look sharp, dark, and in charge.

When the viewer first sees this car in the movie Fast and Furious Five it dons a silver and black color scheme. “The 370Z is a great car,” explains Fast Five’s Picture Car Coordinator Dennis McCarthy. “It’s built tough and you can bounce it off other cars all day with no problem. It has plenty of power so you don’t need to do much to them mechanically. They drift great. They’re not a GT-R or something exotic, so the audience can still kind of relate to it. And it looks cool.” This probably explains why the car was relatively left untouched as far as the mechanics is concerned but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  The car already boasts of a 3.7-liter VQ37VHR V6 engine which delivers a whopping 332 horsepower.  The few changes made included a locked rear differential to facilitate drifting and the fitment of Advan 20-by-8-inch front and 20-by-10-inch rear wheels inside Continental 245/35R20 front and 295/30R20 rear tires.

In spite of the huge budget allocated for the production of the Fast and Furious films, discretion when it comes to vehicle acquisition is still wise.  Therefore, the producers of the film turned to a company called Mongoose to create a 1963 Corvette replica. The Grand Sport replica was built on a custom fabricated tube-frame steel chassis from the fourth generation Corvette with design elements similar to the 1960’s Grand Sport.  The car features a GS frame designed by Altair engineering and a suspension from 88-96MY Corvettes with fully adjustable front and rear coil over shocks.

What makes this car so furiously designed is that it really looks like someone was furious while designing it.  There is a painfully obvious lack of shine, glimmer, color and bling (In other words, no sugar, spice or anything nice).  But, some people don’t mind the pain, at least we don’t.  This bare bone designed car looks rough and ready to take beating. The producers decided to leave Letty’s Jensen finished in matte gray, with massive side pipes dumping out just forward of the rear wheels. This interceptor also comes equipped with GM “LS3″ V8 crate engines straight out of the GM Performance Parts catalog. To give you a perspective, that’s the same 6.2-liter engine that’s standard in the Chevrolet Camaro SS and rated at 430 horsepower.

Small in measurement and weight (only weighs about 2,000 pounds… kind of reminiscent of the Mazda Miata) The Lucra LC470 is a deceptively powerful machine.  The structure under that carbon-fiber body is a straightforward tube-frame chassis supported on aluminum suspension links taken from underneath a C4 Corvett. The front 17-inch wheels are encased in 275/40R17 Nitto NT01 tires, while the rear set are incased in 315/35R17 Nittos coupled with PBR 13-inch disc brakes. The engine sits near the middle of the 96-inch wheelbase, well behind the front wheels. With the LS7 V8 outputting 505 hp under its hood it’s easy to see why the Lucra can obtain performance such as zero to 60 mph in only 2.5 seconds. (phew, that’s fast!)

The Stock Nissan GT-R is already stunningly beautiful.  But when you add a full BenSopra body kit which comes with the dugout fenders and strakes; doors that have been replaced with Seibon Dry Carbon replicas, door sills that are carbon fiber; AMS Performance dry carbon roof and trunk panels;0 and a giant BenSopra rear wing, there is no doubt that the outcome is just pure face slapping awesomeness!

What car can zooms around at impressive speeds and flips other cars to their demise? Why, this bare bone steel cage menace on four wheels of course. This go-cart looking ramp car uses the same 6.2-liter LS3 V8 from the GM Performance catalog that McCarthy has installed in other vehicles for the film. Rated at 430 horsepower, this cage on wheels has more than enough juice to zoom around and leave the other cars spinning…literally spinning…in the air.  As if the crazy cage design was not enough, the LS3 is mounted backward in the ramp car which sends power into a GM Turbo 400 three-speed automatic transmission that in turn churns a Casale V-drive gearset that’s mounted just behind the driver. The V-drive reverses the power flow so a small driveshaft can then feed the rear axle. Furious design? You bet.

An icon among icons in the hot rod world, Big Red made its first appearance in 1987 and took the hot rod world by storm.  The muscular look of the car bespoke of its power; a power that was on full display the year of 1989 when it was taken to a closed section of Nevada highway.  Here, Big Red absolutely destroyed the competition and expectations at that year’s Silver State Classic open road race. Using its 800-horsepower Chevy big-block V8 it sped through the 94-mile course in just 27 minutes and 54 seconds; an average of 197.99 mph with radar guns picking a top speed of 222 mph. The car used in the movie is the same car.

In Fast and Furious 6, Vin Diesel lays the 1970 Dodge Charger keys down, and picks up the 1969 Dodge Daytona keys.  The Irony behind this car selection is that the Daytona is aerodynamically enhanced version of the Charger which was created in order to compete in super speedways the likes of Talladega and Daytona.  The evolution of design from one car to another seems to fit the evolution of Vin Diesel’s character from a more rugged thug-like criminal to a more refined and sophisticated leader.  Needless to say though, this car is all sorts of beautiful with its striking fin and smooth yet strong curvature.

Another small car, the Ford Escort was a very common car in Europe.  Introduced in 1968, the Escort was Ford’s European small car which housed a four-cylinder, overhead-valve engine of 1.1- or 1.3-liter; needless to say, not a powerful vehicle. That is until the small rugged nimble car was introduced to a 1.6-liter twincam 16-valve BDA four-cylinder engine in 1970.  The BDA featured Ford’s first four-valve combustion chambers and transformed the Escort into a daredevil of a performance vehicle.

A menacing looking hot rod, the F-bomb is a 1,500-horsepower (you read that right), twin-turbocharged monster of a car.  This beast is so powerful that it comes with a handy dandy rear parachute.  You know, for those times when you feel like breaking the sound barrier but need some assistance to stop.  Sadly, the original is not used in the movie.  Instead three replicas where used all equipped with 300 horsepower GM crate V8s.

The recognizable 1970 Dodge Charger was Dom’s car of choice in the early Fast and Furious movies.  An irony really since this car is the only car that Dom admitted to being afraid to drive.  Nevertheless it makes its way on our list due to its preeminence in the film and its overall Kick awesome retro looks.   You can’t deny, this charger is in charge.