Although the 2006 film “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” (“Furious Speed – Tokyo Connection” in Portugal) focused on JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) culture, the protagonist of this article is a very American Chevrolet Monte 1971 Carlos.
The first race we see is far from the Japanese reality where most of the film takes place, with the contest being between two… pure American “muscles” — the then still recent 2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10 and a classic Chevrolet Monte Carlo 1971.
Although it never has a discreet passage through the film, the “Chevy” Monte Carlo hides a big secret under its big hood, in the form of a V8 with a giant 9.4 liter capacity, a secret that has now been revealed by Craig Lieberman , technical consultant for the first three films in the Furious Speed saga.
But, before we go on to the concrete numbers of this engine that comfortably exceeds 9,000 cubic centimeters, let us explain why they chose this apparently modest Monte Carlo instead of a more valued and “polished” Camaro or Dodge Challenger.
It has everything to do with the protagonist, Sean Boswell, played by actor Lucas Black, the owner of the car in the film.
A teenager without many means, but able to build and modify his own car and Monte Carlo, more accessible than other big names in the world of “muscle car”, turns out to be a more credible choice, as Craig Lieberman clarifies in the video.
(Almost) A truck engine in a “small” car
But despite the worn and seemingly unfinished look, Monte Carlo was a real monster, being equipped with one of GM's “big block”.
In the film you can see the numbers “632” on top of one of the cylinder benches, a reference to its capacity in cubic inches (ci). Converting this value to cubic centimeters, we get 10 356 cm3.
According to Lieberman, however, the actual capacity of this V8 was 572 ci, the equivalent of a more “modest” 9373 cm3, which, rounded up, gives 9.4 l of capacity. Out of curiosity, the best known “small block” that equips, for example, the Chevrolet Corvette, despite its name, has 6.2 l of capacity.
That is, even knowing that the Dodge Viper of the protagonist's “buck” rival comes with a giant V10 with 8.3 l of original capacity, the Monte Carlo surpasses it by more than 1000 cm3, which, at least, in “firepower” makes him a credible rival to the very latest Viper.
Lieberman also says that with regular gasoline, this 1971 Monte Carlo was capable of producing a very healthy 790 hp, and with racing gasoline, the power went up to 811 hp — by comparison, the Viper was just over 500 hp.
Since “big block” V8 engines like this one are purposely bought (“crate engine”) for use in converted cars, one would expect that the huge V8 wasn't entirely original either. For example, the carb — yes, it's still the carb — it's a Holley 1050 and the exhaust system is also Hooker specific,
Initially there were 11
As usual in these films, several Chevrolet Monte Carlo units were built. The former technical consultant reveals that, for the recording of this scene, 11 cars were used - most without the 9.4 V8, with some of them being used only for some specific "stunts" - having "survived", apparently, five models.
One of the "hero-cars", with the "big-block", is in the possession of Universal Studios, with the other Monte Carlo used in acrobatics being scattered around the world, in the hands of collectors and fans of the "Speed saga" Angry".