The “Fast & Furious” movie series began what could be described as some of humanity’s worst atrocities. Every successive movie has gotten more outlandish and less entertaining, and yet people still flock to the theaters in droves. While these movies tend to pander to the import crowd, perhaps the most famous scene from the first movie involved Vin Diesel driving, and subsequently flipping, a 1970 Dodge Charger featuring a gigantic blower sticking out of the hood.
CarScoop reports that the Volo Auto Museum is selling one of the Dodge Chargers used on the set of the final “Fast & Furious” film. Didn’t see it? Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. Oh, and how about the asking price? Just $129,998 for a Charger with a small block Chevy engine. “What?” you might be screaming. Look at the engine shot very closely, particularly the plug wires and the headers. Yup, it’s a mouse motor with a BDS blower. Apparently all of the muscle cars on the final film used similar small blocks to make management and maintenance a little easier (and cheaper).
We don’t know what it is about the Dodge Charger that makes Hollywood directors and producers want to crash them so often. “Bullitt,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry,” “Blade,” “Death Proof” and the “Fast & Furious” all trashed perfectly good Chargers. The “Fast & Furious” used five separate Chargers, one of which was just used on the sound stage and one which was trashed during the final “race” of the first movie. This is one of the Chevy-powered survivors, rather than the HEMI-powered “hero” car (which in the first film was a first generation 392 HEMI, not the venerable 426), despite claims of the advertisement.
Still, with the average price of a decent Charger ranging from $25,000 to $75,000, the $129,998 asking price feels a little pricey. Yes, Vin Diesel is something of an action hero, but does his mere presence on screen nearly double the price of an otherwise average automobile? Also, how many Mopar fans would lay down that kind of scratch for a Chevy-powered Charger?
This car should go back in the museum. Maybe it will accumulate a bit more worth with age when the 15th installment of “Fast & Furious” comes out.