The Cars In The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Whether you love or hate it, Tokyo Drift quite possibly played THE most significant role in bringing drifting to the public eye. We’re taking a look back at the movie’s most memorable cars.

Introduction

During its launch in 2001, The Fast and the Furious caused quite a stir in Hollywood. With a budget of just $38 million, it would become the 386th highest-grossing movie of all time in the US and Canada, scooping $206 million in Worldwide box office earnings.

The series gave the general public a greater understanding of the car tuning scene, potentially even accepting what we know and love a little more.

It undoubtedly also converted some of your “average Joe” movie watchers into lifelong car enthusiasts.

Before the movies, tuners were often seen as annoying kids with stupid cars and loud exhausts that posed a constant danger to the general public. Mustang drivers – we’re looking at you! (Sorry, not sorry!)

As far-fetched and off-topic as the storylines sometimes became, it helped bridge a gap between petrolheads and the general public in some strange “accepting it because it’s Hollywood-esque” way.

When ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ joined the line-up in 2003, they proved that there was a substantial amount of interest in the series, but up until then, the movies hadn’t been overly focused on the drifting aspect.

That all changed for the third movie in 2006. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was born, and drifting was finally at the forefront.

With drifting already having a massive following in the United States, there’s no doubt that the popularity of Formula Drift would’ve played a prominent role.

Still, the popularity of drifting in Japan, popular games like Drift Hunters and Madalin Stunt Cars 3, and the JDM tuning scene would’ve contributed.

Tokyo Drift was also screenwriter Chris Morgan’s attempt to revive the series primarily for petrolhead enthusiasts. It would be the first film in the series to start its tradition of shooting in exotic locations – and where better than Tokyo?

Undoubtedly the birthplace of drifting, and arguably, still the home of the most impressive drifters and cars on the planet.

Adding some of the biggest names in drifting on board, such as the Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya, they created a drift-orientated Hollywood blockbuster for the first time.

Not only would Tsuchiya offer his expertise, but Tokyo Drift also included stunt driver appearances and technical input from U.S. drifting legends such as Rhys Millen, Samuel Hubinette, Tanner Foust, Rich Rutherford, Calvin Wan, and Alex Pfeiffer.

After the movie’s release, some enthusiasts would argue that Tokyo Drift didn’t capture the essence of the spirit drifting. However – let’s be honest – there’s no shortage of facepalm moments throughout the entire Fast and Furious series…

It’s not perfect, but we still love it, and it always keeps us returning for more!

The Fast and the Furious series series has become Universal’s biggest franchise of all time, and the eighth-highest grossing film series ever.

Enthusiasts aren’t the only people enjoying what it offers, either. The Fast and the Furious series became Universal’s biggest franchise of all time and the eighth-highest-grossing film series ever.

As of 2025, the Fast and Furious franchise has generated approximately $7.32 billion worldwide box office revenue across the 12 films.

It doesn’t stop there, either. The series continues with another new movie in 2026, the launch of Fast XI, despite the devastating loss of the main character, Paul Walker.

Given the popularity of the series, it was later turned into a Live show, where fans could witness the action first-hand. We popped along for the ride in our Fast & Furious Live review.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift featured many cars, from JDM legends to muscle car classics. Over 200 vehicles were used for the Tokyo Drift movie alone and later shipped worldwide.

If you’re wondering why they required that many cars, there were eleven Nissan 350zs shipped in directly from Japan because they required right-hand drive cars, given that it was based in Tokyo.

Three would later be sacrificed for the greater good, written off in crash scenes.

On top of that, they also purchased ten Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX cars, most of which were converted to rear-wheel drive for their participation in the drifting scenes.

Almost all the cars had to be purchased second-hand since they were out of production by then. This included Nissan Silvias, Mazda RX7s, and even Toyota Chasers.

Despite the Hollywood budget, they had no choice but to purchase most of the cars second-hand, and they still spent over $7 million on them!

