The film version of Need for Speed hits theaters on March 14, starring Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots, Dominic Cooper, and a whole lot of cars that most of us would be lucky to take a picture of, let alone drive. As with the games the films are based on, there will be a lot of driving at very high speeds, most likely while a carefully chosen soundtrack untz untzes along in an effort to get your blood pumping.
In order to sell that to an audience though, you can’t fake it. Filmmakers can’t just take a Lamborghini and a Bugati and drive them past a camera at 30 mph, then speed up the film. They need to get the viewer right into the heart of the race, and that means the cars need to be going extremely fast. But in order to accurately film cars at speed, you need a car with a camera equipped that can keep up with those cars that will eventually appear on screen. A modified Toyota Corolla just isn’t going to cut it.
The filmmakers knew this going in, and so the cars equipped with cameras are the equals of most of the race cars you’ll see in the film. These camera cars include a Mustang GT modified with Saleen parts, a Mercedes SUV equipped with a crane arm, and an Audi A6. Oh, and a Ferrari. Because why not. While the action is playing out in front of the lens, these cars will keeping up and filming in order to offer as much footage of the action as possible.
There will likely be several other modified cars as well, but to see them all you may have to wait for a behind-the-scenes features-laden home media release.
