‘Fast & Furious’ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII auctioned in Europe

Cars from The Fast & The Furious continue to sell well at auction, as evidenced by a sale recently conducted by Bonhams. Along with vehicles from various instalments of the Fast & Furious franchise, ‘The Movie Car Collection’ auction included cars and motorcycles from Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, Blade Runner, Robocop, Back to the Future and The Dukes of Hazzard. Cars from the French action/comedy film franchise, Taxi, and TV shows like The A Team, Starsky & Hutch, Knight Rider, Miami Vice and Breaking Bad were also offered.

Held from 21 to 28 November, the timed online auction was selling off assets from the ‘Movie Cars Central Museum’ near Paris. Founded by Franck Galiègue to showcase pop culture memorabilia, the museum had 50 movie cars, making it the largest collection of its type in Europe. Along with genuine, screen-used vehicles, the museum featured tributes and replicas, plus custom vehicles inspired by Hollywood. Prior to establishing the museum, Galiègue had operated a car rental service using some of the tribute cars.

Of the twelve Fast & Furious cars in the auction, nine were genuine, with the other three replicas. These included cars from 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious (aka Fast & Furious 4), and Furious 7 (aka Fast & Furious 7). Ahead of the auction, the top seller amongst this group was expected to be a 2001 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII from 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious.

What made this car so desirable was that it was the only one of four cars supplied by Mitsubishi that had been built to full 330hp (246kW) specification by Eddie Paul Industries for stunt use. That meant the factory 4G63 turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, five-speed manual gearbox, all-wheel drive system and suspension all received performance upgrades. The other cars were modified to a lesser extent.

Verified as ‘Stunt Car No.1’ by the movie’s technical advisor, Craig Lieberman, the Evo VII was also mocked up to look like an Evo VIII. Mitsubishi were about to debut the Evo VIII in the US at the time, so they wanted to use 2 Fast 2 Furious to promote the car. The ‘Kosmic Kolor Candy Lime Gold’ paint was added for cinematic impact, as were the graphics, underbody lighting, rear wing and other cosmetic touches.

In this form, Stunt Car No.1 was used for several sequences in the movie, including scenes with Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) driving. After filming, the Evo VII is believed to have been used for promotional work, during which it received Evo VIII seats and a later-style front bumper.

Exported from the US to Norway in 2007, the car appeared at numerous events before Galiègue acquired it in 2019. The original, movie-used front bumper was later discovered in a Los Angeles workshop and refitted, returning the car to its correct, on-screen configuration.
Still displaying traces of its original blue paint in the boot and engine bay, the car also retains numerous production details from 2 Fast 2 Furious, as well as "FF3" stickers that suggest it may have been earmarked to appear in Tokyo Drift.

Offered with a Norwegian title, a copy of its 2016 dyno test and other documentation, this car came to the Bonhams timed online auction with a €250,000-500,000 guiding range and no reserve. The final sale price of €291,200 (AU$515,420 approx.) made the Evo VII the top seller.

Other notable results included €190,400 (AU$337,000 approx.) for a 1970 Dodge Charger from Furious 7, €134,400 (AU$237,900 approx.) for another ’70 Charger from the same film in ‘off-road’ spec, and €112,000 (AU$198,200 approx.) for a 2001 Nissan Skyline GTT-based replica of the R34 GT-R from 2 Fast 2 Furious. These cars were also offered with no reserve.

Of the auction vehicles not connected to the Fast & Furious franchise, the top prices were €145,600 (AU$257,700 approx.) for a 1968 Dodge Charger used in the 2005 movie version of The Dukes of Hazzard, €123,200 (AU$218,000 approx.) for a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 from John Wick 2, and €106,400 (AU$188,300 approx.) for a 1989 Batman Batmobile. The Dodge and Ford were both screen used cars, while the Batmobile was a stunt replica, built in 1992 for a theme park.

Given the museum’s location, cars from the popular Taxi franchise sold well, too, with a 1999 Peugeot 406 V6 from Taxi 2 making €95,200 (AU$168,500 approx.), and a 2006 Peugeot 407 V6 from Taxi 5 selling for €53,760 (AU$95,150 approx.); both significantly above their pre-auction estimates.

Total sales from this no reserve auction reached €2.4 million (AU$4.24 million), with Bonhams revealing that some of the cars will be going to other museums in Europe. For full results, go to: cars.bonhams.com

NOTE: all prices include buyer’s premium.

Photos: Courtesy of Bonhams