As you can imagine, a vast amount of that budget would’ve been used to modify each car to ensure that it was ideal for its role in the movie, sometimes even using an entirely different chassis. We discussed this aspect in detail in our Paul Walker Skyline article.

We’re sure you’re here to take a look back at some of the crazy cars made for the Tokyo Drift movie and learn a little more about them. You’ve visited the perfect place.

Let’s take an in-depth look at our favorite cars from Tokyo Drift!

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2001 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-S – “Mona Lisa”

We’ll start the list with one of the most familiar cars in the Fast & Furious franchise – the Mona Lisa. Despite not getting much screen time, the car earned a colossal following from the movie.

Interesting fact – two of the staff members here at Drifted own S15’s, so it’s only right that an S15 topped our list!

Despite the C-West styling and somewhat ‘unique’ color scheme not quite being to our tastes, it’s no doubt an iconic car of the series, and it certainly gave S15s a significant worldwide following.

Han mentioned that Mona Lisa was his favorite car before handing over the keys to his associate Sean Boswell. Sean then went head-to-head against D.K. in a car park race, where he crashed the S15 into the pillars of the underground parking lot despite having a lesson in drifting before the race began.

Following the unfortunate incident, Han made Sean his “personal errand boy” due to the car debt. However, he also offered to teach Sean how to drift properly, which was hugely valuable.

Following Han’s passing in the movie, Reiko later re-discovers the damaged Mona Lisa when Han’s team is looking for spares to fix up Sean’s father’s 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback in his race against Takashi.

Modifications

The original car used for the movie was a Spec-S S15, which meant it would’ve initially had the naturally aspirated SR20DE engine under the hood.

Since the turbocharged SR20DET-powered S15 Spec-R is much more expensive, the non-turbo Spec-S model is often the much more affordable candidate for an engine swap.

That was also the case with the Spec-S in the movie, which featured a straight-six RB26 Skyline GT-R engine.

The car’s exterior featured notable styling modifications, including the C-West DRFT kit, the C-West GT (BGW) rear wing, and popular Ganador wing mirrors.

We caught glimpses of Recaro seats with Takata harnesses for the interior, which would be a common choice in Japan.

Additional modifications included a Sparco steering wheel alongside Auto Meter gauges, an aluminum instrument cluster, a custom roll cage, and the signature NOS bottle.

They didn’t hold back with the wheels, opting for genuine Volk Racing grey GT-7 rims, 19 x 8.5″ on the front and 19 x 9.5″ on the rear. These were wrapped in Toyo Proxes T1R, 235/35/ZR19 fronts, and 255/30/ZR19 rears.

If you’re keen to get behind the wheel and try the Mona Lisa S15, you can enjoy it in many of your favorite VR racing games.

Check out this video of well-known YouTuber Goosiest shredding tires in the parking lot in CarX Drift Racing – Tokyo Drift style!

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2003 Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) – D.K.

Takashi, also known as Drift King (or D.K.), shows off his Nissan Fairlady Z, the Japanese model of the Nissan 350z, for the first time in the race against Mona Lisa, where Mona Lisa gets destroyed, and DK takes the win.

The next time the car is seen is when DK confronts Sean, warning him to stay away from Neela. Takashi, who has Yakuza ties in the movie, later chases Han for money issues and Sean for stealing Neela.

Eventually, the Fairlady Z’s fate is decided in the movie when DK races Sean down Suicide Mountain to determine who stays in Tokyo. In a typically suspenseful F&F race, DK is in the lead before he takes the Z33 over a cliff edge, landing on its roof.

It’s easy to see how they got through eleven of them throughout the filming!

Modifications

In our minds, this is undoubtedly one of the best-looking F&F cars.

VeilSide body kits are generally known for being somewhat excessive, but the Ver. 3 widebody aero suits the Z33 well and is surprisingly subtle, especially with the chosen color scheme. They’ve also fitted a VeilSide carbon fiber hood and Ganador wing mirrors.

