Apparently there’s still gas in the tank for the The Fast and the Furious franchise. Fast & Furious, the fourth installment, lived up to its name, at least from a box office perspective, quickly separating moviegoers from $72.5 million of their money. That not only marks the highest rossing car themed flick opener (2006’s Cars was $60.1 million), it’s also the biggest April debut ever (2003’s painful Anger Management brought $42.2 million).
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Don’t credit plot depth, fine acting or a profound script for filling the seats. It was and always has been the Fast & Furious cars. Like a certain other film genre that indulges our proclivities, you’re better off skipping the dialogue and focusing on the action. Here are some of our favorite performers, the top 10 Fast & Furious cars. So we'll start with No.10:
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No.10 - 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift)
It looks hot and won the race against a Nissan 350Z in the “honour race” through the mountains. But as the story goes, it was with Nissan power. Granted, the engine came from a Silvia (240SX to us), but this degree of East-meets-West went too far for pony car enthusiasts. Yes, we realize it was all make believe, but even the simulation of such heresy puts this car at the back of the bunch.
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No.9 - 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse (The Fast and the Furious)
Brian O’Connor’s (Paul Walker) addition of nitrous to his Eclipse put it on the fast track to become an early casualty in the first movie, but the Eclipse lived on as a go-to car for tuners, and for good reason. Cars like this second-generation model were inherently styled well as a basis for body kits, while their engines were a decent platform for modification to a degree.
No.8 - 1987 Buick Grand National GNX (Fast & Furious)
Ordinarily, the idea of watching V6 Buicks on the big screen is about as stirring as listening to Buick owners blather about their arthritis. In Fast & Furious, however, Dominic Toretto has graduated from his Civic and uses this as his hijacking weapon of choice. It’s not just the rare, Regal-based Grand National, but the even-scarcer ’87-only GNX. This high point in modern GM performance finds a blurred Buick the result of speed, not cataracts.
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No.7 - 1997 Mazda RX-7 (The Fast and the Furious)
Tokyo Drift Tough call here: Was the RX-7 good enough on its own or did the body kit on Han’s car totally complete the look? It’s not at all an easy decision. The final and arguably best-looking RX-7 only came to the U.S. from 1993 to 1995; the Japanese market enjoyed the full run of the last generation from 1992 to 2002.
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No.6 - 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko (2 Fast 2 Furious)
To non-car guys, a jumping Yenko sounds like a circus act, but in 2 Fast 2 Furious it was a handy way for Brian O’Connor to board a yacht. It caused damage you can’t just buff out, but it did save Monica Fuentes. Wasting a rare muscle car to save Eva Mendes’ character? That’s a considerable yet reasonable price to pay. In reality, even if you could find a guy willing to part with his genuine Yenko (there are plenty of clones), you would have to bring Eva along for negotiations.
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No.5 - 1995 Honda Civic (The Fast and the Furious)
In the real world, the Civic’s ability to intimidate semis is highly suspect, even with Dominic Toretto aboard. But then, its influence on the tuner scene is even greater than its showing on our review. Cars like this fifth-generation coupe have the gone-but-not-forgotten double wishbone suspension and were ridiculously easy to modify for stupefying horsepower. Today’s car makes a stronger visual statement out of the box, but earlier Civics like this made up for it with their potential.
`No.4 - 1995 Volkswagen Jetta (The Fast and the Furious)
Jesse and his white V-Dub don’t get a ton of time onscreen in the original movie, but we’re including the Jetta for a couple reasons. First, it’s one of the few European cars seen in the series. Second, it’s a solid choice for enthusiasts. Without any modifications, a stock Jetta offers acceptable performance and crisp handling; both traits are easily enhanced to meet tuners’ demands without as much effort or compromise as some more popular Asian and American cars.
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No.3 - 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R (2 Fast 2 Furious)
Admit it. You have a Skyline fetish and so does Brian O’Connor. It’s cool, that’s why we have no problem whatsoever with the frequency of these cars’ appearances in the series. The new, America-friendly Nissan GT-R is brilliant, but there will always be a mystique surrounding the all-but-inaccessible predecessor. There’s nothing wrong with the blue model in Fast & Furious, but there’s really nothing wrong with the silver car in 2 Fast 2 Furious.
No.2 - 1970 Dodge Charger (The Fast and the Furious, Fast & Furious )
You remember how you got all verklempt at the end of The Fast and the Furious when Dominic’s Charger met its doom? So this couldn’t possibly be the same car in Fast & Furious, right? Well, this is Hollywood, pal. If Vin Diesel can land speaking roles, shredded vintage Chargers can play Lazarus. Besides, the car is like the franchise: It’s been rebuilt and updated for another spin, but the first look was the best of the lot and the one worth remembering.
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No.1 - 1995 Toyota Supra Turbo (2 Fast 2 Furious)
The best ever street car produced by Japan. It spanked a Ferrari. It raced a Charger to its doom. It’s a nitrous ortified orange crush of a Toyota Supra. Although this car got more than a little face time in the first movie (how could you miss it?), the last and fastest Supra could be considered the best, just like the final RX-7 mentioned earlier. And like the Mazda, America had shorter exposure to this generation, available here from 1993 to 1998, but it sold in Japan through 2002. Sadly, Toyota’s enthusiasm for performance hasn’t been the same since.
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