The tenth Fast and Furious movie is out and true to form, this is the biggest one yet. The first of a three-part finale arc, Fast X continues in the tradition of spectacular stunts performed in some of the coolest cars in the world. Over the last two decades, the Fast and the Furious franchise has featured a collection of wonderful and rare cars. If you are like us, you must have wondered what happens to the cars once the film gets released, and we might have an answer.
Recently, YouTuber TJ Lamb who runs Magnacars YouTube channel got the chance to visit the Fast and Furious warehouse of Devon Velvet, whose family owns the famed Celebrity Car Museum in Branson, Missouri. This collection features some of the most iconic movie cars to ever grace our screen, not limited to cars from F&F.
As part of a two-part video series, Magnacars got the chance to walk around with Devon while he spoke about the history of each of the cars present in the collection and what plans he had for the future. Most of the cars present had arrived to them in various stages of repair and required some restoration.
A Walk Through The History Of The Fast And The Furious
The first car shown in the video is the 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which is an interior shot hero car from Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. The Monte Carlo is driven by actor Lucas Black in the film, who played the protagonist Sean Boswell. Tokyo Drift is unique in the F&F line-up as it tells a stand-alone story with an alternate hero, which further helped popularize drifting to a new generation of fans.
It’s also the movie that introduces us to Han, who becomes a major part of subsequent films. An interesting bit of trivia is that there were nine stunts Monte Carlos built by the Car Coordination team for the film, and we see one get destroyed on screen in a race with a Dodge Viper SRT. The Monte Carlo is undergoing restoration before being a part of the display collection at the Museum.
The following car shown next is the silver 1970 Chevrolet Nova SS driven by Michelle Rodriguez in Fast and Furious 9. This is one of two in the Museum collection and also happens to be a manual and a drift spec with a hydraulic e-brake setup. This car was limited to one particular action sequence in the film and is not shown again.
The next car is also a minor car, a white 2015 Subaru WRX STI from Fate of the Furious, which is driven by actor Scott Eastwood, who plays the character Little Nobody. This car is used in the memorable scene where the team drives on ice trying to get away from a submarine. Somehow, it’s integral to the plot. This particular WRX STI is one of the first models which was made with that particular body style.
The next car our eyes are drawn to is the dual-tone 2010 Bentley Continental GT with the Vorsteiner BR9 package. This car is also from Fate of the Furious and is driven by Tyrese Gibson in the New York City chase scene where the team mounts harpoons on their cars in an attempt to capture a gone rogue Dominic Toretto. This car is certainly interesting and might be the only Bentley Continental GT in the world that has been modded for drifting.
A total of four similar Continentals were used by the crew during the shooting. Another car featured further along in the video is a 1967 Mustang Fastback from the finale of Tokyo Drift. This is one of the more iconic cars from the movie, the story of the film, the 1967 Mustang is an engine swapped with an RB26 engine from the Nissan Skyline. While there was one car in the movie with an RB26 engine, there were also a couple of regular V-8 powered as the swapped one was a little too valuable to be thrown around the canyon.
Another notable car shown further along in the video is the replica 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Sting Ray used in Fast and Furious 5 as a stunt car. This particular replica was used to be fired from a canon from off a cliff in a train robbery scene. Around 10 replicas were designed and destroyed in the movie, with one original one used sparingly due to the high value of the Corvette.
Other Notable Cars From Movies and TV Shows
Next up is not a car from F&F but is still a legend in its own right - a 1967 Plymouth Satellite Convertible which was a part of the classic 1995 comedy flick “Tommy Boy” starring the late Chris Farley, and David Spade and 2001’s Joe Dirt also starring David Spade. Interestingly, the scripts of both movies required the legendary GTX to be in these movies.
However, the production crew could not get their hands on a GTX and instead just rebadged the Satellite. The next car is a 1972 Cadillac Hearse, which is driven by Jim Carrey in the 2014 Dumb and Dumber movie. This car is used throughout the movie till the end and still runs. It features a V8 engine and is currently on sale at the GWS auction site.
For Supernatural fans, the collection also features the 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle owned by a longtime ally to the Winchester brothers Bobby Singer, who is portrayed by Jim Beaver in the show. In the show, the Chevelle is shown to be in a state of crumbling disrepair, however, Devon shows us that it was achieved through the magic of carefully applied paint to make it appear so.
In reality, the car is in good shape and possesses a great foundation and engine underneath the rusty patina. Following this, we are introduced to a familiar yellow 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, which is one of the cars used in the 2018 Bumblebee movie. This particular model has been modded with a stiffer suspension to be used for the stunts in the movie.
After that, we see what appears to be the neon green 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse from the very first Fast and the Furious, but in fact, it is the Eclipse from the 2008 movie Sex Drive. Apparently, the production crew wanted the car from F&F, but they could not get the same one and had to get a replica.
Moving along, the video shows us a one of a kind Open Wheel B-Mod “General Lee” Race Car which was owned by legendary race car driver and actor John Schneider. While this car did not feature in a movie or TV show, John Schneider played Bo Duke from the classic 1979 TV show Dukes of Hazard.
These are some of the unique and rare movie cars from the collection to feature in this two-part video. Part one is shot from outside the warehouse and also features an assortment of TV and Movie cars, some of which are awaiting restoration work before being bought by private collectors or being displayed at the museum.
Overall, the collection is a testament to the indelible impact of these beloved vehicles from popular culture. Every piece in the collection is a piece of cinematic history, and it’s reassuring to learn that they have not been left by the wayside to be lost to time.