Here are the rejected cars from “The Fast and the Furious” 2001

From the Mitsubishi Eclipse to the Toyota Supra, the original 2001 hit “The Fast and the Furious” turned many cars into stars. But even more cars haven’t made the cut, as Craig Lieberman, a technical advisor to the franchise’s early films, explains in this video.

First off, the original film focused on tuner cars, and the producers only wanted cars available in the United States at the time. This ruled out JDM models, rare muscle cars, and supercars, although some exceptions were made (including Dominic Toretto’s Dodge Charger) and these rules were relaxed in later films.

However, many cars that followed these basic rules still failed. The producers turned down the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the BMW Z3 for not being “manly” enough. Lieberman also noted that convertibles were generally avoided because it was difficult to hide the faces of stunt pilots (remember Johnny Tran’s Honda S2000 was always shown with the top).

Toyota MR2 1992

The script also originally had Brian O’Connor starting out in a Mitsubishi 3000GT, then upgrading to an Eclipse. However, none of the modified 3000GTs that came up for the car’s call impressed producers, and the Supra was a better fit due to its large removable roof, which was necessary for the larger truck chase scene. late in the movie, Lieberman said.

Toretto still had to drive a Mazda RX-7 FD, but other members of his crew could have ended up in different cars. Lieberman initially suggested a BMW M3 E36 or Audi S4 for Jesse, which got a Volkswagen Jetta Mark III instead. Early car ideas for Vince included a Toyota MR2, Lexus GS, and Honda Prelude, but Lieberman’s Nissan Maxima was chosen instead. Leon went from a Toyota Celica to an R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R.

The original script also named a Ford Mustang after Tran’s car (and referred to the character as “Pete”). It didn’t make sense in a movie about tuner cars, but the change from Mustang to S2000 actually came about because the producers saw a modified black S2000 that they loved. The bad guys always drive black cars, according to the theory.