Over $1Mil for ‘Tokyo Drift’ VeilSide RX-7

Despite the multitude of Dodge Chargers and GT-Rs that have rolled through the ‘Fast & Furious‘ films, Han Seoul-Oh’s iconic orange and black VeilSide Mazda RX-7 from ‘Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift’ has remained the fan favourite, and its sale price reflects this. At the recent Bonham’s Auction held at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Tokyo Drift poster-child sold for the equivalent of $1,680,000 Canadian… over a million Euros.

This 1992 Mazda RX-7 FD had 61,000 km on it when Universal Studios commissioned VeilSide in Japan to equip it with their stunning Fortune bodykit for the 2006 film. Changes to the car are more than skin deep, as the RX-7 includes VeilSide’s 19″ Evolution V racing wheels, a Blitz exhaust, and coilover suspension to lower its stance. Far from a Hollywood stunt car, this RX-7 was used for static ‘hero’ shots and did not drift through Shibuya Crossing. In fact, it’s only driven 5,000 km since filming wrapped up nearly 20 years ago.

No period-correct tuner car would be complete without a serious sound system. Creating the soundstage are an Alpine head unit, amplifiers and speakers. The massive pair of subwoofers can be seen through the ’63 Corvette-inspired split rear window. Imagine the street cred the new owner will earn when she rolls up to to a car meet and props up the tailgate to show off the goods.

So many cool cars have appeared in the ten F&F films, what is it about this specific RX-7 that’s held its popularity after all this time? It’s not hero worship over main character Dom Toretto’s car. It’s not the sympathy vote for a vehicle driven by the late Paul Walker as character Brian Earl Spilner. No, the VeilSide RX-7 had a much bigger role in popularizing JDM culture globally. The movie was single-handedly responsible for introducing drifting to the world, and really became an icon of Japanese tuner cars during an era dominated by European sports cars and American muscle cars.