If you're a fan of the Fast and the Furious franchise and you'd like to own a piece of cinematic history, now is your chance. A 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Replica is currently up for grabs on the Mecum Auctions website, and it's a beauty. It won't fetch the same price as Paul Walker's Supra, but it will be interesting to see how much it goes for.
This particular car had a starring role in Fast 5, which was one of the good ones. You know, before they went to space and used magnets as a significant plot device.
The Corvette replica played a pivotal role in the infamous train heist scene. Dominic Toretto escapes certain death by jumping the car out of the train, and along the way, he saves Brian O'Conner. A few seconds later, they ramp the vehicle over the edge of a massive cliff and miraculously escape unharmed. If you'd like to revisit it, here's the scene we're referring to.
As you can imagine, a scene like that requires several takes, which means you need several cars. Since it would have been sacrilege to destroy real 1963 Grand Sports, the production team turned to Mongoose Motorsport to build the necessary replicas. The shop produced 12, and only three are known to survive. If you're wondering what the body count is per movie, Fast 9 claimed the lives of more than 350 cars. Excluding Fast 9, the count is over 1,400 cars.
Since it would be used for the jump shot out of the train, it was known as the jump car. Mongoose Motorsport designed it to be especially hardy. The body is wrapped around a custom tubular chassis with coilover suspension and disc brakes. It also has a chopped windscreen and knock-off wheels. To ensure it doesn't explode on impact, it has a Jaz fuel cell.
The odd part is that it's powered by an old air-cooled Volkswagen engine, mated to a four-speed manual transmission. It's most likely the same powertrain as used in millions of Beetles across the globe. To be fair, the jump car didn't need to be fast. It simply needed enough power to get off the train and over the cliff. And while it may only have a Beetle engine, it likely weighs next to nothing.
As a bonus, this particular unit comes with scuff marks at the front, an interesting conversation starter if you want to take it to the local Cars & Coffee. It's also a movie prop from the last decent F&F movie, making it infinitely cooler than the mid-engined Dodge Charger in Fast 9. The F&F franchise will frustratingly culminate in a two-part finale.