Although the Mach 5 is much larger than an Elise (overall length is 200.0 in.), you still feel that you're wearing the car. The cockpit was simple and straightforward, somewhat reminiscent of the Lotus Elise's. It sounded like a NASCAR engine, only louder because we were indoors. I turned the ignition key, and the V-12 came to life with a thunderous growl. This is the next big thing in tires, he insisted. And with the company's special ground-grabbing "tire crampons" actuated, there is no tire slippage whatsoever. Okay, how about grip? How do you effectively send this much power to the Mach 5's modest 245/40ZR-18 rear tires? A fellow named Mark wearing a black Yokohama jacket explained that a revolutionary synthetic material gives them the incredible grip of a warm Formula 1 race tire. One was aerodynamics: Would the Mach 5 stay on the ground when it reached triple digits? A small spectacled man named Taku reassured me that the car had gone through intense wind-tunnel testing, and it generated more than enough downforce to keep it planted even at 300 mph. With the Mach 5 tipping the scales at a lean 2455 lb., I addressed a few concerns before firing up the engine. And this is what's required to get it there," he said bluntly. "The car is supposed to be able to go 300 mph. A little overkill? Not according to Hobart. Residing just aft of the front axle was an 8.0-liter quad sequential turbocharged V-12 that pumps out 1700 bhp at 8000 rpm and 1400 lb.-ft. Now, as I strapped on my helmet, pretending-time was seemingly over.īefore jumping into the driver's seat, I took a look at the car's mechanicals. Like millions of kids around the world, I often pretended driving the car. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. I looked around, half expecting to find Pops, Spritle, Chim Chim and Trixie.Īnd there it was, the Mach 5. The Japanese tiremaker built a special prototype tire for the Mach 5, one that possessed revolutionary technology and could handle the high top speed of the car. Representatives from Yokohama Tire were also present. Once inside, Hobart introduced himself and several engine and chassis engineers, all of whom said they had race-car-building backgrounds. From the airport, I was driven to a giant state-of-the-art indoor testing facility, complete with a 1-mile drag strip and an oval identical to the Daytona International Speedway's. Hobart instructed me to fly to a remote location in Mexico. We haven't tested it yet, but if you're game, I can arrange a drive," he said. It could do most of the things the Mach 5 was capable of in the cartoon. We spent a good portion of the film budget to build a genuine running model. I got straight to the point: "How real is the Mach 5?" His name was Hobart no last name was given. Typical of Hollywood, it took several calls to get to the man in charge of the car. Surely, they couldn't have built a real Mach 5. But what really piqued my interest was how the Wachow-skis handled the Mach 5, Speed's trusty race car that could do just about anything, including jumping over high obstacles using jacks that shot out from under the car and cutting down trees with saw blades that slid out from beneath the Mach 5's pointed nose. The movie, also called Speed Racer, was written and directed by the same guys who created The Matrix trilogy, Larry and Andy Wachowski therefore, it's safe to say that there'll be plenty of special effects. Studios will release a live-action film based on the animated series. You might say it kick-started my passion for automobiles. Broadcast on a UHF station in my hometown, Speed Racer was my favorite program in the early 1970s. The animated series, titled Speed Racer (called Mach GoGoGo in Japan) is the brainchild of animation legend Tatsuo Yoshida, and it eventually developed a loyal following among American preteen viewers. The mere sight of this white, curvaceous race car will transport most thirty- and forty-something car enthusiasts back in time, to when they sat in front of their television sets as children watching their hero Speed Racer go wheel to wheel with a gang of racing villains whose on-track exploits make Tony Stewart look like Tinkerbell.
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