The 2000s were a great time to be a street racing and car culture enthusiast. Popular culture had embraced street racing and tuning as the coolest thing ever, thanks to the rise in popularity of video games such as Need For Speed and the famed Fast and the Furious franchise. Tuned and modded cars, JDM imports, and 10-second cars were all gearheads could talk about, and the biggest video game and movie franchises capitalized on that popularity. Man, what a time! While the Need for Speed franchise truly came into its golden era with the Underground 1 and 2 entries, it took the Fast and Furious franchise 5 years and 3 entries to finally give the spotlight to JDM and tuner cars at their home turf in Japan.
F&F: Tokyo Drift took the franchise away from North America and straight to Tokyo, where we saw a plethora of famed and revered cars from the Japanese Domestic Market. Gearheads loved seeing the cars they’d only seen on posters and in video games make an appearance on the big screen in all their glory. Today, many of these cars are hero cars all over the world, and also some of the most sought-after collectibles, making them quite the expensive finds. Let’s take a look at 10 of the most expensive cars that featured in 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
10/10 Nissan 350Z – $15,000
You might be surprised to see that the iconic Nissan 350Z, or the Fairlady as it was known, is actually one of the cheapest cars from the iconic third installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. However, the truth is that the 2002/03 model used for the filming of Tokyo Drift cost less than $30,000 at the time.
Today, one can be yours for half that price. Of course, if we talk about the actual movie car that later went on to sell at auction a few years ago, it becomes one of the most expensive cars from the movie, since it sold for a whopping $135,000.
9/10 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-R – $20,000
The Silvia S15 Spec-R is the first car the movie’s protagonist Sean drives once he gets to Japan. It’s also a car that gets one of the worst beatings in the entire franchise, since our American hero had no idea how to drift.
Seeing how the Silvia was built to be decimated in the parking lot where it was filmed, the studio never put a lot of mods or work into it. This is why the Nissan Silvia S15 can be had for a relatively low amount. However, it still violates the 25-year import rule in the US, which means that Japanese F&F fans would have an easier go of recreating it on their own Silvia, just for around the $20,000 mark.
8/10 Mazda RX-8 – $20,000
Veilside body kits truly gave life to some of the cars in Tokyo Drift, and love interest Neela’s Mazda RX-8 was certainly one of them. In one of the most memorable scenes in the movie, Neela takes Sean drifting on the side of a mountain in her blue RX-8.
This RX-8 received a GReddy turbo kit and an engine management system as well, even though it never got to show much of that in the movie. It even made more power than the factory car thanks to its custom Tanabe exhaust system. Ultimately, however, the RX-8 was a forgettable car considering it never got much footage.
7/10 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo – $30,000
The 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is one popular classic American muscle car. It’s also one of just three American muscle cars viewers got to see in the movie. The Chevy Monte Carlo starred in one of the most popular scenes from the franchise, where it raced a Dodge Viper and ultimately got trashed.
Sean was adamant that it could beat the 500-horsepower Viper it eventually raced against. While the studio had to purchase 9 models for all the stunts, a 1971 Chevy Monte Carlo usually goes for around $30,000 on the market without all the mods.
6/10 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – $40,000
The Lancer Evo IX is one of the most famous hero cars in the entire Fast and Furious saga, and for good reason. This is the car in which Sean truly learned how to drift, and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo is a legendary nameplate in and of itself.
The front driveshafts of this particular Evo were detached in order to make it RWD only, setting it up as a drift car. The studio never made too many crazy changes to the car, so creating a replica shouldn’t be too tough or expensive, as a 2006 Lancer Evo IX usually sells on the pre-owned market for around $40,000.
5/10 Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 – $65,000
If you’re surprised to see the Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 on this list and thinking we made a mistake, you’re not alone. Only the most eagle-eyed fans remember seeing a Skyline GTR R-33 in the Tokyo Drift movie, even though it is part of the movie’s coolest scene of all.
When viewers finally saw fan-favorite Han show off his drifting skills for something more than just a race win, he was, in fact, drifting perfectly around the Skyline, in which sat two beautiful girls. The car also featured later on in the same scene, when Han and Sean gap it on the highway in the RX-7. For about $65,000, the R33 is available for sale in the secondhand market.
4/10 2003 Dodge Viper SRT10 – $65,000
Who doesn’t recognize the bright-red Dodge Viper SRT10 from the first race in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift? We could talk about the 500 horsepower the car had or its Borla exhaust system, but we’re afraid Sean would simply mock us for being able to read the brochure.
The Viper is one of the most iconic sports cars to ever come out of Detroit, and today, a 2003 Viper SRT10 sells for close to $65,000. If you’re lucky, you might find them for cheaper, but that never takes away from the sheer thrill of being behind the wheel of one of these beasts.
3/10 1967 Ford Mustang – $70,000
The 2-door Fastback 1967 Ford Mustang is already one of the most iconic muscle cars of all time, even without the movie making it more popular across the world. In fact, this car personified the Tokyo Drift movie in the best way possible, fitting an RB26 Skyline GT-R engine under the hood into a pure American muscle car.
While one of the stunt cars used in the movie was sold for $180,000, a ’67 Mustang would set you back by around $70,000 today. If you wanted to fit an RB26 under the hood, you’d have to shell out a lot more, and you maybe would still want to keep the bonnet closed at muscle car meets.
2/10 Mazda RX-7 Veilside FD – $80,000
Han has cemented himself as one of the most badass characters in the entire series, and he deserved a car that went with his image. Enter, the 1997 Mazda RX-7, equipped with a heartbreakingly beautiful Veilside widebody kit that cost an extra $17,000.
To recreate this beautiful RX-7, you’d have to get a ’96 RX-7 for around $25,000. To modify it with an HKS T04Z Turbo kit, an KHS intercooler, and Apexi engine management system, you’d have to shell out another $60,000, bringing the total cost to just about $85,000.
1/10 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner GTX – 125,000
The iconic 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner was the car Dominic Toretto decided to come back in during his cameo at the end of the movie. The car is a constant presence throughout the franchise, but the one from Tokyo Drift is the only one that has survived and is still functional. It even sold for $187,000 at auction.
However, if you do wish to get your hands on one of these classic American bad boys, Hagerty evaluates that you’d be set back by around $125,000, making it the most expensive car in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.