Deep Dive Han's Vale Side Mazda RX-7 (from "Wild Speed: Tokyo Drift")

Among the many cars in the "Wild Speed" series, Han's Mazda RX-7 in "Wild Speed: Tokyo Drift" stands out thanks to its Veilside wide-body kit. Craig Lieberman, technical advisor on the early films in the franchise, gives the full story of this rotary-powered sports car.

Unlike many movie cars, many of the cars in the "Wild Speed" films were show cars that saw action on the screen. Such was the case with the RX-7, which started out as a show car built by Vale Side to showcase the Fortune widebody kit. According to Lieberman, the car appeared at the Tokyo Auto Salon and was later purchased from Vale Side for use in "Tokyo Drift."

The RX-7 was originally red, but was repainted in House of Color Sunset Pearl orange for the shoot. The body kit was retained, but the modifications that Vale Side made to the 13B rotary engine, such as the HKS turbocharger and Vale Side's proprietary titanium exhaust system, were added. The audio system was also upgraded, with two 12-inch Alpine Type R subwoofers. According to Lieberman, a single nitro bottle was also installed, although it is unclear if it was connected.

In addition to the original cars, the production team built nine RX-7s for use in various shots and stunts. These were traditional movie cars and were not needed for filming, so they were not fully modified. However, Lieberman said the stunt cars had trouble loosening the rear tires.

On screen, the RX-7 was a bit more exposed than the RX-7s in "Wild Speed" and "2 Fast 2 Furious," but was ultimately destroyed in the crash. Lieberman says that only two cars remained at the end of filming.

The surviving cars were sent back to Japan because they were right-hand-drive Japanese market cars that had been temporarily brought to the U.S. as movie props. They were sold to JDM car broker New Era Imports. If you want to build a replica of the "Tokyo Drift" RX-7, Veilside Fortune's widebody kit is still available.