Han's Modified Mazda RX-7 Just Sold for $1.2 Million at Auction

Car and Driver

6 days ago

The heavily modified 1992 RX-7 from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift just set a record for Mazda road cars at auction.
The hammer fell on a winning bid of more than $1.2 million at this year's Bonhams' Goodwood auction.
This is twice the amount paid for the previous record-setter from the Fast and Furious movies—a 1994 Toyota Supra that sold for $550,000.
In the pantheon of the Fast and Furious films, Tokyo Drift is a bit of a dark horse pick as the best of them. It barely features either of the original two leads, has plenty of corny dialogue, and the plot is a little thin. On the other hand, the behind-the-scenes stuntwork is great, Han Lue (portrayed by Sung Kang) is such a charismatic character that he'll overcome his on-screen death, and the cars are as cool as they come. At this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, one deep-pocketed fan voted for the third Fast and Furious movie with their wallet.
Bonhams
Hitting a staggering $1.2 million at the Bonhams auction, a 1992 Mazda RX-7 with bodywork by Veilside just became one of the most expensive Mazdas ever sold. Even a casual fan would recognize its black-and-orange paint as the hero car driven by Han in Tokyo Drift, and as one of only two said to have survived filming, it crossed the finish line just past the seven-figure mark.
Veilside is a Japanese tuner notable for its aerodynamic kits, and it's something of a staple of the Fast and Furious movies. This RX-7 wears the company's Fortune widebody body kit, which added just shy of seven inches of extra width, along with a huge rear spoiler and massive side vents. It's almost unrecognizable as a third-generation RX-7 apart from the roofline.
Bonhams
Given that the third-gen RX-7, or FD, is arguably the prettiest sports car from the golden age of Japanese performance, this probably isn't one for the purists. But given the provenance as a hero car seen on screens all over the world, it's little surprise this example of unbridled mid-2000s tuning culture cracked the million-dollar mark.
Purchased by the current seller and shipped to the U.K. in 2008, just two years after Tokyo Drift's release, it's said to have been carefully stored, driven sparingly, and checked over by a local rotary specialist before the sale. The record amount nearly doubles the price paid for a Fast and Furious movie car—a 1994 Toyota Supra from the first two films that hit $550,000 four years ago.
Bonhams
With a new Fast and Furious film on the way, as well as a live-action drifting movie from Sung Kang in the works, this tuned RX-7 might prove to be a new generation's Bullitt Mustang. Hopefully, the new owner shows it off a little more this time around. Han would approve.
Brendan McAleer
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio