A few months ago, we brought you the news of Fast and Furious Live global arena tour coming to Belfast in May next year, a show that is based around the Fast and Furious movie franchise and today, we got a Northern Ireland exclusive preview as what to expect.
Having moved from their old training base, aptly named ‘fast camp’ situated in a secret location somewhere in England, the small team of drivers, actors, choreographers and producers now call the NEC in Birmingham home.
It won’t be home for long though as come January they will be dismantling the vast Fast and Furious Live set, which incorporates a few world firsts in regards to the technologies employed, and moving it to the O2 Arena in London ahead of the premiere.
Despite rigorous training, now using the cars that will be performing mind-blowing adrenaline-fuelled stunts during the live arena shows, within the set that will be used around the globe for the next five years, the team found time to open the doors and let us in for a dress performance.
I must admit, on seeing the invite come in, I was very excited and knew I had to be there- not only to see the technologies that have been developed specifically for this show in all their glory, but to witness the cars first hand, the cars that we grew to love when watching them in the flicks.
Incorporating the perfect blend of original cars from the movie series to exact replica’s built specifically for this all-new arena tour, we witnessed firsthand, the cars that gripped many of us in our early days of being a car enthusiast.
From some 39 vehicles used during the show expect the most iconic cars from the first movie in the form of Brian’s Toyota Supra and Dom’s 1970 Dodge Charger, the Supra producing a monstrous 720bhp at 1.2bar of boost.
From the fifth incarnation of the movie the ‘Safe Charger’, a Dodge Charger SRT can be seen whilst one of the actual ‘ramp cars’ from the sixth movie is used, it is one of only two left in the world having featured in the movie.
Fast attack buggies from the seventh movie, feature alongside Letty’s actual Dodge Challenger from the same film and a plethora of vehicles from the eighth movie are used such as Polaris RMK 800 Assult snow mobiles and one of just two Lamborghini Murcielago’s used in filming.
Expect to witness everything else from planes and trains to submarines and tanks during the two-hour Fast and Furious Live spectacle – I won’t spoil too much but having watched some of the story and action unfold, I can assure you, expect your mind to be blown!
With forty-two vehicles on offer, we got a glimpse today of most within the backstage parking lot whilst we were treated to seeing several in action and on walking towards the venue, I knew I was close when I got the sweet scent of burning rubber seeping past security and into the public areas outside the main hall.
From the nine vehicles in the opening parade to the four LED cars that feature in the ‘Miami Street Racing’ scene or the two that feature in Tokyo underground car park scene it was a sight to behold with a soundtrack like no other.
On chatting to Alix Wilding of Feeding the Fish, who are responsible for the technology aboard the LED cars, she informed me that the Nissan Skyline features 44,000 individual LED lights, possibly a world record and each vehicle carries 175kg’s of equipment, enabling them to recreate the much loved colour schemes from the movies.
The set is nothing short of mesmerising incorporating cutting edge pyrotechnics and 3D projection mapping which takes the audience from the frozen tundra of Russia to a multi story car park in Tokyo, you really do travel the world with the Fast and Furious Live show.
Tickets are on sale now at fastandfuriouslive.com and as part of the show’s arena tour it is coming to the SSE Arena in Belfast on 4th May 2018.
