Wow, if you are one of the lucky people who saw Mad Max: Fury Road then you know how much of an adrenaline rush it was for everyone in the theater. Did you spend any time wondering what kinds of cars they were driving?
Did you know that underneath all of the extra parts, those Mad Max cars were indeed real car brands that we know and love? It’s incredible how these real life cars were able to pull off the stunts shown in the film. Today we’re going to take a look at what lies beneath all those spikes and metal.
The Cars of Mad Max
The entirety of Mad Max: Fury Road is any car fan’s dream. It’s one giant car chase with zero computer generated images and nothing but real cars, metal, and fire on screen.
The man behind these beautiful monstrosities is Colin Gibson. He understood that the cars in this movie conveyed as much character, if not more, than the people on screen did. Mad Max has always been about the cars, going all the way back to the original films.
Gibson has a strong eye for aesthetics, which is what drove him to search far and wide for parts he could salvage. During an interview with Bloomberg Business he said: “No one taught me about cars, but I knew I wanted to find things that were beautiful. No matter how horrific the circumstances that does mean you aren’t trying to create something beautiful. We just wanted to find something iconic, something worth salvaging.”
He wanted to feature cars that would work in desert conditions. That ruled out anything newer, so all of the cars in the film are vintage. For the main portion of the movie, Gibson was able to create 80 cars, each with its own story and its own team of mechanics.
Of course, a lot of cars would have to be destroyed, so in all Gibson created 150 cars, half of which were destroyed during filming. All of the stunts in the film were 100% real, which meant real cars had to be destroyed.
Let’s take a look at some of the most iconic cars from the film:
1. Mad Max’s 1974 XB Ford Falcon Coupe
The car in the new film is the same as the one from the first films, but as part of the story it gets souped up with a new engine, four-wheel drive, and a ton of weapons. Underneath all of it though it’s still just a ’74 Ford Falcon Coupe. Gotta love it.
2. Furiosa’s War Rig
Trust me, you won’t miss this one when you watch the film. This incredible feat of automotive fusing consists of a Czechoslovakian Tatra and a Chevy Fleetmaster that are fused together into a six-wheel-drive 18-wheeler with not one, but two V8 engines.
On the outer portion of this beast are Volkswagen Beetle and Track cabin shells welded to the sides. The package is rounded out with a fuel tank and a fueld pod hanging off the end of the vehicle.
Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, was responsible for driving this mammoth at times during the film, and she did so with style.
3. Immortan Joe’s Gigahorse
It just keeps getting better. Another example is the Gigahorse which is composed of two 1959 Cadillac Devilles that are split, widened, and mounted with increased fins. It is also equipped with two V16 engines and a two-meter-high set of double-wide wheels. There’s a whalers harpoon and a flamethrower on the rear as well.
4. Nux’s Chevrolet Coupe
This beauty is a Chevy five-window coupe that has a super-turbocharged, nitrous-boosted, steel coil, V8 engine. The swooping exhaust pipes and the canted wheels add to the exterior, along with mementos from Nux’s life including a doll-face steering wheel.
5. Doof Warrior’s Doof Wagon
A car nicknamed by Warner Brothers as a “sonic carmageddon” isn’t something to be trifled with. This car was, or rather, mobile rock stage, is designed to rally troops during a battle. It’s rocking a supercharged V8 engine with a stage, a wall of speakers and sub-woofers, plus air condition ducts to amplify the sound.
7. The Buzzard Tribe’s Spike Jalopies
Our final taste of the cars that went into this film are the spiked Jalopies which are made from a M.A.N. 6X6 tractor. There are 1,757 steel spikes attached to the outer chassis of the vehicle.
Final Thoughts
Any car fan or fan of action movies in general would do well to see this movie as soon as possible. It has everything you could want, and more cars than you can shake a gear shift at. Thanks for reading!
All Images via Warner Bros/Bloomberg (photographed by Jasin Boland)
