5 Fastest Cars in Mad Max Furiosa are 2,274 Horsepower of Apocalyptic Muscle
Often, custom cars built for movies are all show and no go. They must have enough horsepower for the stunt team to work with, but the crew is more interested in their being reliable and cheap than making monstrous horsepower. But there’s an exception to every rule, and in this case it’s the latest Mad Max movie: Furiosa.
The Mad Max saga depicts an increasingly apocalyptic future that is V8-powered muscle car fest. In fact, the first film shows Max Rockatansky’s origins as a highway patrol officer in the world’s last police force. In later films he is a roving road warrior, but his 1973 Ford Falcon “V8 Interceptor” is a reminder of his past life.
The latest film is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. While it won’t feature Max, it is shaping up to be a two-hour and 28 minute chase across the wasteland. Director George Miller said, “It’s this odyssey on wheels…The vehicles represent the characters. They have to be very character-driven.”
Plymouth Valiant – 145 horsepower
I’ll admit, I had never seen a Mad Max film until I watched a trailer for Furiosa. I am a huge fan of Plymouth Valiants and Furiosa’s desert buggy, which is a 1962 Valiant, cut down into a “coupe utility” truck, was too cool to ignore. I decided to catch up and watched the entire series in advance of the new film.
Plymouth introduced the Valiant as a budget-friendly compact car with flashy, European styling , in 1960. Its base engine was a 170 cubic-inch “slant six” rated for just 100 horsepower. George Miller says the six cylinder in Furiosa’s Valiant is turbocharged. It makes 145 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 215 lb-ft of torque at 2,400 rpm. That’s enough power to haul around a couple motorcycles in the bed. My favorite feature is the custom exhaust bent to match its unique body lines.
The Cranky Black – 229 horsepower
This is one of the final vehicles Furiosa drives in the new film. It is a low-slung Chevrolet-based hotrod with long-travel suspension. George Miller admits it is set up more for “mountain climbing” with its rear-mounted turbocharged V8 geared low. On Motortrend, the crew claimed a humble 229 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 277 lb-ft of torque at 3,000 rpm.
The trophy-truck-look of this hotrod is something else. It may be the most “Mad Max” vehicle in the new film.
Dementus’ Chariot – 277 horsepower
Chris Hemsworth will be playing the film’s villain: Flashy-yet-brutal Dementus. The villain will be revealed aboard what is guaranteed to be one of the franchise’s most iconic vehicles, a chariot pulled by three motorcycles.
This film doesn’t do anything by halves: the central bike is an absurd custom job powered by a Rotec seven cylinder radial airplane engine. Though this engine is just 2.8 liters, its layout makes the motorcycle very tall. It makes 119 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 160 lb-ft of torque. Most of the traction power for this vehicle (which absolutely works) comes from two BMW R18s, each making 79 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 110 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm.
War Rig – 617 horsepower
Longtime Mad Max fans will remember the “War Rig” Furiosa drove in 2015’s Fury Road. It was a semi truck with multiple trailers for resupplying a desert outpost. Furiosa refers to it making “2000 horsepower” with two engines.
In this summer’s Furiosa origins story, we first see the War Rig. This film features a modified Kenworth 900 series with a tanker trailer. reskinned in stainless steel. The crew tuned the engine for 617 horsepower at 1,800 rpm and 2,050 lb-ft of torque at 1,200 rpm.
The Six Foot – 1,006 horsepower
Another eye-catching villain vehicle is Dementus’ three-axle monster truck: “The Six Foot.” I’d say this is pretty close to what you might find in the Mad Max universe. It is highly modified, and on tractor-sized tires. But at its heart, it is just a industrial-grade Chevrolet truck. It has a traditional 454 cubic-inch big-block Chevy V8 which also has been modified for 1006 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 1,000 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm.
Next, find out which Fast and Furious stunts defy physics the most–according to a physicist, or you can see The Six Foot, Dementus’ Chariot, and all the other cars of Furiosa in the video below:
