Filed under: Aftermarket, Etc., Ford, Nissan
The Fast & The Furious:Tokyo Drift to feature a Nissan-powered '67 Mustang
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"The Fast and the Furious" movie series has not been kind to enthusiasts of American cars, with the exception of the moment in the first movie when Dom fires up his dad's Hemi-powered Charger (we won't even mention the hydraulically-assisted wheelie in the climatic scene, though). Therefore, we're not terribly surprised to hear the "hero" of the new film is a '67 Mustang that eventually sports a Nissan RB26DETT, a twin-turbo straight-six familiar to gearheads as the motivating force behind the fierce Skyline GT-R. A version sporting a 430-cube Ford small-block was used by Rhys Millen for most of the sideways action shots, but when Hot Rod Magazine lined the two different 'stangs up at a dragstrip, the rice-burner ran the quarter mile in 13.32 seconds and 109.83 MPH - over 1.2 seconds quicker and 13 MPH faster than the Blue Oval V8. Ouch.
Followers of the More Cubic Inches religion can take comfort in what was used behind the scenes, though...
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A cut-down Chevy Suburban fitted with a 572-cube Bill Mitchell big-block was used for camera work where the actors' faces were shot through the vehicles' windshields. The passenger compartment for the featured car, loaded up with an actor behind the "wheel" was mounted on the back of the big SUV, and the whole contraption was drifted around a track to produce the necessary shots. Sign us up for the opportunity to drive the 'burb, but there's no way we'd hop into the piggyback car - at least not without an ample supply of air-sickness bags.
[Source: Edmunds Inside Line, Hot Rod Magazine]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
risingsun 5:21PM (5/26/2006)
Okay, I hate F&F, but a RB26DETT in an old school 'stang is just cool.
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AK 5:22PM (5/26/2006)
I think that's a cool idea, actually. I'm not a fan of ditching number-matching engines from classic cars, but I do like the idea of replacing blown motors with lighter modern engines. So in a sense, I approve . . . sort of unusual for anything from the Fast & Furious franchise.
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V 5:35PM (5/26/2006)
Not sure if you just missed it or something... but um, there was a second movie in the F&F series, and it featured a lot more american muscle than the scenes from the first film.
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eric 6:04PM (5/26/2006)
430 ci small block vs a rb26dett "tt" = twin turbo, put a tt in a 430 and i bet your would be gettin a whole lot more power and better speed then the rb26dett.
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bob 6:06PM (5/26/2006)
There is a surprise, an import engine kicking the crap out of a domestic engine. To all you redneck hillbillies, hahahahahaha, told you so!!!
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ricers suck 6:19PM (5/26/2006)
a twin turbo on the blue oval v8 would kill the sky line motor and be cheaper or as much as the twin turbo nissan motor, those larger engines were about cheap power and you have to admit they do that extremely well... and what kind of name is rb26dett.....just ugh, doesn't really inspire any emotion or anything its just a bunch of letters and numbers, a bit to many
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Stphane Dumas 6:24PM (5/26/2006)
bob, looks like the other way works as well ;-) a small-block Chevy or Ford under the hood of 1971-72 Datsun 240Z
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/645045
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2168777
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Dr. Woo 6:40PM (5/26/2006)
The 240's are commonly fitted with high-power American V8s. Take this Guards Red 240Z with an LT1:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/Hassmeister/350Z.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/Hassmeister/350Zhoodinside.jpg
You'd think that it'd blow away the weight distribution, but those 'vette powerplants are light for their strength.
Not to mention the numerous Miata conversions available as well.
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naggs 6:42PM (5/26/2006)
when you take into account cost, nothing touches bigblock v8s for power.
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Redneck Texan 6:52PM (5/26/2006)
Bob even the 5.o 302ci engine on my Lincohn Towncar can beat the living crap out of that Rice Cooker engine.
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Christian J 7:37PM (5/26/2006)
Lighter engine? Not compared to what's available in crate motors these days. You should be able to find a V8 that weights less and makes more power.
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Jim 7:45PM (5/26/2006)
This is the dumbest thing i have ever heard. Who puts a piece of shit Japanses powerplant in an American car. What a waste of a perfectly good Mustang. And what is a Mustang doin g in Japan? From what I recall, Ford never sold ANY Mustangs there. This gives me one more reason to hate this dumb racing/car movie series. If you want to waste you time watching The Fast and The Furious, go for it. If you want to watch a really good car movies go watch the 1974 Gone In 60 Seconds, Bullitt, and Le Mans.
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Paulo Becker 8:11PM (5/26/2006)
And let's not forget Vanishing Point, right Jim?
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Pastulio 8:42PM (5/26/2006)
You are all fucking morons for even thinking about some POS car in a F&F movie. Rednecks! ITS A FUCKING RICER MOVIE! GET A LIFE!
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Gear6 12:05AM (5/27/2006)
Cool cars but it still look like a terrible movie!
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Chris 12:07AM (5/27/2006)
Jim, ever heard of putting your car into a shipping container and having it shipped to another country? WOW CRAZY!!!!
Plus this engine in standard form with the ECU unrestricted makes around 450hp, it'll do around 800hp at least on stock internals. How much does the Mustang make hmm?
Plus I don't think there is such a thing as a "perfectly good Mustang" to begin with. So this could only be an improvement.
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Christian J 12:55AM (5/27/2006)
Hey Chris, mustangs make numbers that are all over the place. That body style had some very fast cars. By the way you can make those so called amazing numbers with a crate motor available from Ford Racing and Performance based on thsoe old engines.
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Jay 1:19AM (5/27/2006)
Hey muscle cars fans! Can you answer this question for me, I' been wondering about this for so long now, why is the new Mustang not really "all-new"? Even the new Dodge Charger is not something I havent seen? (Though I'd say its sexier than its older relative). In Europe and in Japan when manufacturers say "all-new" they mean it. Are American designers running out of ideas? (Do they simply mean a facelift or a plastic surgery of the old-timer?) Even Ford or Mr. Shelby himself cant create something more different from the original (Cobra)(look at the basic components parts/ form, there is not a big variation) or are Americans just really stuck and pleased with the same old tricks?
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shiznannigan 1:45AM (5/27/2006)
Jay, you may want to consider thinking before you talk.... Take a good long look at the new Toyota FJ. What's that? Retro styling from a Japanese automaker? OH NOES!!!!1!! They're running out of ideas too!!
I'm sure the import fans will say this is completely different, and find a way to justify it.
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naggs 2:53AM (5/27/2006)
see ricers this is why people hate you. you are wrong, large displacement power plants allow much higher power levels than anything japan has ever produced. using a chevy performance catalog in a week i can build a 1200 hp twin turbo v8. you guys just need to get over all your weird jap culture. i think your just bitter about WW2. they try to imitate us but somethings just dont translate.
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