A glimpse into tuner culture: Fast and Furious exhibit at the Petersen

The Fast and Furious franchise has come a long way in the quarter-century since the first film’s release. Originally an undercover cop story, the franchise has morphed into… something else entirely. It’s now a bombastic expression of automotive culture combined with some kind of caper, maybe to save the world. Just don’t think too deeply about the plot.

Along the way, the film’s cars have become nearly as famous as the human stars. If you’re a fan, you probably can’t have Vin Diesel or Michelle Rodriguez come hang out with you in your garage, but you can drive a Charger or Eclipse—or even a Jetta that looks like it escaped from the set. The more well-off collectors don’t need to settle for building a replica, though; they actually own cars that appeared on screen, and there’s quite a community of Fast and Furious car collectors.

You can find some of these cars at the Petersen Automotive Museum, which has a new exhibit celebrating 25 years of the franchise.

“When we started researching this exhibition… you go into the project with the typical ‘I’m going to source a film car’ mindset, where film cars always have interesting histories,” said Kristin Feay, an assistant curator at the Petersen.

“But sometimes it will be owned by collections, it will be private owners, it will be isolated sources,” she said. “With this exhibition, it was interesting because there are actually a number of enthusiastic owners who buy these cars—they collect them, they restore them—and these cars are well known within their communities. They’re known by names like Stunt one or Hero One, Stunt Two, Stunt Three.”

Petersen Automotive Museum This Supra is anything but subtle. This Supra is anything but subtle. Petersen Automotive Museum Petersen Automotive Museum The interior is about speed, not comfort. The interior is about speed, not comfort. Petersen Automotive Museum This Supra is anything but subtle. Petersen Automotive Museum The interior is about speed, not comfort. Petersen Automotive Museum

But according to Feay, unlike some other film cars, discovering the history of the Fast and Furious machines takes work.