Fast and Furious RX-7 fetches a fortune

Someone recently ponied up over $NZ2,000,000 for this special Mazda RX-7, as featured in the Fast and the Furious movie world. Sold at the Bonham auction at Goodwood over the weekend, the new owner paid £911,000 including the auction premium for the orange wonder. 

The Veilside Fortune-bodied Mazda RX-7 FD starred in ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ from 2006.  Universal Studios commissioned the car’s build from Veilside Co Ltd for the film. It has a ‘Fortune’ wide-body kit that adds over 200mm to the car’s width while this FD rolls on Andrew Premier Series Racing Evolution 5 19-inch wheels shod with Pirelli P Zero Nero tyres.

Apparently this movie car was used primarily for stunt and static scenes rather than drifting sequences. It is said to be one of two surviving examples used during filming.  In the movie, the RX-7 is driven by retired drift racer Han, played by Sung Kang, featuring in many close-ups and static shots.

Numerous Universal Studios production markings are still present, including ‘#71 HANS’ labels on the passenger door, engine bay, and scuttle, together with marks left by camera mounts used during filming. 

The car was overhauled during the fitment of the kit in the early 2000s gaining a new clutch, brakes, coil-over suspension and Blitz Nur-Spec exhaust system. The RX-7’s twin-rotor turbocharged engine was rebuilt to stock specs. 

Veilside bucket seats reside in the cabin, which features a combination of carbon fibre, aluminium, velour, vinyl and chrome trim. 

The Mazda was not the most expensive car sold at the Bonham auction, with a 2023 Mercedes-AMG ONE Coupé selling for £2,456,600 and a 2007 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Coupé going for £1,527,000. It did however manage to realise a higher price than 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster which made £866,200.