Well, Scott Speed might not have made it in Formula 1, but his namesake is about to hit the big screen. Yes, Speed Racer: The Movie is almost upon us, and therefore a whole bunch of people who are not motor racing fans are getting to pontificate on what makes a sexy car.
Speed’s car, the Mach 5, disappointed the folks at the Detroit Motor Show. Quite right too. It looks like something Jack Brabham might have driven at Le Mans.
Speed’s rival’s car, which is apparently Japanese, has caught the eye of the folks at io9. But Charlie dear, that’s not a racing car, that’s a heap of ironmongery on wheels.
The trouble is that these Hollywood guys are a bunch of pikers when it comes to car design. If you want a sexy-looking race car, you go to the guys who design such things for a living. The new cars from McLaren and Ferrari are way cooler than anything the movie has produced.
Oh, and as for the rival car being driven by the lads from Super Best Friends Aguri…
God, but that Ferrari is sexy…
(And yes, I am prejudiced, but nevertheless ’tis so…)
If only it had Nico in it then it would be perfect.
It’s no surprise the Mach 5 looks like something Brabham would have driven, considering that the original manga dates to the mid-60s. What they should have done was make the film a period piece, but that’d be asking Hollywood to show way too much class.