No Mopar for John Cena: Jakob Toretto Drives Two Mustangs in Fast and Furious 9
With each new film, the Fast and Furious franchise features bigger thrills. At the same time, the series remains focused on a single family of automotive enthusiasts: the Torettos. The ninth film, The Fast Saga: F9, doubles down on both aspects of the franchise. The film introduces Dom and Mia’s estranged brother, Jakob Toretto (John Cena). The movie alternates between a global crisis Jakob incited and flashbacks of the Toretto family and the LA street racing scene. Jakob Toretto distances himself from his family in several ways. In one fun twist, though his father and brother are Dodge Charger lovers, Jakob drives two different Ford Mustangs during the film.
Jakob Toretto’s 2016 Ford Mustang GT350
When Jakob catches up with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Letty Toretto (Michelle Rodriguez), he drives a modern Mustang GT350. He easily keeps up with his brother while navigating the jungles of a fictional Central American country. He has even outfitted the blue coupe with rocket boosters for added speed.
The modified Mustang began life as a 2016 Ford GT350. This legendary modern muscle car features one of the most powerful V8s Ford Motor Company has ever built. Ford designed the 5.2-liter “Voodoo” V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft to rev to extremely high RPMs. As a result, this engine makes 526 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque. Jakob’s GT 350 is the perfect car for a motorhead Mustang fan.
[Spoiler Alert] Jakob’s Mustang first appears while only his silhouette is visible, watching Dom and his crew. He uses the car to catch up with Dom and Letty and steel a mysterious weapon they recovered from a plane crash. Both Dom and Letty recognize him, and Dom tries to catch him in his Charger Hellcat. They race neck-and-neck, but Jakob pulls away. Then, the younger Toretto fires his rocket boosters and jumps off a cliff where his crew is waiting with a jet plane. It is one of those physics-defying Fast and Furious stunts.
Jakob Toretto’s 1993 Ford Mustang LX “Fox Body”
Dom and Jakob’s race through the jungles of South America mirrors a drag race they ran years earlier. In the early 1990s, Jakob Toretto was a rising star in the LA street racing scene. His car of choice was a blue 1993 Ford Mustang from the coupe’s “Fox Body” generation. Jakob even outfitted the car with a NOS system.
[Spoiler Alert] Dom blames Jakob for their father’s death. When he encounters Jakob at a street race, he challenges his brother to a 1/4-mile race. He says that if he wins, Jakob needs to leave LA and never return.
Dom is running a Dodge Charger. Not his father’s 1970 Charger R/T, which he will first drive in 2001, during The Fast and The Furious. Instead, Dom races a friend’s 1966 first-generation Dodge Charger.
In a plot twist familiar to Fast and Furious fans, Dom begins to pull ahead, and Jakob hits his NOS too early. He gains ground briefly, but Dom hits his own NOS nearer the finish and wins. A distraught Jakob drives past the finish line and keeps driving.
In another nod to 2001’s The Fast and The Furious, the brothers reconcile, and Dom helps Jakob escape by offering him his car. Dom gives Jakob a highly modified mid-engine 1968 Dodge Charger 500.
F9 makes it clear that Jakob Toretto always had his own style. Even when he and his brother were on good terms, he preferred Ford muscle cars over his brother’s Chargers. If John Cena chooses to return for more Fast and Furious films, we hope he keeps driving classic Mustangs.
Jakob Toretto’s Mustang reappears in Fast X
John Cena returned to the Fast and Furious franchise for the tenth film: Fast X. Now an ally of Dominic Toretto, Jakob spends much of the film protecting his nephew Brian “Little B” Toretto from would-be kidnappers. Jakob and Little B’s banter during their road trip across California is one of the film’s highlights.
[Spoiler Alert] When Jakob first picks up his nephew, Little B assumes his cool uncle is driving a Ram 1500 TRX that is parked on the street. Then Jakob reveals–to many fans’ delight–that he has revived his 1993 Mustang LX from the previous film’s flashbacks. The Radwood-era classic is beat up, and even sports its original casette player. Little B seems confused until Jakob gets teary-eyed and says, “You can’t help what you love.” Truer car-enthusiast words have never been spoken.