They opted to keep the original VQ35DE engine, but it’s paired with a twin-turbocharger kit from Australian tuners APS, with Magnaflow providing the twin-exhaust setup. This was rumored to deliver around 460 horsepower at the wheels.

RS*R lowering springs improved the stance, removing the gap between the car and the VeilSide Andrew Evolution Vs wheels. These were 19 x 9 fronts and dishy 19 x 11 rears with Toyo Proxes TR1R 245/35ZR19 and 285/30ZR19 tires.

For the interior, they opted for Sparco seats, harnesses, and steering wheel alongside a custom cage. Again, this surprisingly subtle setup kept the car simple and realistic.

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1997 Mazda RX-7

Han certainly wasn’t short of money, and his selection of cars proved it. One of them was this incredible VeilSide Fortune-kitted RX-7 – another stunner.

After Sean Boswell totals Han’s favorite car, Mona Lisa, he opts to get behind the wheel of the RX-7 instead.

When DK confronts Han, he flees in the RX-7 before a street race through downtown Tokyo and the Shibuya District breaks out.

DK ends up (somewhat ridiculously) driving backward in front of Han, firing into the windshield of the RX-7. Han then bumps him out of the way and drives away when Deckard Shaw T-bones him.

Following this, the car lands on its roof and explodes into a massive ball of flames, writing off the RX-7 and killing Han.

Modifications

This RX-7 was built specifically by VeilSide for the 2005 Tokyo Auto Salon. Universal then purchased it and changed the original red/burgundy color scheme for the movie.

The VeilSide Fortune kit is scarce and one of the most sought-after body kits. It completely transforms the RX-7’s looks and lines yet still manages to look surprisingly original.

Besides the front glass, the Fortune kit changes every panel on the car, including the roof!

This is an insanely wide kit – almost a foot wider than the original car – with 5-6″ added on each side.

VeilSide opted for their Andrews EVO-V wheels, but these aren’t your typical sizes due to the insane width of this thing. Despite 9″ wheels fitting up front, they needed a whopping 12″ to fill out the rear fenders.

Behind the wheels are the huge Rotora brakes and four-piston calipers. A’PEXi N1 coilovers were installed to eliminate the arch gap.

Despite completely revamping the car, VeilSide didn’t stop there with the modifications. Under the hood is the original Rotary engine, but with an upgraded HKS T04Z turbocharger strapped to it.

An HKS intercooler cools the turbocharger, and the gases are fired out of a VeilSide titanium exhaust – a perfect combination!

The interior also had many changes, including a high-spec Alpine audio setup and VeilSide D1 race seats. It’s also got an 8-inch dash screen in case you want to watch the car in the movies while sitting in the car… I guess?

Although the car was totaled in the movie, this appears to have been CGI, as we’ve been told that the original is still doing the rounds these days and looking as impressive as ever.

If you could only dream of owning a Veilside RX-7, but you still want to brap the rotary limiter, pick one of our awesome free drift games and take your own FD3S out for a spin!

We recommend Drift Hunters MAX, where you can build this identical replica of the real thing and shred it on the streets or the track! The latest game in the series, Drift Hunters 2025, is also a perfect alternative for lower-spec devices.

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1967 Ford Mustang Fastback

This is the first non-JDM car on our list, but fear not – if you’re not already aware, it has a pleasant surprise under the hood!

In Tokyo Drift, the Mustang Fastback was owned by Major Boswell (Sean’s father), who initially found it on an army base.

Sean awoke one day to find his Dad working on the car, which was in serious disrepair.

When Sean challenges DK to a race, he and his friends finish restoring the car, eventually taking the RB26 from Han’s totaled S15.

After completing the restorations, Sean uses the car to race DK down the mountain, where he’s never been beaten.

After several near-death moments, DK sends his Nissan 350Z over the cliff edge before crashing the car onto its roof in front of Sean at the bottom of the mountain.

Modifications

There was certainly no shortage of RB26s in these movies, and the Mustang would be no exception!

It took two months to install the Nissan GT-R RB26 engine with a 5-speed manual transmission into the Mustang bay, rumored to be around 500 hp and a 0-60 time of 6.7 seconds.

