Fast and Furious drag race: Mat Watson puts eight hero cars head-to-head

The Fast and the Furious may have had plenty of drag racing action, but only a handful of the hero cars actually went head-to-head on the big screen. I decided to change that, by gathering some of the real stars from the first film (the cars, not the actors) and putting them head-to-head to see what would win in a drag race.

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The first drag race

As in the movie, the first cars lined up on the Carwow drag strip are the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Honda Civic Coupe, Acura Integra and the Mazda RX-7.

Mitsubishi Eclipse

Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker’s) Mitsubishi features a 2.0-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine with 170hp which drives the front wheels through a four-speed automatic gearbox. It features a wild bodykit and a massive wing, as well as a ludicrous green paint job.

Acura Integra GS-R

The Acura Integra – sold as a Honda in the UK – meanwhile has a 1.8-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine with 170hp and front wheel drive. A five-speed gearbox sends power to the front wheels, with a similarly crazy bodykit.

Honda Civic Coupe

This 1.6-litre, naturally-aspirated, four-cylinder,front-wheel drive Honda Civic Coupe has a lesser 125hp and a four-speed automatic transmission, as well as a playstation in the dashboard.

Mazda RX-7

Dom Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) Mazda RX-7 is the most powerful of the group, with a 1.3-litre, twin-turbocharged rotary engine putting out 259hp through a five-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive.

The other contenders

As a winner-stays-on competition, the fastest car from the first drag race went on to compete with the Honda S2000.

Honda S2000

This features a supercharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine with 345hp, a six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. Fun fact: with its pink livery, you’ll recognise the S2000 from 2Fast 2Furious, but it’s actually the same car which featured in the first movie, in a new coat of paint.

Nissan Skyline GT-R

The R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R has a twin-turbocharged, 2.6-litre inline-six engine under the bonnet, producing 280hp and sending power to all-four wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. The R33 GT-R was actually illegal to register in the USA in 2001, and the very car from the film (called Big Bird) was seized and crushed in 2012. Boo.

Dodge Charger R/T

Dom’s Dodge Charger features a 7.2-litre, supercharged V8 engine poking through the ‘hood,’ producing a mighty 500hp and driving the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic gearbox. The bit sticking out of the bonnet is the BDS supercharger and air intake, also known as a ‘blower.’

Toyota Supra

Brian’s Toyota Supra is home to a 3.0-litre, six-cylinder, naturally-aspirated engine and five speed manual transmission. It has 220hp, and possibly the most iconic paint job from the entire Fast and Furious franchise.

The results:

Don’t take all of those stats at face value, however, because the final results might just surprise you. There was no movie magic in our drag race, as all of the cars are in their true, behind-the-scenes state.

Car	1/4-Mile Time (seconds)
Toyota Supra	13.6
Dodge Charger R/T	14.3
Nissan Skyline GT-R	14.6
Honda S2000	15.6
Acura Integra GS-R	16.0
Mitsubishi Eclipse	17.5
Honda Civic	19.3
Mazda RX-7	DNF

Watch the video to see all of the drama that unfolded on the day, and keep a tally of all of the Fast and Furious references snuck in there, too.

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