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Fast and Furious - Cars in Film

When Universal launched the Fast and the Furious series of street racing films, they only expected only a modest return. Although street racing was getting a lot of press attention and the popularity of modified imports were exploding, the movies was never expected to be a blockbuster.

However, the film was an unexpected summer hit. It grossed $40,089,015 on its opening weekend, surpassing the film's $38 million budget. It may have been the media buzz and gear head buzz surrounding the movies that caused an explosion in the box office and gave global insight and curiosity into the supercharged social scene of racing and customizing cars.

Two of the films' stars that caused the movies to thunder in the box office, were the Mazda RX7 and the Mitsubishi Eclipse. One of Japan's largest automotive aftermarket companies, Veilside, built the Mazda RX7 that was later filmed in Fast and Furious to show off its "Fortune" wide-body kit at the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon. At the time of the show, the car was painted red, and it had everything a show car should - an HKS T04Z single-turbo conversion kit, a massive intercooler shoved under the front bumper, big Rotora brakes, A'PEXi coil-over shocks and vast 19-inch Andrew Evo-V wheels inside P255/30ZR19 front and P305/25ZR19 rear Toyo Proxes radials.

For the Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the same Mazda RX7 was painted Sunset Orange Pearl and Veilside built three more visual clones, including one that was destined for destruction using a previous Mazda RX7 that had appeared in both previous Fast and Furious movies. One of the cars used in the previous Fast and Furious movie was Dominic Toretto's red RX.

In the sequel to the Fast & Furious, 2 Fast, 2 Furious, the character Roman Pierce was given a new partner in his adventure, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder with a Snyper Body Kit. The car was personally picked by John Singleton for Pierce to drive and the car came equipped with a Vortech Supercharger V5 G trim, HKS Blow valve, HKS AFR (fuel management controller), RC engineering 270cc injectors, Boost Variant Fuel Pressure Regulator with Gauge and a Magnecor 8.5mil Competition wires and a license plate that said "H8TER."

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder had the most elaborate paint job of any of the cars built for any of the Fast & Furious movies. The patchwork design on the car were not graphics but painted on with House of Kolors paint. It was one of the few cars in the film that wasn't destroyed although a total of four were made for the filming. It is rumored that the car exhaust was swapped with a Subaru WRX.

Like all cars in the Fast & Furious series, both cars were heavily reinforced with a roll cage for bridge jumping. Also there was so much neon lighting used in the cars that a technical specialist whose expertise was in shooting neon on film was kept on set at all times. This obviously cost a lot more and cut into the budget but it made the film authentic.

About the Author

Durham Performing Arts

Center Performing Arts

Bomex Body Kit - Rear Bumper [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $450.04 95-96 Eclipse needs 97-99 Eclipse Backup Lights

Spyder Auto Tail Lights [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $150.15 Spyder Auto Tail Lights

Spyder Auto Tail Lights [00-Up Mitsubishi Eclipse] $76.44 Spyder Auto Tail Lights

Matrix Tail Lights - Chrome [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $239.64 Matrix Tail Lights - Chrome

JKL Tail Lights - Chrome [00-02 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $99 JKL Tail Lights - Chrome

Matrix Tail Lights - Carbon Fiber [00-05 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $165.11 Matrix Tail Lights - Carbon Fiber

Matrix Tail Lights - Carbon Fiber [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $274.04 Matrix Tail Lights - Carbon Fiber

JKL Tail Lights - Outer (Gunmetal) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $139 JKL Tail Lights - Outer (Gunmetal)

JKL Tail Lights - Center (Chrome) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $69 JKL Tail Lights - Center (Chrome)

JKL Tail Lights - Carbon Fiber [00-02 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $119 JKL Tail Lights - Carbon Fiber

JKL Tail Lights - JDM Black [00-02 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $119 JKL Tail Lights - JDM Black

JKL Tail Lights - Center (Gunmetal) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $89 JKL Tail Lights - Center (Gunmetal)

JT Autostyle Fog Lights - Clear [94-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $115.83 JT Autostyle Fog Lights - Clear

Spyder Auto Tail Lights - Black Chrome [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $158.34 Spyder Auto Tail Lights - Black Chrome

Spyder Auto Tail Lights - JDM Black [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $163.8 Spyder Auto Tail Lights - JDM Black

Spyder Auto Tail Lights - Smoke Lens [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $174 Spyder Auto Tail Lights - Smoke Lens

Spyder Auto Tail Lights - JDM Black [00-Up Mitsubishi Eclipse] $90.09 Spyder Auto Tail Lights - JDM Black

Spyder Auto Third Brake Lights - Rear (Clear) [00-02 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $36 Spyder Auto Third Brake Lights - Rear (Clear)

Spyder Auto Third Brake Lights - Rear [00-Up Mitsubishi Eclipse] $19.11 Spyder Auto Third Brake Lights - Rear

In Pro Car Wear Tail Lights - Crystal Clear [00-05 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $111.59 In Pro Car Wear Tail Lights - Crystal Clear

In Pro Car Wear Tail Lights - Bermuda Black [00-05 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $111.59 In Pro Car Wear Tail Lights - Bermuda Black

Pilot Fog Lights - PL-118B Left or Right Replacement [97-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $80.3 Pilot Fog Lights - PL-118B Left or Right Replacement

Pilot Fog Lights - PL-118C Left or Right Replacement [97-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $71.54 Pilot Fog Lights - PL-118C Left or Right Replacement

Tradesonic Tail Lights - Euro (Chrome) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $212.5 "A set of Tail Lights. Direct bolt-on, No modification needed."

