The latest Fast and the Furious movie is up for release at the other end of this week. Dominic Toretto, Brian O'Conner, Roman Pearce and others are at the wrong side of the law when they try to go up against a gang lord who has put their names on the ransom list. ZigWheels takes a look at the machines that are going to be racing between the edges of the big screen in this action packed thriller.
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| Fast Five |
1966 Ford GT40
The original GT40 that was built to annihilate Ferrari at Le mans. In 1962 Enzo Ferrari was trying to sell Ferrari and Mr Ford was right up there to have the whole cake. Then at the last moment Mr Ferrari decided to back out of the deal. This made Henry Ford very angry and he told his designers to build a car that would annihilate the Ferraris on the track.
What they came back with was the GT40 which won Le Mans four times on the trot. The GT40 still exists, not in its Le Mans racer form but as a kit car, preferred by many because it costs so much less than the established range of supercars it is called the blue collar working class hero. Let’s see if the movie can do the car justice.
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| 1966 Ford GT40 |
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport 1966
The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was launched by General Motors in 1963. Chevy raced it in the 1962 Riverside Grand Prix only to see that the much lighter Shelby Cobra was way ahead. GM's Engineer Zora Duntov, the father of all performance Corvettes, knew a lighter Stingray would be needed immediately and thus the Grand Sport was conceived.
The 1966 Stingray had received a facelift with an egg crate grill. It came with two engine options - a V8 390 bhp and a V8 425bhp engine. As for the Grand Sport edition only three were ever made as information leaked and the project was brought to a halt.
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| Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport 1966 |
1970 Dodge Charger
Powered by a HEMI engine it was the king of the muscle cars in its era. The one in the movie comes with an optional three double barrel carburetors, sticking out of the cut-out hood. This option was known as the 440 six pack. It was also massive in size that it made any other car look puny. If you wanted to drag race between the lights you either had a Dodge Challenger or you didn’t. The Challenger also featured in the original Fast and Furious movie. We guess it’s the same one that is back. Hope there is a race between the lights again.
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| Dodge Charger 1970 |
1970 Ford Maverick
TThe Maverick was Ford’s replacement of the Falcon. It was a two-door rear wheel drive muscle car. It was designed to be inexpensive to build and own. In 1970 a muscle car themed package called the Grabber was introduced. The package included unique graphics and trim, and it also came with a spoiler. Within two years of existence it outsold the Ford Mustang by a significant number. Its popularity as an affordable pony car justifies its presence in the movie from the muscle car era.
1972 Nissan Skyline
The Nissan Skyline is a car that collectors still look to buy. It spawned the Skyline and GTR brand names, later incarnations of which grew to be a craze amongst performance car enthusiasts and street racers worldwide. Ever present in the street racing scene, the already fast car is always made to go quicker with upgrades. Some Skyline models were sold in GTR variant had significantly higher power upgrades compared to the standard car. It is known for its trademark round taillights. Nissan started production of the Skyline in 1957 and continues to sell it till date.
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| Nissan Skyline 1972 |
Pantera Detomaso 1972
The Pantera, which is Italian for panther, was a creative mix of American muscle, Italian engineering and an Argentinean racing driver. One cannot help but mention that a lot of the design cues look like those on Lamborghinis of the time. The engine which was from a Ford Mustang featured deep-breathing heads patterned after the very successful Boss 302 design with 4-barrel carburetion. The engine was mated to a fully synchronized 5-speed ZF transaxle from the Ford GT40. The car featured a limited slip differential and had 310 BHP on tap.
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| Pantera Detomaso 1972 |
Toyota Supra 1996
The Toyota Supra is a legend amongst motoring enthusiasts. The car had great looks, great engines and great handling. In short it was the perfect street racing machine. The kind of modifications that went into the car were out of this world. The 320 BHP engine could be tuned to deliver in excess of 1000 BHP. In short it was a tuner's all time high. What made the Supra different from cars of its time were the amount of features it came laden with, which made the competition look barren. The Toyota Supra was a proper petrol head’s car and always will be.
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| Toyota Supra 1996 |
Dodge Challenger 2010
The 2010 Dodge Challenger has a sound that can start earthquakes. It sounds like a proper muscle car. It looks like a sinister henchman. And it definitely drives like a proper muscle car. The original Challenger was born in the muscle car era while the current car is born in the hybrid era. Kudos to Dodge for stepping out of line. Of course the car is not as big as the original but just look at it. The car has a long waiting list of customers and the movie is only going to make that list longer. And let’s not forget the Challenger featured in the epic film Vanishing Point, the movie really has a lot hanging on its shoulders.
