In the Kabuki reality of The Fast & The Furious, there always has to be one girl (insanely hot, but she'll turn a wrench too!) who's at least as much into cars as the guys are. In Tokyo Drift that girl is named Neela, and this baby-blue RX-8 is her car. Well, this is one of the RX-8s built up as Neela's ride.
Starting with a JDM RX-8, the Tokyo Drift transportation department added a GReddy single-turbo system controlled by a GReddy engine management system, threw on a Tanabe cat-back exhaust system, and used a Cusco limited-slip differential to help turn that power into thrust. The car was also lowered over Tein springs and a set of Volk Racing GT-AV wheels encased in Toyo Proxes T1R 255/30R19 front and 305/25R19 rear tires. The body was treated to a VeilSide D1-GT body kit and a carbon-fiber GT rear wing from the same source. The hood was painted to resemble carbon fiber and the graphics came from Modern Image. A Nardi steering wheel and Takata seat belts handle the interior decoration duty.
Obviously thoroughly thrashed, this RX-8 was hurting when we put it up on the DynoJet's rollers and it only managed to spin them to the tune of 191.4 wheel-hp at 5500 rpm and 186.7 lb-ft of peak torque at 5150 rpm. With such a low redline, the ECU was obviously in a limp-home-everything's-gone-to-hell mode. At the track that translated into a lackluster 6.73-second 0 to 60 mph time and a run through the quarter-mile in 14.89 seconds at 103.56 mph. There's a lot more to be unleashed from this car-but that would take attention that the movie company had no time to lavish upon it. But as you can see, it drifted just fine, and that's what was required of it in the film.
Maybe the graphics are a little fey (look it up), but the idea behind this car is a solid one. But before anyone can explore the possibilities, it will likely already have been crushed. Too bad.
Neela's turbocharged Mazda RX-8EngineEngine Code: 13B-MSPType: 1308cc Wankel rotary, aluminum housingExternal Mods: GReddy turbo kit, Tanabe Super Medalion Hyper exhaustEngine Management Mods: GReddy e-Manage
DrivetrainLayout: Longitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive
SuspensionFront: Tein coil-springsRear: Tein coil-springs, 18mm Cusco anti-roll bar
BrakesFront: StockRear: Stock
ExteriorWheels: Volk Racing GT-AV, 19x8.5-in. (F), 19x9.5-in. (R)Tires: Toyo Proxes T1R, 255/30ZR19 (F) 305/25ZR19 (R)Body: VeilSide D1-GT body kit, VeilSide CF-GT wing and CF hood, Jack's Autobody custom paint, Modern Image graphics
InteriorNardi steering wheel and Takata 4-point harness