Autoblog

Click above for photo gallery. Follow the jump for the music video.

The music video for the updated Speed Racer theme, "Go Speed Racer Go", has hit the web, and while the song itself gets annoying after a couple of verses (how many times can you listen to that refrain before going insane?), the actual video is mesmerizing. There's a lot of footage that hasn't been seen in the trailers and ads so far, and the cartoon come-to-life visuals are simply eye-popping. In that respect, anyone who ponies up ten bucks for a ticket is going to get his or her money's worth. Hopefully, the strength of the story can match the undeniable visual power the Wachowski's onscreen kaleidoscope is set to deliver. At least one early review indicates that may not be the case, unfortunately. We'll wait 'till we see it ourselves next weekend to pass final judgement. In the meantime, feast your eyes on the new video after the jump.


[Source: Ain't It Cool News]

UPDATE: New high-res pics added, click above

The upcoming Speed Racer movie just got a whole lot more interesting to us since learning about this sweepstakes that's being held in conjunction with the premier on May 9th. The prize is a Speed Racer-inspired Mach 5 Corvette, but it not just any 'Vette . It's actually a C5 Corvette wearing a body inspired by the '63 - '67 C2 Corvette. Despite its classic outward appearance, the interior is all C5 wrapped in custom leather and painted red, and the motor is a very modern 350-hp LS1 V8. The Speed Racer decals and color scheme put it over the top, though. The purveyors of the sweeps peg the car's value at $100,000, and to win it you have to visit this site and enter you cell phone number and carrier, or just text "fast" to 90736. You'll then get a text message on April 18th with a Speed Racer trivia question, which you'll have two minutes to answer correctly. Ten of those people who answer correctly will be flown out to the premier and race mini cars of some sort to win the actual Speed Racer Mach 5 'Vette. We know, those are a lot of hoops through which to jump, but a Mach 5 Corvette is kind of cool.



[Source: Warner Brothers]

It's very tempting to dismiss the Wachowski brothers' live-action Speed Racer film as a hopeless exercise in ridiculousness. But the problem is that both trailers released show a movie that's utterly drenched with style, as the auteur siblings appear to have held nothing back in trying to bring the anime feel to this live-action adaptation. The second and final theatrical trailer was released this week, and while it's thin on plot (not that it really needs spelling out), there's no shortage of action. We get a look at the young, daydreaming Speed; racetracks that look like life-sized Hot Wheels playsets; Racer X being mysterious; some cringe-inducing lines from Susan Sarandon's Mom Racer; and attacking ninjas! (Remember, this is the Wachowskis.) Campy? Corny? Cool? We're guessing it might be all of the above. Anyway, let this serve as a reminder that May isn't all Indy and Tony. Oh, and those of you looking to kvetch about gratuitous auto product placement need to sit tight. That's still 467 days away.

The new trailer's pasted after the jump.


[Source: DailyMotion]

click above for more high-res live shots of the Speed Racer Mach 5

While getting ready for the announcement of the North American Car and Truck of the Year, we stumbled upon the Mach 5. No sign of Pops, Trixie, Chim Chim or Speed, but there was the car, in all its fiberglass glory. As much as we looked we couldn't spot the opening in the nose for the radial saws or see underneath for the pistons used to propel Speed over danger.

During our recent trip across the Pacific to cover the Tokyo Auto Show, we got word that our flight out of Narita was going to be delayed for 23 hours. The first thing that jumped into our jet-lagged minds was how much trouble it would be to catch a ride to the nearest city so we could revel in the JDM parts bonanza that is Super Autobacs. Think Kragen/Pep Boys/AutoZone, but with 20-times more new and used parts that don't completely suck. We never made it, but Autobacs presence at the Tokyo Auto Salon might make up for it when it hosts 14 different vehicles on its show stand, including a replica of the Mach 5 from Speed Racer and the SuperGT winning GT500 ARTA NSX. We're hoping that photos from the Autobacs booth are forthcoming, and when we get them, they'll be uploaded post haste.