The engine choice certainly triggered the Mustang AND JDM purists. (Sorry to chime in on a controversial subject, but I love it!)

For the transmission, a 5-speed 1998 Skyline GT-S gearbox was used and bolted to a Currie Enterprises 9-inch Ford rear end, keeping the required rear-wheel drive drifting layout.

Global West provided control arms and springs, with KYB providing shocks.

They opted for JDM styling with the wheels (uh-oh, I can already hear triggered purists again!), fitting a set of 19-inch Volk GT-7s, which are 9″ fronts and 10″ rears and wrapped In 245/35ZR19 and 275/35ZR19 Toyo Proxes T1R’s.

Behind the wheels lies an impressive 4-piston Wilwood brake kit, which provides more than enough braking force.

The interior offers little to write home about; there are some subtle styling changes, but it’s mostly kept basic and stock.

Two duplicate Mustangs were built for the movie. They avoided being destroyed and were later sold at auction.

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2004 Mazda RX-8

Neela’s RX-8 didn’t make many appearances in the movie, but one of the main scenes it was involved in was something of a die-hard tuner’s dream.

As the stunning Neela confidently and calmly drifts her way up the touge, expressing her love for drifting while, in perfect tandem with her street crew, she explains her history with the mountain to Sean.

This car is also seen near the movie’s end, where Dominic Toretto and Sean Boswell go head-to-head.

Modifications

It’s a surprise to see a ‘chick car’ in a franchise like this not being too ridiculous. Despite the Veilside D1-GT body kit being a little over-the-top, it’s not too bad.

It even features a Team Burst-style fade, but in blue-to-black – it’s just missing the stickers. (Okay, and maybe a little style!)

Other VeilSide goodies are included, such as a painted carbon fiber hood and a GT wing.

Under the hood, the bonkers 1.3-liter 13B Rotary engine gets a GReddy turbo kit, an aftermarket engine management system, and is paired with a Tanabe exhaust.

Suspension mods included Tein coil springs, a Cusco rear sway bar, and a Cusco LSD for even rear-wheel power distribution.

Volk Racing GT-AV 19″ rims were wrapped in 245/35/ZR19 and 255/30/ZR19 Toyo Proxes.

Inside, the popular JDM modifications include Takata harnesses and a Nardi steering wheel.

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2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX

Further proof that Han wasn’t short of money was when he handed Sean Boswell a brand-new Evo IX after he wrote off Mona Lisa during a race against DK.

Sean used the RWD Evo IX to hone his drifting skills, which he soon picked up and mastered (partly thanks to DK’s teaching.) He won every race he competed in and even beat Morimoto, a DK business partner.

After attempting to escape DK through the streets of Tokyo, the Evo was the next car to be crashed by Sean Boswell. Shortly after, Han is T-boned in the RX-7.

Modifications

Rhys Millen’s team got to work on this Tokyo Drift Evo, converting it to RWD specifically to make it drift in a typical way for the movie. This is surprisingly simple in an Evo and requires disconnecting the front differential.

RMR (Rhys Millen Racing) made subtle changes to the 2-liter turbocharged 4G63 engine, such as an RMR air intake and downpipe, but nothing drastic.

It features an APR body kit, rear wing, and side mirrors for added style. For the wheels, RAYS once again delivered with 8.5″ wide, 19″ G-Games 99B’s, once again wrapped in Toyo Proxes T1Rs.

The stock Recaro seats are kept alongside the JDM Takata harnesses and a Sparco quick-release steering wheel.

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2002 Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33) – Morimoto

DK’s sidekick, Morimoto’s Nissan 350Z, is seen for the first time as he goes up against Sean in his brand-new Evo IX in the parking garage and subsequently loses the race.

The car reappears when DK and Morimoto chase Han, Neela, and Sean. Morimoto hits Sean’s Evo on the driver’s side before Sean pushes him into the oncoming traffic, where he fails to avoid a head-on crash and becomes the latest victim of the F&F death toll on the streets of Shibuya.

