If there's one car that perhaps never quite seemed to fit the tuner culture that surrounds "The Fast and the Furious," it was probably the Nissan Maxima driven by the character Vince, Dominic Toretto's right-hand man. Like any decision involving a movie, there's an interesting story behind the car.
Craig Lieberman is back yet again with full details on the Maxima that appears in the film. Lieberman served as the chief technical director for the first three "Fast and Furious" films. So, why did the production crew decide on a Nissan Maxima? Long story short, they didn't. Instead, Lieberman showed up to a meeting in his personal Maxima that was already pretty heavily modified. It was his daily driver at the time. He also owned the Toyota Supra that was cast as Brian O'Connor's hero car.
Nissan Maxima from 'The Fast and the Furious' Photo: Craig Lieberman
The day he showed up to the meeting, the higher-ups, out of convenience, deemed Lieberman's Maxima would become Vince's car. Lieberman agreed, and suddenly both of his cars were set to star in the film.
Nissan Maxima from 'The Fast and the Furious' Photo: Craig Lieberman
The Maxima was outfitted with a supercharger kit to boost horsepower from 190 to 260 and fitted with plenty of suspension upgrades. Lieberman had already personally chosen the blue color, wheels, and decals before the car was even considered for the role. Since the car had just a few scenes, only Lieberman's personal car was used—no stunt cars. That included the burnout scene in which Vince stormed away from the barbeque and laid down a nasty burnout. Lieberman said the crew slicked up the tires and hoped for the best with a neutral drop to create the burnout. If you listen closely to the clip above, you'll hear the transmission become confused as it upshifts as the car loses traction then downshifts as it regains traction and the engine bogs.
Lieberman eventually sold the car after it was used for promotional purposes and today it resides somewhere on the east coast.
You'll learn all that and more by clicking on the video above.