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Demon 340 · 09-10-2008, 08:03 PM

In 1975, Death Race 2000 debuted with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone racing cross-country, mindlessly running over pedestrians to earn points along the way. The movie was full of VWs re-bodied to look like various vehicles (such as the somewhat familiar green Corvette), and the movie was considered by many to be cheesy and gratuitous. This is an opinion that Director Paul W.S Anderson plans to avoid with the 2008 release of his new Death Race. Loosely based on the theme of the original, the modern version will have the same lawlessness and brutal violence from the original, but with a much darker feel to the movie as a whole.

The new Death Race takes place in the future, within a corrupt prison system that forces their inmates to complete in a bloody, murderous race within the prison complex, televised for the world to see. While there is more plot to this new Death Race, the focus of the movie, and of the director, was the vehicles used for the movie with a year of planning going into the vehicle design alone. 10 vehicles were heavily modified and equipped with an arsenal of weapons for the intense race to the death.

The lead vehicle for Death Race is a Mustang GT (driven by the lead character Frankenstein) equipped with heavy body armor, which happens to make it look a great deal like a new GT500, especially since it wears GT500 factory wheels. Louvered windows all around and a pair of Gatling gun mounted on the passenger side of the hood. Per a request from Ford Motor Company, the black and red Mustang is sporting the FR500X logo along the sides of the car.

The second vehicle, driven by another lead character, Machine Gun Joe, was a 2005 Dodge Ram. The front end of this truck received an armored setup that resembles the front of a freight train, topped by a pair of machine guns.

The other 7 race vehicles were covered with thick armor and packed with heavy machine guns, and all of them are predominantly painted black, with the exceptions of some green doors or stripes here or there. Those other vehicles consisted of a Chrysler 300C, a Porsche 911, a BMW 7 Series, a 1966 Buick Riviera, a 1971 “boat tail” Buick Riviera, a Jaguar XJ-S based on vintage 1970s Group 44 racers, and a 1976 Pontiac Firebird. During filming, the technical crew was plagued with issues, from the older cars overheating and the need to install crate motors to keep them running. Also, every vehicle had to be reinforced for safety and to carry the 1200 pounds of equipment added to each vehicle.

The last of the ten movie vehicles is the mighty Dreadnaught. This vehicle which is like a combination of a Sherman tank and a semi, is employed by the prison authorities to put an end to any ambitious racers. Packed with heavy artillery, machine guns, flame throwers, and other assorted weapons, the Dreadnaught makes for a great looming villain.

This new Death Race is set to premier in August of 2008, and with very positive early screenings, this new version of the cult classic could give us one great car movie and action movie in one.

09-10-2008, 08:03 PM	#2
Demon 340 Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Vehicle: 1972 Dodge Demon 340 Location: yep Posts: 15,380	The Death Race Movie Cars In 1975, Death Race 2000 debuted with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone racing cross-country, mindlessly running over pedestrians to earn points along the way. The movie was full of VWs re-bodied to look like various vehicles (such as the somewhat familiar green Corvette), and the movie was considered by many to be cheesy and gratuitous. This is an opinion that Director Paul W.S Anderson plans to avoid with the 2008 release of his new Death Race. Loosely based on the theme of the original, the modern version will have the same lawlessness and brutal violence from the original, but with a much darker feel to the movie as a whole. The new Death Race takes place in the future, within a corrupt prison system that forces their inmates to complete in a bloody, murderous race within the prison complex, televised for the world to see. While there is more plot to this new Death Race, the focus of the movie, and of the director, was the vehicles used for the movie with a year of planning going into the vehicle design alone. 10 vehicles were heavily modified and equipped with an arsenal of weapons for the intense race to the death. The lead vehicle for Death Race is a Mustang GT (driven by the lead character Frankenstein) equipped with heavy body armor, which happens to make it look a great deal like a new GT500, especially since it wears GT500 factory wheels. Louvered windows all around and a pair of Gatling gun mounted on the passenger side of the hood. Per a request from Ford Motor Company, the black and red Mustang is sporting the FR500X logo along the sides of the car. The second vehicle, driven by another lead character, Machine Gun Joe, was a 2005 Dodge Ram. The front end of this truck received an armored setup that resembles the front of a freight train, topped by a pair of machine guns. The other 7 race vehicles were covered with thick armor and packed with heavy machine guns, and all of them are predominantly painted black, with the exceptions of some green doors or stripes here or there. Those other vehicles consisted of a Chrysler 300C, a Porsche 911, a BMW 7 Series, a 1966 Buick Riviera, a 1971 “boat tail” Buick Riviera, a Jaguar XJ-S based on vintage 1970s Group 44 racers, and a 1976 Pontiac Firebird. During filming, the technical crew was plagued with issues, from the older cars overheating and the need to install crate motors to keep them running. Also, every vehicle had to be reinforced for safety and to carry the 1200 pounds of equipment added to each vehicle. The last of the ten movie vehicles is the mighty Dreadnaught. This vehicle which is like a combination of a Sherman tank and a semi, is employed by the prison authorities to put an end to any ambitious racers. Packed with heavy artillery, machine guns, flame throwers, and other assorted weapons, the Dreadnaught makes for a great looming villain. This new Death Race is set to premier in August of 2008, and with very positive early screenings, this new version of the cult classic could give us one great car movie and action movie in one. __________________ The New Detroit Autos Examiner!!