Modifications

This was reported to be completely stock mechanically, and the upgrades were purely cosmetic changes to make it look more impressive.

These included a Top Secret G-Force widebody kit, which makes it 2″ wider on each side.

A Top Secret FRP hood and a carbon fiber rear wing are alongside that.

Volk GT-Cs are the rim of choice, with 18 x 9″ fronts and 18 x 10″ rears. Once again, they’re wrapped in Toyo T1Rs (you’re probably getting the hang of that bit by now!)

This car has a rather nice interior with stylish Recaro fixed-back bucket seats.

There’s also a NOS bottle, but it appears it’s purely there for show. After all, which F&F car would be complete without a big blue NOS bottle?!

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1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

This 1971 Monte Carlo was once again owned by Sean Boswell (he sure does get to drive a wide variety of cars!)

After insulting douchebag Clay’s knowledge of his Dodge Viper SRT-10, Sean receives a baseball bat through the rear window of his Monte Carlo. They go head-to-head, which isn’t a huge surprise, but this time, they’re racing to win Clay’s girlfriend, Cindy.

Sean keeps up with Clay’s Viper after navigating through a construction site. He’s forced to drive through a partially built house (as you do) before catching up with Clay. Sean then takes the lead, and Clay decides to ram his shiny Dodge Viper into Sean repeatedly after being wound up by Cindy, eventually forcing both cars off the road.

Clay then gets into a nasty crash with a concrete cylinder as he and Cindy meet their demise, and Sean wins the race. When crossing the finish line, he loses control of the Monte Carlo before flipping several times, and that too joins the list of destroyed cars.

Sean is then arrested and informed that the Monte Carlo has been crushed.

The production team built 11 copies of Sean’s 1971 Monte Carlo, as they needed multiple cars to perform specific stunts and withstand the carnage in the opening scene.

Modifications

Despite not being a drift-specific car, the Monte Carlo had a pretty extensive list of modifications!

According to the crew responsible for the cars, two out of eleven Monte Carlos had a 560 hp 509 engine block.

It was even more impressive for the leading cars. While the Monte Carlo may have looked ready for the scrap heap, don’t let the appearance fool you; these were built for drag racing and featured crazy engines under the Fiberglass Trends hoods.

The Bill Mitchell-built 572 and 632 cubic inch blocks provided a ridiculous 9.4 or 10.3 liters of displacement, utilizing eight cylinders to fire 780-800 horsepower.

With fancy carburetors, fuel cells, NOS, and a colossal spec list of supporting mods, this is the true definition of a sleeper.

A Richmond T-10 4-speed transmission shifts through the gears. The KYB shocks and Global West control arms, springs, and weight jacks plates help in the twisties, while Goodyear Eagle slicks (I know, different tires, right?!) keep it firmly gripped to the ground.

The remaining cars either featured small-block V8s or had no engine at all.

It might not be a drift car, but it’s something different, and we love the sleeper vibes!

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1996 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R

The R33 Skyline GT-R made a brief but memorable cameo in Tokyo Drift.

After Sean asks Han why he drifts, Han perfectly executes a 360-degree donut around the silver and metallic purple R33, showing Sean how to pick up a girl’s number in style!

This scene has become legendary among fans. Han circles the stopped Skyline at the lights as the two women in the car look on admiringly, impressed by his tire-shredding skills.

After glancing at each other for a few moments and smiling, the girl’s friend writes her phone number on a piece of paper before handing it over to Han in a slick exchange.

He then drives off into the night, having showcased to Sean the ultimate way to pick up a hot petrolhead!

If you intend to try doing this in the real world (which we don’t recommend – at all), you might want to refine your drifting skills, as dealing with an insurance mess won’t be such a good pulling tactic!

Modifications

This Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R began life as an unmodified low-mileage example before being customized specifically for Tokyo Drift in California.

Subtle visual upgrades included a custom House of Kolor paint job with a distinctive silver base and metallic purple accents. Custom star decals on the sides added a feminine touch.

The 19-inch Volk Racing GT-C forged alloys by RAYS perfectly complemented the paint scheme. Progressive sports suspension springs gave the GT-R a slightly lowered appearance compared to the stock suspension, while the usual Toyo tires provided grip.

Performance-wise, the changes were cosmetic. The R33 kept its stock turbocharged RB26DETT engine with the standard ECU, running at 0.84 Bar boost. It also came with the factory Brembo brakes.

Given that the car hardly moved in the movie (and thankfully didn’t get smashed to pieces), it’s understandable why they didn’t feel the need to do any crazy upgrades.

Two identical cars were prepped for filming – one for the main exterior feature seen in the film and another modified for interior and rear-angle perspectives.

Newera Imports (in the UK) later sold one of the two R33 GT-Rs used for filming. At the time, it was rocking RAYS Volk Racing CE28N wheels and the star decals were removed, but it otherwise looked identical. The odometer had just 75,824 km when it was sold.

Shockingly, the listing price is just £12,650 ($19,600), including UK registration, or £11,300 ($17,500) without.

Given today’s collector market for screen-used movie cars (and Skylines in general,) someone undoubtedly scored an incredible bargain. The same R33 would fetch many times that amount now!

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Conclusion

If you’re like us, you probably want to go back and watch Tokyo Drift again now!

At least you can approach the cars with more knowledge and perhaps respect, knowing that some feature impressive upgrades and modifications. It’s crazy how many cars they got through during filming.

In our Paul Walker article, which we highly recommend checking out, we reveal some somewhat awkward modifications of what can be done behind the scenes in Hollywood.

Warning – R34 or JDM purists will want to look away now!

We know that The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift might not be the perfect movie for hardcore drift fans, but we’re grateful for its appeal to your ‘average Joe’ in bringing drifting to the mainstream.

With some of the biggest names in drifting involved with the project, they certainly gave it a reasonable effort!

Are you looking to add good racing movies to your watchlist? Check out our ultimate NASCAR movie list here.

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Tokyo Drift Cars FAQs

This section covers some commonly asked car-related questions from Tokyo Drift fans.

What are the most popular Tokyo Drift cars?

Some of the most memorable cars from the Tokyo Drift movie were “Mona Lisa,” a JDM Nissan Silvia S15, the Nissan 350Z (Fairlady Z33) driven by DK, and the Veilside Mazda RX-7.

One of the few non-JDM cars was the 1967 Ford Mustang, but even that was powered by the JDM Nissan Skyline RB26 engine!

What was Han’s car in Tokyo Drift?

Han’s car was arguably one of the most memorable in the Tokyo Drift movie – a widebody VeilSide Fortune-kitted Mazda RX-7 FD with Andrews EVO-V wheels. We cover the complete list of aftermarket upgrades included on the car above.

What car does DK drive in Tokyo Drift?

In the movie, Takashi (Drift King or D.K.) was best known for his widebody Nissan 350Z (a JDM Fairlady Z33). Han’s Z looks fantastic with the Ver. 3 widebody from VeilSide and also VeilSide Andrew Evolution V Series wheels.

DK’s car undoubtedly helped the 350Z become one of the most sought-after JDM drift cars.

What is the Hulk car in Tokyo Drift?

The “Hulk car” in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is the custom, green, Incredible Hulk-themed 2005 Volkswagen Touran owned by the character “Twinkie” in the movie, which is featured as a symbol of individuality and creativity in the Japanese car culture scene.

While everyone else is rocking up in RX-7s and Silvias, Twinkie (played by Bow Wow in the movie) reveals his hilarious comic book-themed family van, which made Sean Boswell’s jaw drop when he first saw it.

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Photography credits

Drifted would like to extend thanks to the following sources for the use of their images:

• Best Movie Cars
• Auto Evolution
• Car Throttle
• StangBangers
• Keyword Basket
• PicDeer
• Digital Trends

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