Did you know...: Nissan

Cars from Fast & Furious (2009)

1987 Buick GNX

Dom and Letty use this car in the opening scenes of Fast & Furious, as they've gone back to hijacking trucks on the move. The Buick GNX was a hot rod version of the sleepy Buick Regal, and was claimed as the fastest production car ever built at the time. The all black appearance of the car also earned it the nickname "the Darth Vader car."

1970 Dodge Charger R/T

Look familiar? This is the resurrected version of the Charger that Dom wrecks at the end of the first film. Those who know what to look for can see some minor changes to the trim, and in reality it's probably an entirely new car.

1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R (GT-BNR34)

Brian O'Connor loves him some Skylines. We saw him drive a silver one in the second film, and he builds this one from the parts of two Skylines and a new Nissan GT-R, all conveniently impounded by the authorities. That must be one of the perks of being a cop; you get to use the impound lot as your personal parts store.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS

Considering how Dom tends to wreck cars, it's hard to believe he's still driving this Chevelle. We saw it at the end of the first movie, and it's still red when we first see it in the latest movie, but for some reason he decides to repaint it to primer grey. We're not sure why, but in any color, it still looks like it's going to be fast enough to melt your face off.

2001 BMW M5

German cars get no love in the Fast & Furious series. BMWs and Mercedes show up in races only to be wrecked, both as race cars and obstacles. Which is a shame, because the M5 is a great car. We can only hope that the next chapter embraces the European tuning scene. But maybe that's what the Transporter series is for.

1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport

The latest Fast & Furious has a lot more American muscle than we've seen before, and this Gran Torino is a fine example. The red and white Gran Torino featured on Starsky & Hutch is probably the most famous example of Ford's other (non-Mustang) muscle car.

2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi

Another refugee from the impound yard. What the WRX STi lacks in the looks department (someone here said it looks like a minivan), it makes up for in speed and handling. The STi is the street legal version of Subaru's series of World Rally champion cars, and like the Mitsubishi Evos, was made more popular by the Gran Turismo game series.

1973 Chevrolet F-Bomb Camaro

Hot Rod magazine Editor in Chief David Freiburger took an $800 Camaro beater and turned it into a 1500-horsepower, twin turbo beast of a car. Dubbed "Project F-Bomb," the idea was to create a street legal car that could also dominate at the drag strip, harkening back to the good old days of "run what you brung." The F-Bomb seen in the movie isn't the original car, but even use of the replica shows a surprising awareness of the muscle car scene in a film series mainly known for hot import tuners.

Cars from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

1967 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Sean is pretty proud of his Auto Shop project, and rightly so; he completely schools a fellow student on fast cars and how to drive them. It's a shame that the car got destroyed after the race, but hopefully Sean got a tape of the wreck like he had asked for.

2004 Volkswagen Touran

Hulk too big for puny Volkswagen! Hulk SMASH!!!

2000 Nissan Silvia S15

Twinkie calls this car the "Mona Lisa" of drift cars, but Sean's first foray into drifting all but totals it. Earlier versions of the Silvia made it to the US, most notably as the 240SX, but this particular model was never sold in America.

2006 Nissan 350Z

At the time the 350Z was the latest model of Nissan's famed Z series, although the Japanese automaker has since created the 370Z. DK drives this car in both of his races against Sean; DK easily wins the first race, and rolls down the side of a mountain in the second race.

1997 Mazda RX-7

This car started out as a standard RX-7, but Veilside rebuilt it with a custom widebody kit, allowing for a wider stance. Han uses it as his daily driver, and shows Sean that if you go fast enough, the police in Tokyo won't even bother trying to catch you.

2006 Mazda RX-8

Sean talks trash about Neela's car, telling her that she'd be better off with a V-8 motor. But Neela later takes him drifting through the mountains, proving that there isn't anything wrong with her ride.

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX

Sean learns to drift in this Evo, and shreds more than a few tires in the process. The Evo is normally 4WD, but this one's been modified to a rear drive only configuration, making for better drifting ability.

1967 Ford Mustang Fastback (NISMO)

Sean's father picked up this motorless Mustang at the naval base, but hadn't really done much with it. When Sean proposes a final race against DK, he and his friends salvage the motor from Han's Silvia and install it in the Mustang chassis. Although this Frankenstein-style creation wins the race, Mustang purists shook their heads at this monstrosity.

Cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R (GT-BNR34)

The Nissan Skyline GT-R is a classic "grey market" car; never sold by Nissan in the US, but enterprising individuals can use some legal loopholes to acquire one and make it street legal. It's not particularly well known to non-aficianados, but to those in the know the Skyline is a legend. Think of it as Nissan's Mustang and you begin to get the idea.

2001 Honda S2000

A rare roadster makes an appearance in the Fast & Furious series, but this Honda is no mere boulevard cruiser. The stock version of the S2000 was a lightweight, perfectly balanced sports car. Suki's car has a Veilside body kit, a custom pink paint job, and a great big bottle of nitrous in the trunk.

1994 Mazda RX-7

Another RX-7 makes the list, and for good reason. The third generation of Mazda's famous sports car was Motor Trend's Car of the Year in 1993. That was the same year that Playboy magazine tested it against a Dodge Viper and judged the RX-7 to be the better car. This particular car doesn't get much respect though; Orange Julius drives it into a billboard while racing Brian's Skyline.

2000 Acura NSX

This NSX makes a very brief appearance in 2 Fast 2 Furious. We only ever see it sitting outside Tej's (Ludacris) garage, because Tej doesn't really race anymore. But it does have a sweet custom Louis Vuitton pattern, and so we're including it on this list.

2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII

The Evolution series is Mitsubishi's sporty version of what would otherwise be a mundane economy car. The Evos have become a mainstay in the World Rally circuit, and if you've ever played Gran Turismo you've probably seen the dozens of different Evos featured in the game. In fact, the Gran Turismo games helped popularize the Evo series in the US, and Brian's version isn't the last one we'll see in the series.

2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T Spyder

Since the second film in the franchise takes place in Miami, the filmmakers obviously thought some ragtops were needed, and so we see Suki's S2000 and this purple racer. Both Roman's Eclipse and Brian's Evo are wired with GPS tracking devices, which leads to their need for the next two cars on this list.

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

If you saw Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, then you got to see a Challenger in one of the greatest car chases in recent film history. Tarantino used a white Challenger as an homage to Vanishing Point, but in any color, the Challenger was a hot car (even without the ejector seat seen in 2 Fast 2 Furious).

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko sYc

Muscle car fans like to talk down to the import tuner crowd by saying "there's no replacement for displacement," and it's cars like the Yenko Camaro that back up that kind of talk. In case you were wondering, the sYc stands for Yenko Super Car.

Monday, July 26, 2010