The original The Fast and the Furious film can be an infuriating affair for an enthusiast due to its now-infamous inaccuracies, but it inspired a new generation into the world of tuning.
Front and centre of the film is the Toyota Supra driven by undercover cop Brian O’Conner, or ‘Spilner’, played by Paul Walker.
How the Supra became a boy racer’s dream is an interesting tale. Rented for the movie, just like all the hero models featured as part of Dom Toretto’s (played by Vin Diesel) street racing crew, the Supra in fact belonged to technical advisor Craig Lieberman and was one of the first to be cast for the film.
In the storyline of the film, the orange Supra replaces O’Conner’s original Mitsubishi Eclipse, which was shot up by Johnny Tran’s rival crew just minutes after O’Conner had lost it in a pink slip drag race with Toretto. The Supra arrived trashed on a tow truck, and, after viewing it at his workshop, Toretto coined the phrase, “I said a 10-second car, not a 10-minute car”. Toretto and his gang restore the car.
On its first test drive, the Supra proves its worth by drag racing a Ferrari F355 — driven by the film’s producer, Neal Moritz — and smoking it. It also stars in saving one of Toretto’s gang members from a near-death experience towards the end of the film, leading to a thrilling duel and O’Conner paying back for what is owed.
Adulation for the Supra continues to grow, which is amazing considering the franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and the movie franchise is moving far from its street-racing origins — in the last one, there was a scene in space! In fact, the reason Lieberman purchased his Mark IV Supra was that he was smoked at a set of lights by one when driving his heavily modified Mustang. He purchased a 1994 model Mark IV with a Targa roof and twin-turbo 2JZ engine, but it didn’t stay stock for long.
Lieberman took it to renowned tuning parts manufacturer GReddy to have basic modifications completed, including an intercooler, air intake, exhaust, boost controller, injectors, AP brake upgrade, Stillen body kit, 18-inch OZ MiTo wheels, and finally it was painted in RX-7 Competition Yellow.
On the inside, there were yellow inserts in the seats, Sparco wheel, a full roll cage, and a sound system designed by Audio Options featuring two nitrous tanks situated prominently within the boot area.
Lieberman states that at this stage the Supra produced 450bhp, but an upgraded turbo system by Turbonetics where the original twin set-up was replaced by a single T66, while added HKS electronics were required to ensure it ran smoothly.
Lieberman’s Supra was a winner of many awards at car shows across California, and it was at one of these that Lieberman met David Marder, who claimed to be working on a film about the street-racing scene. Initially titled Redline, the film was to turn into The Fast and the Furious, and Lieberman was recruited to be the technical adviser for the film. When Lieberman visited Universal in the Supra he gave director Rob Cohen a ride in it, and Cohen mixed up the feeling of turbo boost with nitrous — that’s why there’s much confusion surrounding nitrous outside of enthusiasts.
The catch was that changes needed to be made to the Supra for the film. Most notable was its colour change to orange as Bomex supplied a new body kit and APR the tall rear wing that was featured on many creations within the Need for Speed: Underground series for years to come. Finally, Troy Lee Designs added the Galactic Warrior graphics featured on all cars in Toretto’s gang.
In all, the film used eight Supras to complete various roles within the film, including general driving, stunts, and MicRig duties. All of these were painted in the same orange hue, with the same Galactic Warrior graphics, but that is where the similarities stopped; Lieberman’s hero car was the only one to feature engine modifications. Most of the others were naturally aspirated, automatic examples, except for a sole stunt Supra.
Just recently, one of these Supras was sold for US$555,000 — not the Hero 1 example — while another achieved US$185,000 back in 2015.
After his Hero 1 Supra’s starring performance in the film, Lieberman held onto it for a year or so before accepting an offer that netted him a profit of $185,000. The car is now located in the Netherlands.
The remaining Supras featured in the first sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, with one, driven by Slap Jack, crashing out of the first drag race during the opening scene
Lieberman continued his role of technical advisor for this movie, and again one of his modified road cars starred in the film as O’Conner’s Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R — one of only nine legally imported into the US.
Later in the series, a Supra again takes centre stage. It was used to pay tribute to Walker at the end of Fast Five, after he passed away in a car crash before filming had wrapped up.
For rev heads across the world, O’Conner’s Supra was an inspiration; it continues to be just that for new generations just discovering the earliest film in the series — which, for some, was the best.
Mark IV Supra is now a very popular and rare model as it approaches its 30th anniversary thanks in no small part to its portrayal in The Fast and the Furious.