There’s no shortage of movie-inspired cars out there. Over the decades, there have been scores of TV and movie car replicas that have traded hands, from Deloreans (Back to the Future) to VW Beetles (The Love Bug and all Herbie-related titles).
But what isn’t common is seeing the actual car used in said movie or TV series being put up for sale. Now those are the ones that fetch a lot of cash, especially if it’s got all the details to back it up.
Such is the case for this Mazda RX-7. If that body kit didn’t make you say Tokyo Drift, then you seriously have to brush up on automotive pop culture. Yes, that’s one of the Veilside-kitted examples from the movie, and it’s also been proven that it was on screen.
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The car is one of nine commissioned by Universal Studios for Veilside to build for the film’s production. Of those nine made, only two survived and this is one of them. Per Bonhams, the company behind auctioning this movie car, said this particular one led a relatively easy life compared to the other cars used in the movie. In their words, it ‘was employed primarily for stunt and static scenes rather than drifting sequences.’
After filming wrapped up, this particular Mazda RX-7 was shipped over to England and has been there since 2008. Prior to its migration, the engine was overhauled by renowned rotary engine builder, RE Amemiya, although it it’s more for reliability’s sake as it’s claimed to still make about 280hp. It did get new brakes, clutches, suspension components, and it’s only driven less than 10,000 kms since then.
The price? In case you missed the headline, it definitely didn’t come cheap. The auctioneer’s initial estimates fell between £250,000 to £350,000 (P19.1-M to P26.7-M), but the hammer fell at a whopping £911,000 – a cool P69.6-M at current conversion rates. Nice.
More photos of the Veilside Mazda RX-7 from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift:
