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Few film franchises have shaped modern car culture quite like Fast & Furious. What began in 2001 as a street-racing film built around a handful of memorable cars quickly grew into a global blockbuster series. Now, the Petersen Automotive Museum is bringing those machines back into focus with a new exhibition celebrating 25 years of the franchise.
Opening 14 March 2026, A Fast & Furious Legacy: 25 Years of Automotive Icons will bring together one of the largest collections of vehicles from the movies ever shown in one place. Created in collaboration with Universal Pictures, the exhibition will run at the Los Angeles museum through April 2027.
The display includes screen-used hero cars, stunt doubles and production builds from across the franchise.
Cars Featured in the ‘Fast & Furious’ Exhibit
The exhibition brings together several of the franchise’s most recognisable vehicles, each tied to a key character and moment from the films.
| Car | Film | Character | Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 Toyota Supra (A80) | The Fast and the Furious (2001) | Brian O’Conner | Paul Walker |
| 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse | The Fast and the Furious (2001) | Brian O’Conner | Paul Walker |
| 1993 Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) | The Fast and the Furious (2001) | Dominic Toretto | Vin Diesel |
| 1997 Nissan 240SX (S14) | The Fast and the Furious (2001) | Letty Ortiz | Michelle Rodriguez |
| 1999 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning | The Fast and the Furious (2001) | Brian O’Conner | Paul Walker |
| 2001 Honda S2000 | 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) | Suki | Devon Aoki |
| 1968 Dodge Charger R/T | The Fast and the Furious franchise | Dominic Toretto | Vin Diesel |
Among the highlights is the 1993 Toyota Supra “Stunt #3” driven by Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner in the original film. Finished in its now-iconic bright orange paint with bold side graphics, the turbocharged A80 quickly became one of the most recognisable cars in movie history.
It’s displayed alongside the acid-green Mitsubishi Eclipse, the car that introduced NOS purges, underglow lighting and early-2000s import tuning culture to multiplex audiences.
Opening Day Event
To mark the launch, the Petersen will turn its parking structure into a Fast & Furious-style car meet on the morning of 14 March.
Enthusiast builds will fill the second, third and fourth floors of the garage, with the second floor dedicated to cars inspired by The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Expect plenty of tuned imports and JDM builds reflecting the scene that shaped the early films.
Inside the museum, the exhibition will span two major gallery spaces, the Propulsion Gallery and the Ross and Beth Myers Galleries, bringing together the film cars alongside displays explaining how the franchise helped push street racing and import tuning into the mainstream.
Why the Petersen Is Hosting It
That context is part of what makes the exhibition notable. The Petersen Automotive Museum isn’t just another film prop display. It’s widely considered one of the most important automotive museums in the world, with collections spanning everything from historic race cars to landmark design concepts.
By placing Fast & Furious vehicles alongside those kinds of machines, the museum is effectively recognising the franchise’s role in shaping modern car culture.
“This display has been years in the making and marks a defining moment for the museum,” said Terry L. Karges, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum. “For guests, this is an opportunity to step inside the world of Fast & Furious and experience the cars that drove the franchise’s impact on automotive culture.”
And for many fans, that influence traces back to the early films. Long before the series was sending cars into space or saving the world, it was focused on street racing, tuning culture, and the cars themselves.
For a generation of enthusiasts, the orange Supra, Dom’s RX-7, and Letty’s 240SX weren’t just movie props. They were the gateway into import performance culture.
‘Fast & Furious’ Rolls On
More than two decades after the original film debuted, the influence of Fast & Furious on car culture still lingers. Over time, the franchise grew bigger, the stakes escalated, and the storylines moved far beyond street racing.
But for plenty of fans, it was always the cars that mattered most. The orange Supra. Dom’s RX-7. Letty’s 240SX. Machines that made teenagers start reading spec sheets and learning what a 2JZ was.
That’s the era the Petersen’s new exhibition taps into. A reminder that before the global missions and blockbuster spectacle, Fast & Furious was a car movie. And for a lot of people, that’s still the version they love most.
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