Following the surprise success of "The Fast and the Furious" at the box office, Universal was prepared to make a sequel. This time, the cars, stunts, and everything needed to be bigger and better.
Craig Lieberman, technical director for the first three films in the franchise, is back to spill some knowledge on one of biggest stunts from "2 Fast 2 Furious." That is the bridge jump involving Suki's Honda S2000. First, since Lieberman is literally a human Wikipedia page and fun fact machine for the films, he spills details on the S2000 itself.
The car was on loan from an owner while a few other lookalike cars were created for stunt purposes. No, the hero car was not actually used in the jump scene. More on that in a moment. The car featured a supercharged inline-4 and cold-air intake, but for the film, the producers really wanted to dial up the tuner looks. Thus, the car was painted pink to match the character's personality and fitted with underbody neon lights and a flashy interior. All of it was peak early-2000s tuner culture. Fun fact: the pink fuzzy seats were actually made from bathroom floor mat material.
Honda S2000 from '2 Fast 2 Furious'
To get the crazy colored flames spewing from the exhaust during the race scene, propane tank systems were set up in the trunks of each car.
Back to the jump. The stunt team didn't want to send a human driver out to make the jump so the team created an insane remote control system. The system operated the steering wheel, accelerator, brake, and even the clutch. The only catch was the car had to start and remain in second gear.
From a chase vehicle, the stunt man drove the car via a steering wheel and pedal setup similar to a video game rig and a camera feed provided him the view out of the S2000. With a custom-made ramp, the stunt driver executed the stunt and the car survived. The actual hero car now lives at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Honda S2000 from '2 Fast 2 Furious'
The same can't be said about the chase car. The big Dodge Durango couldn't stop in time and actually tipped over on the ramp. The team inside suffered minor injuries, but no one was seriously hurt.
As always, Lieberman's videos are a real treat with the first-hand video he's possessed for years only now making it to the public. Watch it above.