Tokyo Drift Cars

 

June 13, 2006 - A Fast and Furious movie just wouldn't be complete if it didn't have a bright colored car wrapped in an extravagant body kit. Nine times out of ten, these garish cars are the brainchild of some old movie executive that thinks he knows what the kids want to see on the movie screen. This explains why this film franchise has had cars that looked like anime covered cotton candy and Louis Vuitton handbags. However, the Fast and Furious car you see here wasn't created on some movie back lot... no, this RX-7 was built by VeilSide Japan.

The RX-7 you see here was built by VeilSide for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon. Those of you that attended this show (like we did) are probably scratching your heads right now as you can't remember seeing this car at the VeilSide booth. It was there, only it was a dark red. We'd show you a picture of it, but the only one we have was taken by a crappy point-and-shoot digital camera, and as such it's all blurry. We'll get you guys next time...

Anyway, Universal bought the car as-is and then went to work changing it up for the movie. The first thing to change was the paint: the original red/burgundy paint was ditched for a more movie-friendly bright orange. And after that... well, that's about it, actually.

This RX-7 got to keep its VeilSide Fortune kit, which is probably for the best as this kit is one of the most extravagant and exotic kits in the world. This Fortune kit changes every line of this rotary ride save for the front glass, side glass and the roof. This means that the front fascia, front fenders, hood, doors, rear fenders, rear window and rear fascia have all been re-done. However, the VeilSide kit is so well-made, those not "in the know" would have a hard time telling that the entire car has been re-skinned.

Those not "in the know" will also have a difficult time telling that this Fortune kit is seriously wiiiiiiide. In fact, this Fortune kit makes this RX-7 almost a foot wider than its stock sibling. With an extra 5-6 inches on each side, a stock wheel just won't fit, so VeilSide bolted on some very wide 19-inch Andrew EVO-Vs to all four corners. Just how wide are these wheels? Try 9 inches wide up front and a full 12 inches wide in the back. These are some seriously massive wheels, kids. Take a minute to take a gander at the lip on the rear wheel -- one can practically live in that thing.

Sitting right behind these Andrews is a Rotora brake system complete with massive discs and four piston calipers. With a body kit this wide and rims this big, any sort of fender gap would be a huge no-no. As such, a full set of A'PEXi N1 coilovers was installed. Not only do these A'PEXi pieces eliminate any unsightly fender gap, they also tighten up the handling.

With all of the body pieces and "bling" found on this car, it would be easy to assume that this RX-7 is all show and no go. Well, you'd be wrong. Remember, this is an award-winning Tokyo Auto Salon car, so the rotary engine under the hood is as tricked-out as the exterior. The factory turbos were ditched in favor of a larger HKS T04Z unit. This HKS turbo sends its charged air down through the custom-made VeilSide intercooler piping to the V-mounted HKS intercooler. Waste gasses, on the other hand, are sent into the atmosphere via a VeilSide titanium exhaust.

As this RX-7 started life as a Tokyo Auto Salon vehicle, its interior is actually pretty tricked out (unlike the interiors of the rest of the Fast and Furious cars we've been featuring). Alpine audio equipment is all around this car, from the 8-inch monitor in the dash to the custom-enclosed amps and woofer. This car's occupants are held in place thanks to the VeilSide D1 race seats, but only the driver gets to experience the tactile pleasure that is the Sparco steering wheel.

The original interior of this car was a true one-of-a-kind. From what we remember, the interior alone cost over $20,000. However, that kind of coin is just pocket change to Universal, so they went in and spray-painted over the whole thing. Take a close look at the e-brake boot and the dash to see remnants of the interior's original color.

Even though this car was "destroyed" for the movie, it still came out looking pretty decent. We wouldn't have spray painted the interior or painted the car bright orange, but Universal could have done a lot worse. We could have seen this car outfitted with 20 pounds of neon lights and an extra 30 pounds of vinyl...

If you want to see this WeilSide-equipped rotary rocket for yourself, check out The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift when it hits theatres this weekend. If you can't wait, then go on and click on the Media Gallery below. Enjoy!