Tradesonic Tail Lights - Euro (JDM Black) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $250 "A set of Tail Lights. Direct bolt-on, No modification needed."

Tradesonic Tail Lights - Euro (JDM Black) [00-02 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $132 "A set of Tail Lights. Direct bolt-on, No modification needed."

Tradesonic Tail Lights - Euro (Chrome) [00-03 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $135 "A set of Tail Lights. Direct bolt-on, No modification needed."

Anzo Corner Lights - Clear [92-94 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $36 "Anzo USA has set the industry standard in supplying the American market with never before seen auto enhancing parts and accessories. By taking up this responsibility, they have maximized out distribution strategy and enabled wholesalers and retailers the opportunity to expand their purchasing power, and locate unique and hard to find products."

Anzo Tail Lights [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $171 "Anzo USA has set the industry standard in supplying the American market with never before seen auto enhancing parts and accessories. By taking up this responsibility, they have maximized out distribution strategy and enabled wholesalers and retailers the opportunity to expand their purchasing power, and locate unique and hard to find products."

Anzo Tail Lights - Carbon [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $199.8 "Anzo USA has set the industry standard in supplying the American market with never before seen auto enhancing parts and accessories. By taking up this responsibility, they have maximized out distribution strategy and enabled wholesalers and retailers the opportunity to expand their purchasing power, and locate unique and hard to find products."

Anzo Tail Lights - G2 [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $201.6 "Anzo USA has set the industry standard in supplying the American market with never before seen auto enhancing parts and accessories. By taking up this responsibility, they have maximized out distribution strategy and enabled wholesalers and retailers the opportunity to expand their purchasing power, and locate unique and hard to find products."

Pilot Tail Lights - Black [00-02 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $134.49 All of the performance tail lamps featured are manufactured to the most stringent standards for quality and safety. These lamps are guaranteed compliant to U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS-108) and meet all SAE specifications and DOT regulations.

Pilot Driving Lights - Custom Kit (Blue) [95-96 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $127.02 Pilot?ÇÖs custom series lights are designed to give an O.E look to the consumer?ÇÖs vehicle. The brackets have been engineered to mount easily on the vehicle specific applications. Uses 55 watt halogen / PL-H3K bulb.

Pilot Driving Lights - Custom Kit (Clear) [95-96 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $120.69 Pilot?ÇÖs custom series lights are designed to give an O.E look to the consumer?ÇÖs vehicle. The brackets have been engineered to mount easily on the vehicle specific applications. Uses 55 watt halogen / PL-H3K bulb.

Pilot Fog Lights - OEM Kit (Blue) [97-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $178.11 Pilot?ÇÖs custom series lights are designed to give an O.E look to the consumer?ÇÖs vehicle. The brackets have been engineered to mount easily on the vehicle specific applications. Uses 55 watt halogen / PL-H3K bulb.

Pilot Fog Lights - OEM Kit (Clear) [97-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $169.35 Pilot?ÇÖs custom series lights are designed to give an O.E look to the consumer?ÇÖs vehicle. The brackets have been engineered to mount easily on the vehicle specific applications. Uses 55 watt halogen / PL-H3K bulb.

Tradesonic Tail Lights - Euro (Carbon) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $237.5 "Add the finishing touches to your car with our extensive line of new Euro Tail Lights for your vehicle. The Euro taillight kits provide for intense tail light beam concentration, the latest in tail light styling and design, use with stock replacement bulbs and ease of installation. The Euro Tail Light kits provide an upgrade for your vehicle and provides the satisfaction of having the latest Euro look on your car or truck !!"

Anzo Tail Lights - G2 (Carbon) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $234 "Anzo USA has set the industry standard in supplying the American market with never before seen auto enhancing parts and accessories. By taking up this responsibility, they have maximized out distribution strategy and enabled wholesalers and retailers the opportunity to expand their purchasing power, and locate unique and hard to find products."

Pilot Tail Lights - Black (3 PC) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $419.24 All of the performance tail lamps featured are manufactured to the most stringent standards for quality and safety. These lamps are guaranteed compliant to U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS-108) and meet all SAE specifications and DOT regulations.

Pilot Tail Lights - Chrome (3 PC) [95-99 Mitsubishi Eclipse] $419.24 All of the performance tail lamps featured are manufactured to the most stringent standards for quality and safety. These lamps are guaranteed compliant to U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS-108) and meet all SAE specifications and DOT regulations.