Furious 7: Everything You Want to Know About the Amazing Cars of ‘Fast and Furious’

There isn’t another collection of films in history that have managed to corner the car culture quite like the Fast & Furious universe. The seven- film franchise (and counting) showcases exotic imports, like the Lykan Hypersport (the one that Dom and Brian jump a building with!); souped-up muscle cars that make Charger enthusiasts weak in the knees; and some of the fastest sports cars that bring a rush of adrenaline just on sight alone. The Fast & Furious franchise continues to outdo themselves with the flashy, fast beauties that have become characters in their own right.

The history of rich cars rolled out by Fast & Furious wouldn’t be without car coordinator Dennis McCarthy of Vehicle Effects out of Sun Valley, California. McCarthy is a veteran in the picture car business, having worked in film and TV since the late 90’s. He is also the man who is responsible for choosing the cars that have been featured in the Fast & Furious franchise.

In celebration of Furious 7’s release on Digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD, we spoke with McCarthy about his work with Vin Diesel’s signature 1970’s Dodge Charger, Paul Walker’s love of imports, the surprise appearance of Letty’s matte grey 1971 Jensen Interceptor (that actually came from California), and more.

Revving Up

So how does McCarthy approach a Fast & Furious film? “Typically, I usually start pretty early. Sometimes there isn’t a complete script available at that point, but we will have an outline or something to go off of by Chris Morgan [screenwriter] and we can try to get a jump on it. At that point we see what the characters are doing, figure out what the locations are, and start building some cars accordingly.“

Securing the right car for a scene can’t always be easy. As McCarthy previously explained, an action scene may require more than one of the same car, but sometimes you can’t always get what you want. “One of the more difficult cars to source was the vintage Skyline that Paul Walker drove in Fast 5. We really needed two, but I was only able to locate one in the U.S.”

Of course, there isn’t a chance when talking to Dennis that one wouldn’t try to get the story behind the luxurious Lykan Hypersport in Furious 7. The $3.4 million dollar Hypercar, that is a rarity to see on screen, can go from 0-62 mph in just 2.8 seconds.

“That was just a car that was a perfect fit for the story. It was a car for a Middle Eastern prince who had all the money you could ever want. And that car in real life is the first Middle Eastern built supercar. We actually had those cars built by Lykan. At the time they were being designed in Italy. So we went to Italy and made sure everything was going to be perfect and it was. I think we had six of those cars to complete that sequence.“

One of McCarthy’s biggest challenges he faces is his race against the clock when getting the cars ready for filming. “The number one challenge is just time. There is always so much work in a short time period. We can’t really miss a date because it is going to be filmed on a certain date so we have to have it. And usually not one of that car, usually four or five.”

Perfect Match

Having worked within the franchise for so long, McCarthy knows just what the stars of the blockbuster films like to drive. He hand-picks them for each actor on an individual basis. “It is definitely my job to choose the cars, but I run the cars by Universal Studio, particularly the cast members themselves. Usually, everyone is happy 99 percent of the time.“

We also spoke about Dom’s beloved 1970’s jet black Dodge Charger that McCarthy and his crew have resurrected several times for the Fast & Furious films. Thirty-five Chargers have used in the franchise to date.

“Well I have a great crew of guys here that actually did the building part, but it all happens in my shop. When you see one car on screen, there are actually 6 or 7 others exactly like it because it takes a lot more than one of those cars to make one of those movies.”

Dennis also touched on fitting Paul Walker in the right ride for his role as Brian O'Connor. “He was always basically the import character, and that is true in real life as well. So he was usually driving a Nissan skyline – which always fit him perfectly – he had a Subaru [a 2009 WRX STI] in 4, he had a Subaru in 7, he drove a Porsche briefly in 5. So yeah we always had some type of import car for Paul.“

“Paul was always very interested in what he would be driving,” McCarthy adds. “We would always get together early on in the process, but he was always thrilled with our choices, and I always tried to put him in cars that he would actually drive himself.”

What about the ladies of the franchise, who can certainly hold their own alongside Dom and Brian? “Jordana Brewster didn’t really do a great deal of driving in the last one. Michelle Rodriguez on the other hand, in Fast 4, I had her in a roadrunner. It kind of fit because she was Dom’s girl and they had similar taste so she kind of evolved from the first movie being in a Honda to a muscle car, a big-block Dodge kind of girl. So I have kind of stayed with that theme since then. In the last one [Furious 7] she was driving a Challenger, a brand new 2015 Challenger, and she drove a 1971 Plymouth Cuda.“

Tuning on Set

After envisioning what a scene calls for, and finding the right car, Dennis also visits the set when filming begins to make sure his the hundreds of cars used in Fast & Furious are ready to go. “I always go out initially. I don’t stay out the entire time because we’re always filming in multiple locations or building cars. But yes, I am always on the set initially to make sure everything is perfect and everybody is happy.”

Part of McCarthy’s car prep is working closely with the stunt crew. Time and time again, McCarthy has worked with stuntmen Jack Gill, Andy Gill, Steve Kelso, Mike Ryan, and Corey Eubanks, which he fondly refers to as “all great guys.“

“We are always adjusting seat belts, seats, steering wheel angles, sometimes suspension. Most stunt guys have a specific style, the way they like the car set up.”

Working in harsh climates can also be a challenge. McCarthy listed three of the hardest action scenes he had to deal with in the franchise. “It would be the train heist in 5. It was very difficult. We were working in the Parker, Arizona dessert. It was 120-plus degrees. That was extremely challenging. The Colorado sequence in 7 was a very remote location working in snow and freezing temperatures — that would probably be number two. It might not look like it on film, but the tunnel sequence in Fast 4 was a very challenging sequence.“

Dennis also took part in one of those scenes, adding stunts to his extensive resume. “On Fast 5, I drove the heist truck in the train sequence from a remote driving pod mounted on the roof.”

With all of this car talk, it makes you wonder what the man behind Fast & Furious has in his own garage. “A 1968Chevelle, a 2015 Z06 Corvette, a suburban,“ McCarthy lists off before stopping to include a long list of cars.

Furious 7 is now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD