You might be surprised to know that Furious 7, the upcoming ‘conclusion’ to the Fast & Furious series, still uses real prop cars to some degree.
The reliance on CGI to accomplish impossible stunts has become increasingly prevalent throughout the Fast dynasty, and previous films have been pretty transparent about prioritizing entertainment value over realism.
This philosophy became very apparent in Fast & Furious 6, when Vin Diesel’s character launches himself from the hood of a speeding car to catch Michelle Rodriguez mid air, who had just been launched off of a crashing tank herself.
Of course, the brawny street racer grasps her mid flight, only to safely land on a windshield on the other side of the freeway.
The new movie looks to take the insanity to new levels (catch the trailer here), but countless hours of hard work goes into building and maintaining all the cars showcased on screen.
A new video by DIY modification channel Mighty Car Mods profiles the man responsible, Fast 7 car coordinator Dennis McCarthy. In the segment, we’re taken inside the master’s studio to get a close look at the vehicles from the action flick, including an Aston Martin DB9, a vintage Plymouth Barracuda, and the iconic R34 Skyline from 2 Fast 2 Furious.
One interesting note is that McCarthy uses a standardized, 500-horsepower drivetrain on most of the film’s domestics. The LS3 crate motor produces plenty of power, he says, but it also makes repair, part swapping, and on-set customization a snap.
McCarthy says he and his team can take rusted body shell to a Hollywood-quality stunt vehicle in less than two weeks.
The rest of the video features interviews with fans, the director, and some of the cast, but true gearheads will probably skip straight to McCarthy’s segment, which starts at 11:35.
Fast 7 comes out April 3rd, 2015.
(Video by Mighty Car Mods)