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| Dodge Challenger 2010 |
Lexus LFA 2010
Lexus as a brand makes impeccable and boring executive cars. The LFA however steps out of the boring line, and runs from the line to the other end of the field before anyone can say Lexus. The V8 engine is only the size of a V6. But the most amazing thing about it however is the way it revs. Get this, the engine picks up and loses revs so quickly that an analogue rev counter would simply break, so they had to fit a virtual computer controlled LCD rev counter. Forget the speed of the thing and everything else, for that reason alone the LFA deserves to be in the movie.
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| Lexus LFA 2010 |
Ducati Streetfighter
A slice of two-wheeled Italian passion in the form of the Ducati Streetfighter features in the movie. The Streetfighter's superbike soul combines a racebred attitude thanks to its engine, and naked sophistication to create pure adrenaline. Ducati’s naked street bike takes a stripped out bare essentials motorcycle and puts it in a blender with state of the art race technology. The exhaust note of the Ducati in the movie is sure to make men feel like boys again.
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| Ducati Streetfighter |
Ford Galaxie 1963
Built in the 60’s not just for pride, but, for the raw power it could deliver. About 400 horsepower delivered through a traditional pushrod V8, with the help of three two barrel carburetors, the Ford Galaxie did wonders when it came out and is still considered as one the most well-built cars of all times. A 4.11:1 rear axle, suspension and brakes took care of the rear-end of the car. A sports-roof also came standard with the Galaxie.
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| Ford Galaxie 1963 |
Gurkha LAPV4
Built exclusively for the US Army, this mammoth of a vehicle could make any Hummer shy, just by the size. Inspired from the Ford F550, this “He-Man” has a 6.4 liter, V8, Turbo Diesel which makes a huge 350 bhp@3000 rpm. Automatic transmission, Four wheel drive with locking hubs, a limited slip differential, split rims and run flat tyres come standard with this mean machine.
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| Gurkha LAPV4 |
Porsche GT3 2002
A legend in racing, the GT3 RS version of the model is used in the film. This two door had a mean punch to pack despite its small size. The GT3 churned out 355 horse power from its 3.6 liter engine. A pure example of precision and power, the GT3 has proved it time and again on the race track.
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| Porsche GT3 2002 |
GMC 2500 Yukon 2006
This road car could seat eight people with ease. And despite its size, the Yukon made 325 hp out of the 6.0 liter V8 under the belly of the beast. Creature comforts like automatic transmission, climate control 5-link suspension made life a lot easier for the driver. In the movie, a modified version of the Yukon is used.
Nissan 370Z 2009
The Nissan 370Z is in the tradition of the legendary ‘Z’ cars made by Nissan, and more than lives up to the reputation of its predecessors. Probably one of the most versatile sportscars around, the 370Z serves not just one purpose of a focused, hardcore driving machine, but as an all purpose vehicle that one can drift around corners on the way to grocery shopping. 332 bhp, rear wheel drive and a whole lot of fun – that’s what this car is all about.
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| Nissan 370Z 2009 |
2010 Subaru STi
A benchmark in World Rally Championship, the STi in the Fast Five is a cute little toy, but with 304 horsepower out of a 2.0 liter engine which was sold only in Europe and Japan. The STi is an all time favorite for the boys who want some bang for their buck and a whole lot of fun. Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and Driver’s Controlled Centre Differential (DCCD) make the car sharper and more precise.
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| Subaru STi 2010 |
Modified Vault Chargers 2010
Modified to the max for the movie are two custom-made Dodge Chargers which are used by our heroes for a bank robbery. The modified Dodge Chargers have all the goodies and some more packed in them. All black, rear wheel drive, more than 350 horsepower, and a 5.7-litre Hemi EZB V8 make this a maddening experience to feel, let alone drive.
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| Modified Vault Chargers 2010 |
Dodge Charger Police Interceptor 2011
All-new and custom-made for the police, the 2011 Dodge Charger Pursuit, sports two options - a Chrysler Pentastar V6 or a 5.7-litre Hemi V8. Multi Displacement System for a better fuel efficiency, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and a number of more goodies packed in just for the police make this the jewel of the police department.
Koenigsegg CCX
More than 800 horsepower flow of this mad max. The Koenigsegg CCX could be the best of the lot. Ripping out 919 Nm of torque @ 5700 rpm, it sure is all in a days work for this vehicle to star in the movie and pull off some insane stunts.
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| Koenigsegg CCX |
Train Heist Truck
Nicknamed the Mongo, and packed with a Chevy V8 5.2 L engine, the Mongo is used for stealing exotic cars from a train. Built with just simplicity in mind, the Mongo boasted nothing in the name of features, but has 18 inches of suspension travel which make 75-feet tall jumps feel like a breeze on this monstrosity.
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| Train Heist Truck |
Courtesy: zigwheels.com
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