What happened to Dominic Toretto’s Mazda RX-7 from Fast and Furious?

The first street race shown in the Fast and Furious franchise is also among its most unforgettable.

It is a four-car contest featuring Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel, behind the wheel of a heavily modified Mazda RX-7. Brian Connor, the saga’s other leading character, played by Paul Walker, drives an equally modified Mitsubishi Eclipse - the coupé, not the SUV, obviously.

Once the race is over and the pair are fleeing the police, Dominic Toretto leaves the RX-7 inside a building and we never “see it again”. Not in the film, nor, rather curiously, in real life afterwards.

Craig Lieberman, technical director on the franchise’s first two films, recounts the car’s full story on his YouTube channel to establish, as far as possible, what became of Dominic Toretto’s Mazda RX-7. He covers everything from the moment it “joined” the film through to when it “vanished off the map”.

The Mazda RX-7 “Hero 1”

As is common on Hollywood productions, filming did not rely on just one Mazda RX-7: there were five, each assigned a particular task, whether for “stunt” work or static shots.

The whereabouts of four of those five original RX-7s are known. The exception is the very first one, which became known as “Hero 1”. This was the car that persuaded both Vin Diesel and the production team that it was the right choice for the street-racing scene.

From Keith Imoto’s car to the film set

This particular Mazda RX-7 was not built specifically for Fast and Furious. It already existed, had already been modified and belonged to Keith Imoto.

After it was selected, it received further alterations, including a colour change - it was originally grey before being painted red - and the removal of its roll cage, making it easier for Vin Diesel to get in and out of the coupé.

Craig Lieberman explains every modification made to it, including those created purely for the “magic of cinema”, such as the NOS (nitrous) system. The producer also describes a major repair: the Wankel engine had to be rebuilt after it “died” as a result of one of the modifications.

What happened to “Hero 1”?

When production ended, Universal Studios stored all the film cars temporarily while deciding what to do with them. The Mazda RX-7 “Hero 1” was the exception, as it was returned to its rightful owner, Keith Imoto.

The film’s enormous success saw “Hero 1” featured widely in the tuning magazines of the day, but after that it “disappeared”.

Lieberman knows the RX-7 still exists, but has no idea where it is being “kept under lock and key”. He only assumes that it remains somewhere in California, USA, around Gardena or Santa Clarita.

The other Mazda RX-7s used in the first Fast and Furious eventually found owners - with some, curiously, ending up on the “old continent”. One is known to be in Germany, where it will undergo restoration, while another is in the Netherlands.