All the Cars in Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift Movie

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen at least one movie of The Fast And The Furious franchise. Screened for the first time in 2001, the series has been made into eight different films till date, and I’m hopeful of a ninth film in the making.

Out of all these films though, one became extremely popular for its portrayal of the pride of street racing and the art of drifting. It’s perhaps the best film to come out of the series. We’re talking about The third installment of The Fast And The Furious Franchise – Tokyo Drift (released in 2006)

Tokyo Drift was famous for its drifting, fast-paced action, and women. But most importantly, its showstopper was undoubtedly the 200 cars, brought in from various parts around the world. Eleven Nissan 350Zs for example, were brought all the way out from Paris because they needed right-hand drive vehicles (more on that later). Three of these cars were only used as crash vehicles in certain scenes.

Apart from this, a lot of second-hand vehicles were brought in for racing, and basically just for fun – be they Toyota Chasers, Mazda RX7s or even an old Nissan Silvia. From Mitsubishi alone, there came 10 units of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX cars. They even brought in a couple of Volkswagen Cars, four Volkswagen Golf R32s and Volkswagen Touran MPVs each.

Each of these cars has bizarre modifications and jaw dropping performances. And so, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most notable ones from the movie in this article by Motoring Junction, bound to get any car enthusiast’s heart racing.

1) 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX

The “hero” of the movie, this car was used by Sean Boswell. We admit that the Evolution IX is quick and slick, but is that all it takes to be a “Fast And Furious” car? That’s exactly what director Justin Lin thought, so he disconnected the front wheels from the drivetrain. Now it was a true drift car.

Sean from Fast and furious with Lancer Evolution
Sean’s Mitsubishi Evo in Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift

The Evo IXs had also been loaded over the rear springs and fitted with a PR white body kit to provide them with an oversize fender. This is fit with 19 by 8.5-inch Ray-G Games 99B wheels and a 255 / 35 R19 Toyo Proxes T1R Tires. They also had modified steering knuckles to achieve an additional angle and upsized the brakes with Brembo discs and callipers.

mitsubishi evo in tokyo drift movie

They also used a turbocharger and a 2.0 litre and a four-cylinder engine to the left to stock except for the addition of an RMR exhaust system. The overall result was a 286 horsepower maddening machine, ideal for a hero.

2) 1967 Ford Mustang

The showstopper and final race car used by Sean Boswel in the movie, Mustang has its own reputation for being one of the most dependable cars ever. Using a 2.6-liter twin-turbo engine from a 2001 Nissan Skyline RB 26 and the 5-speed transmission of a 1998 Nissan Skyline 2wd.

Ford Mustang from tokyo drift movie

The car has 245/35 R19 tires on the front and 275/35 R19 rear Toyo proxes T1R tires, and Volk Racing Grey GT-7 as well to keep the wheels off the ground.

ford mustang driven by sean in movie

The V8 Tokyo Drift Mustang brings with it an output of 375 HP and provided a quick record of 0 to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds and even ran the quarter-mile in about 14.7 seconds at around 96.7 mph.

3) 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Cheverlot’s 1971 Monte Carlo featured during the first quarter of the movie, and gets completely totaled by our hero’s rash driving skills. Although it did not have a satisfying performance, the power it holds is pretty commendable.

Cheverlot’s 1971 Monte Carlo
Cheverlot’s 1971 Monte Carlo

Two of the engines from the nine Monte Carlos used in the movie are a 3509 cubic inch one with an impressive 560 horsepower that can move from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.4 seconds. The other one is a Bill Mitchell 572 cubic inch machine that churns out 700 horsepower. The wheels are equally impressive, being fit with Cragar 397 steel – a 15 inch wheel, fit with Wilwood brakes and wrapped around in a Goodyear Eagle Slick around all them. The power usually gets out from the rear wheels, so we did some digging and found that the tires in the front are 27×8 inches and those in the back are a bit bigger, being 27×10 inches.

4) 2007 Nissan Silvia S15

This car was used by Han – one of the most loved characters in the movie, sometimes even overshadowing Sean. Later in the movie, Han hands over his treasure to Sean to race the drift king, but we know that ended up badly as Sean drove miserably in his first race at Tokyo.

2007 Nissan Silvia S15 from tokyo drift
2007 Nissan Silvia S15

We can easily recognize that the studio didn’t spend a lot of time working on this car. It didn’t need to. The gorgeous Sylvia comes equipped with a near-stock looking C-West DRFT Aero Kit.

Nissan Silvia S15 in fast and furious livery

If we move on towards the exterior, the beast includes some modern image graphics and also a C-West supplied GT wing and let’s not forget the set of Ganador mirrors. The letters on the wheels were given a massive visual upgrade, with some 19-inch Volk GT 7 rims wrapped around the Toyo Proxes TR1 tires.

5) 2006 Mazda RX 8

The RX8 was Neela’s car. Neela is the female lead in Tokyo Drift, and she does complete justice to her role. Her car, though, doesn’t live up to her name. We can say that the Mazda RX8 is one of those cars which will remain loyal to you in times of trouble – or at least that’s how Universal Pictures projected it.

Mazda RX8 used by Neela in Tokyo Drift Movie
Mazda RX8 used by Neela in Tokyo Drift Movie

If we were to nitpick, one of the things that could ruin the car is its Spanish job. We are not saying that it is vigorously ugly but we’re not exactly fans of the black and neon blue shades – it just does not fit together at all, even if it’s a girl’s car. More effort could’ve been gone into making it look a bit more in-line with the character that uses it. You might never find a girl who loves this kind of weird combination. Red and black or even yellow and black might do the work but not this.

mazda rx8 japanese car

Paintjobs aside, let’s discuss the details. The RX8 has a sleek Veilside D1-GT body kit. This car can also churn out a good 191 horsepower, running wild at 5500 RPM, and it brings around 187-pound feet of peak torque at 5150 RPM. However, if we were to consider the RX8s in the US – which have a similar output of 238 HP at 8500 – we can easily conclude that there is nothing impressive to look out for here. The RX8 can go from 0 to 60 mph in about 6.7 seconds and complete the quarter-mile in about 14.9 seconds, maxing out a top speed of 103.6 mph.

6) 2003 Nissan 350Z

If you don’t know the Nissan 350Z, you’ve either been completely new to the automobile world, or you hate Nissan through and through. The 350Z is the younger sibling of the coveted Nissan GTR – an extreme baddie. And the younger sibling follows in those footsteps, belonging to the bad guy, Drift King, in the movie.

2006 nissan 350z tokyo drift
2003 nissan 350z in tokyo drift

But you should know that we should never judge a car by its driver because this is easily one of the coolest cars throughout the movie – it’s simple, bold, and packed with power.

The 350Z, in the movie, dons a simple black – which immediately looks so classy that it almost immediately stands out. Tokyo Drift’s 350Z has an APS twin-turbo system breathed into the 3.5 litre HC24 Valve V6 engine with an output of 450 HP or even more.

This car comes with a 6-speed transmission, which backs up to a Nismo Limited-slip differential allowing the beast to propel at a speed of 5.7 seconds around its 60mph journey. It is even able to complete the quarter-mile in around 13.2 seconds at a speed of 114.8 mph. It was up for sale recently on Autotrader: Read here

7) Mazda RX7 Veilside

This car was also used by Han. If you’re confused about why Veilside is included in the title, the RX7 used in the movie was Mazda’s, but it was rebuilt by Veilside – one of the largest automotive aftermarket companies throughout Japan – for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Universal Pictures team saw it at the auto show and fell in love with it. They bought the maddening machine as it is and made it Han’s car in the Tokyo Drift.

Han's Mazda RX7 Veilside
Han’s Mazda RX7 Veilside

They, later on, went to change it up with a little detailing for the movie. The first thing that they had changed was the colour from the original lead to bright orange and that was all the work that went into this car.

But for all the talk this car drew, it can only produce 306 HP at 6650 RPM and 256 LBS ft torque at 5950 RPM behind the rear wheels.

It even completes the series 2 6 mph in 6 seconds and takes around 14.1 seconds to run the quarter-mile at a top speed of 104.5 mph. Not too shabby, but the looks certainly deceive.

8) 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner GTX

The Plymouth Roadrunner is downright gorgeous and we wish it had more screen time in the movie. It’s driven by none other than one of the most important actors in the franchise – Dominic Torretto (played by Vin Diesel) – who apparently had won it from Han when they raced a couple years ago.

Dom's Plymouth Roadrunner in Tokyo Drift Movie Ending scene
Dom’s Plymouth Roadrunner in Tokyo Drift Movie Ending

The car was borrowed for the movie from famous car enthusiast and builder Steve Strope of Pure Vision Designs. It was constructed on the TLC series ‘Rides’ and was also featured in the Hot Rod magazine. the vehicle barely made it into the movie, with only two minutes of screen time at the very end.

The shot was made at the very last minute so that explains why the car had to be rented instead of purchased like all the other vehicles in the movie.

9) Volkswagen Golf R32

The Golf R32 was a funky little car, used by the character Reiko. Before this, Volkswagen had just offered four new right-hand drive 2007 Volkswagen R32s to the filmmakers which also included them being converted into rear-drive vehicles for drifting purposes.

VW Golf R32 in Tokyo Drift Film
Souped up VW Golf R32 in Tokyo Drift Film

The Golf from Tokyo drift uses a rear wing and also a set of Lamborghini scissor doors – not a very happening couple. It uses a 3.2-liter V6 engine powering up to 250 HP and using a 6-speed manual transmission. This car can complete the 0 to 60 mph in about 6.1 seconds and complete the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds maxing out at a speed of 94.3 mph.

10) 2005 Volkswagen Touran

In the movie, Sean Boswell gets introduced to the JDM car culture when he first lays eyes on Twinkie’s Blinged out VW Touran. The scene itself was quite funny when this green Hulk Mobile Touran with 3D punch design on the side rolls out of a multi-car parking.

Frequently asked Questioned about Tokyo Drift Movie:

Which Yellow/Orange Car does Han drive in Tokyo Drift?

Han is driving a Veilside built Mazda RX7 in the fast and the furious Tokyo Drift Film

What car does Toretto Drives in Tokyo Drift?

In the ending scene, Toretto (character played by Vin Diesel) is driving a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner GTX

When was Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift movie released?

The third sequel of Fast & Furious was released on 4th June 2006.

Siddharth Sharma
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Siddharth Sharma

Siddharth has always been passionate about Cars and Bikes. He was the kind of kid that always had the latest Auto magazine in his school bag. He had this dream- to become a professional racecar driver. Finally, in 2012 he found himself racing as a rookie driver in the Polo R Cup national racing championship. Over time he had to readjust the sail and get into automotive journalism to continue enjoying machines on wheels.

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