[Source: GT Channel]

click above image for more high-res stills from the Speed Racer film

You may have seen a few tiny pics from the Wachowski brothers' upcoming Speed Racer live action film elsewhere on the web today. Well, our colleagues over at Cinematical gave us the hook up and provided Autoblog with the only high-res shots you'll find on the web, along with an exclusive look at the first trailer for the film (click here to view). It's so new, we literally didn't have a chance to watch it before publishing this post. If you're unfamiliar with the story of Speed Racer, we'll let Cinematical's Erik Davis explain:

Speed Racer stars Emile Hirsch as the aspiring race car driver Speed, who, with help from his family (Mom and Pops played by Susan Sarandon and John Goodman), his girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) and a little chimp named Chim Chim, builds the unstoppable Mach 5 and teams with the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) to win the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible in order to save his family's business and beat the evil Royalton at his own game.

Hope you enjoy the trailer after the jump and the high-res pics in the gallery below that are perfectly suitable for desktop wallpaper duty.

[Source: Cinematical]

Gallery: Speed Racer live action film

Although the majority of our fanboy energy has been devoted to all things Transformers-related, we still have a bit left over for the upcoming release of the live action version of Speed Racer. With Senors Larry and Andy Wachowski at the helm, the potential for excellence runs high, and judging by the acting talent they've enlisted, we doubt this will be a dud.

Still, as buzz-worthy as Speed and his pals may be, one defining characteristic of any soon-to-be-released flick is its own microsite, which Speed Racer hasn't had until now. The site just went live and the majority of the content focuses on the recent press event held in Germany where the Mach 5 was unveiled. There's a brief synopsis of the characters and the struggles that will unfold during the film, plus bios of the actors involved, but until they post a trailer, we'll say that it's only for the hardest of hardcore Speed fans.

Click image for high-res photo

Reuters' video coverage of the Speed Racer press conference and Mach 5 unveiling in Germany has been posted on the web. It gives us a better introduction to the real-life version of the iconic hero vehicle, including a nice long look inside the cockpit. Once they're done showing the car, however, the conference devolves into the usual Hollywood pap. "I've never been as excited to be a part of a project...blah, blah, blah." Yeah, yeah, we know. Now, spare us the hugfest and and show us Racer X's Shooting Star, already!

Follow the jump for the vid.

[Source: YouTube]

While perusing Autoblog Latino and brushing up on my Spanglish, I noticed this post that led me to a site called Paper Inside. Its simple tagline – Paper Models are Paper Inside – hints at what you'll find below the fold. The site offers numerous free downloads of paper models that arrive in your printer tray as 2D sheets awaiting entry into the third dimension. We chose the Ecto 1 model to highlight above because it's pretty intricate, but you'll also find the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the General Lee, Speed Racer's Mach-5, the Tumbler from Batman Begins, Mad Max's Interceptor and a McLaren MP4-22 race car. That's not to mention the numerous crafts from Star Wars and Start Trek that are also available. If you poke around, you'll also find links out to other paper model sites where even more vehicles are available.

We downloaded a few models in PDF, and were immediately stumped. The assembly instructions for most consist of dozens of pictures, each lacking any verbiage save for the name of a particular paper piece and an arrow showing where it goes. We'll sit down soon with a pair of child-proof scissors and see if we can't crank one out, but we expect this project will quickly turn into a contest of whose paper airplane can fly the farthest.

[Source: Paper Inside via Autoblog Latino]

The movie magnates of Hollywood may actually be bringing something to the silver screen that has the distinct possibility of not sucking away our lives and our hard earned cash. Brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski of Matrix and V for Vendetta fame are taking on a series that serves as one of our first motoring memories. That's right kiddies, a live action version of Speed Racer.

Warner Bros and Village Roadshow have enlisted the acting talents of John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as Speed's parents, while the oh-so-delectable Christina Ricci will be playing his devoted love interest, Trixie. And she can drive too.

The iconic anime, originally created by Tatsuo Yoshida, will be recreated in typical Wachowski style, including Speed's whip: the Mach 5. We can't wait until it hits theaters May 9th, next year.

[Source: The Film Asylum]