Jalopnik: Fast and furious

Brenda Priddy Ebay Fundraiser To Benefit Wounded Auto Writer

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:20:00 EDT

Spy photog and all-around auto industry superstar Brenda Priddy is once again in the middle of giving something back to the community, this time raising money to help out auto writer Frank Washington following a brutal assault last month. Washington was left unable to work after he was mugged and stabbed, so Brenda is setting up a series of eBay auctions to raise money to help him out. Using her industry sources, she's pulled together quite a list of auto-centric swag.

Currently on sale is a set of Volvo C30 wheels from the next Fast and Furious movie, but the auction includes prototype Dodge Challenger pistol-grip shifters, original mid-engine Corvette sketches from the 70's, a BMW sculpture and a Bob Bondurant racing class. Further details can be had at The Garage Blog and you can check out the current auction over at eBay.

Fast and Furious 4 Trailer: Grand National, RS200 With Vin Diesely Goodness

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EDT

The latest edition of Fast and Furious finally gets a real live trailer to go along with the production stills, and after a watch, it's actually not too bad. The Buick Grand National which sent our hearts aflutter before is now involved in the hijacking of a gasoline land train in the Dominican Republic worth $1.4 million — and carrying a driver not interested in seeing it go. Not only do we see the GN in action, but we get a preview of oh so many other models to join in the mayhem.

Along with the Grand National, we see cameo appearances from a Ford RS200, a Chevy Nova SS, a Subaru WRX STI, at least one Skyline, a Ford Taurus Wagon (!), an old-school Celica and, of course, Vin's supercharged Charger is back (along with Paul Walker, unfortunately). We gotta say, unless they relied on brain-dead writers for this one, it actually looks like it might be entertaining. Then again, this is a chopped-together preview. [Rotten Tomatoes]

Fast And Furious First Production Stills, Movie Both Grand And National

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:40:00 EDT

That's right, the fourth installment of The Fast And The Furious is to be called, merely, Fast And Furious, and here are the first pics. We wonder if calling it Fast and Furious means it isn't too fast, nor too furious, but just right. Among the cars featured you'll notice Vin Diesel's Chevelle SS, which we've seen before, and a Buick Grand National (non GNX), which is new to us. If you'd expect those to be the only cars in the film, you'd probably be wrong.

Much of the cast from the original movie, and almost none of the cast (with the obvious exception of Paul Walker) from the second movie, return for this film. And they're all likely to get their own "character cars." More on this later. [USA Today]

Vin Diesel's Chevelle Pops A Fast, Furious WheelStand In New Movie

Mark Arnold — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT

This here is some leaked video from the set of the fourth installment of the rice-sploitation The Fast And The Furious movie franchise. Remember that famous scene at the end of the first film, where Vin Diesel's blown Dodge Charger pops a massive WheelStand (by the way, we never remember if it's two words or if the "S" is capitalized — but we like how this looks)? Well it looks like the pacifier is at it again, this time in a Chevelle. Lined up against the Chevy looks to be a BMW M5, Nissan Silvia, and Skyline GT-R. Now if you're not a FatF fanboy, this raw footage is still enjoyable, seeing as it's lacking any of the mind-numbing dialogue and ridiculous story line the upcoming movie will likely have.
[CarDomain]

Manta Manta Revisited: The English-Dubbed Trailer

Mark Arnold — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EDT

If you've been around Jalopnik for a while, you already know that Manta Manta is perhaps the greatest German street racing film ever made. But for those of us not fluent in Deutsch, we've been left wondering what exactly is going on. Well, now thanks to this recently discovered English-dubbed trailer for Manta Manta, us 'mericans, Brits, Aussies, and whoever else now can really begin to understand just how totally awesome the movie is. And remember: Leaded gas lowers your car, giving you an edge.

Fast And Furious Chinese Drifting With Pregnant Passengerey

Mark Arnold — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST

We're not so sure that drifting is a sport, but that doesn't stop those Chinese hoons from doing it. Yep, the language of drifting has apparently been ~~outsourced~~ translated into Mandarin. The Chinese apparently prefer to drift in... Japanese cars. What? Were you expecting a BYD? But wait, they haven't just ripped off the drifting formula and made it cheaper... they genuinely added something to the not-sport. Yes, we now have drifting with a pregnant woman riding shotgun— and in public traffic no less! Yes, that child is gonna be a real hoon prodigy.

Update: Ok, so the video was probably made in Hong Kong, and that language is Cantonese. Time for us to brush up on our foreign languages.
We tried to translate the video's description and came up with "Qian Chiale the official graciousness elegant television propagandizes the short film." Indeed.
[YouTube]

Polish Police Okay Limited Street Racing

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST

Rejoice szybki i wściekły, you now have at least one sanctioned street racing venue. According to our favorite news source ever, Annanova, police in the Polish city of Lodz have defined sections of the city which will be open to no holds barred street racing. This is an attempt by authorities to concentrate street racing in one area to reduce the widespread racing throughout the city. While we like the reasoning and believe in sanctioned and safe racing, we can't help to think since this involves our occasionally ill-advised ancestors, it can only end in multi-vehicle/farm animal pileups.

Fast And Furious 4 Mustang Built Live For Auto Show Crowd

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:45:00 EST

If you're like us, you're waiting for the next Fast and Furious movie with bated breath. And since plot and dialogue are of decreasing importance to the series, they're already trotting out cars for the next installment. An early example is a heavily modified 2008 Mustang put together by the folks at Stangpede Mustang. Just to show how fast they are, the team demonstrated how quickly an FAF car can be created by converting a stock 2008 Mustang GT into a show car in exactly six hours (with an untold number of prep hours) for crowds at the San Diego International Auto Show.

The Mustang gets the kind of treatment on the outside you'd expect for such a car, including all sorts of unnecessary touches like the vertical door kit. Under the hood is a Saleen 550-hp supercharger kit to get the car moving furiously after all the extra weight added by the hundreds of layers of paint. [Mustang Evolution]