Filed under: Sports/GTs, Etc.
Go Speed Racer, Go: Movie Mach 5 debuts
by Alex Nunez on May 31st 2007 at 12:38PM 
Click image for high-res version
Well, now you know what we'll be covering breathlessly post-Transformers. Shooting for the Wachowski brothers' live-action Speed Racer film begins next week in Germany, and Warner Bros. has released the first official pic of the Mach 5 hero car.
Awesome.
It's a modern take on the Speed's iconic ride, and is sleeker and way badder-looking than the Mach 5 prototype created in 1999 (and on permanent display at the Petersen museum in L.A.), which is more faithful to the original 'toon car. As you can see, the movie car retains the same general look as the hand-drawn Mach 5, but incorporates details like a racy full-wraparound windscreen, sleek rearview mirrors, and chromed dubs shod in Yokohama Advans. It looks absolutely killer. As the film's star Emile Hirsch (he plays Speed) summarizes, "Yeah. They got the car right."
Indeed ... hopefully Chim Chim doesn't make a mess on the seats ...
Click here for video of the unveiling
Thanks for the tip, Joe!
[Source: USA Today]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Will 12:46PM (5/31/2007)
The windshield and doors scream "Corvette" to me. C5, I think? Well, that's fine. It looks killer!
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jrhmobile 12:52PM (5/31/2007)
Spiffy. I remember when I was a little kid I was enthralled with Speed Racer cartoons.
Then I saw one a couple of years ago and realized it really sucked, and that I should've left my age-10 memories alone. Oh well ...
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naugahyde 1:01PM (5/31/2007)
arghhhh... must the oversize chrome clown wheels show up everywhere?
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Calebe 1:20PM (5/31/2007)
What's with the wheels? This is a race car not a bling bling whip. I guess i knew in my heart that they wouldnt be true to the M5. There doesnt seem to be any fin's on the rear finders either. I hope the movie is good.
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John R 11:58AM (6/04/2007)
Compared to the orignal cartoon they are pretty accurate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScF_ZGdg6ik
Look closely at the car for the first few seconds.
Lee Gibson 1:27PM (5/31/2007)
Little chunky through the doors. That's a Vette mule, isn't it?
Otherwise, good effort. Get some good wheels, though. Those aren't it.
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Jeff the Baptist 1:29PM (5/31/2007)
"There doesnt seem to be any fin's on the rear finders either."
They're there, they just don't show up very well in the lighting for that shot.
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Big Mike Wood 1:44PM (5/31/2007)
What's the MSRP on this?
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vectorbug 2:26PM (5/31/2007)
This is going to be terrible. Like, Scooby Doo movie level.
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Jonathon 3:35PM (5/31/2007)
Driver's seat is on the wrong side.
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brandon 4:19PM (5/31/2007)
they're making a speed racer movie? wow... I thought the whole point of that show was to laugh at the english translation?
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Scott 4:41PM (5/31/2007)
I, too, grew up watching Speed Racer. And yeah, watching it again later in life, OMG did it suck. :D But the suckiness was largely thanks to the studio (Trans-Lux, if memory serves) that brought it to the US. On top of that, though, it was really geared for kids. Adults expect different things out of cartoons.
I'm happy so far with the Wachowskis - I have high hopes for this one.
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Don 4:56PM (5/31/2007)
Somehow, with the Wachowski brothers involved, I think this might just be amazing.
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Stephen 6:12PM (5/31/2007)
Does anyone remember that this show was utter crap?
Whats next? H.R. Puffn' Stuff :The Movie?
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William 4:53PM (6/07/2007)
Hi, No Offense but H.R. Pufinstuf started out as a movie.
Bill
Stephen 7:31PM (6/07/2007)
I stand Corrected......But I hope you get my point.
ferrarimanf355 7:51PM (5/31/2007)
Considering who's directing, I'm expecting religious psychobabble, Bush bashing, and the directors avoiding the press. Wimps.
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bathtub gin 11:20PM (5/31/2007)
Everyone deriding the old cartoon misses the point. It was no Jonny Quest, but it was a pioneer in its day, and the stories were a cut above the usual Saturday morning crap. This should be fun. I just hope they get the sound effects right.
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Paul Fike 12:43PM (6/01/2007)
The Real Mach 5 should have a Japanese engine since it was a Japanese cartoon to being with and to give the owner of the Story line for Speed Racer credit and I think the best two manufacturers would be Toyota or Honda to put a great racing engine in it.
But if we put a real American Racing Motor in the Mach 5 to Americanize it; then it should be without a doubt a Ford or a Chrysler Engine as they never quit- both Ford and Chrysler turn out the Best Racing Engines- Either the 600 to 750 HP Ford-Carroll Shelby Engine or the 600+ Dodge Viper Engine. As GM and Chevy Engine (If you can call them that) quit and die too easily. The Corvette engine is a piece of junk.
The car reminds me of the Ford Shelby GR-1 Silver Bullet. It somewhere in between the Infamous GRX the Worlds Fastest Car and the Mach 5
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Paul Fike 12:45PM (6/01/2007)
The Real Mach 5 should have a Japanese engine since it was a Japanese
cartoon to being with and to give the owner of the Story line for
Speed Racer credit and I think the best two manufacturers would be
Toyota or Honda to put a great racing engine in it. But if we put a
real American Racing Motor in the Mach 5 to Americanize it; then it
should be without a doubt a Ford or a Chrysler Engine as they never
quit- both Ford and Chrysler turn out the Best Racing Engines- Either
the 600 to 750 HP Ford-Carroll Shelby Engine or the 600+ Dodge Viper
Engine. As GM and Chevy Engine (If you can call them that) quit and
die too easily. The Corvette engine is a piece of junk. The car
reminds me of the Ford Shelby GR-1 Silver Bullet. It somewhere in
between the Infamous GRX the Worlds Fastest Car and the Mach 5
Reply