From way back in 2001, the beginning of a franchise was afoot when a car movie hit theaters about an undercover cop trying to find tractor-trailer hijackers all driving souped-up Hondas. Brian O’Conner takes the investigation to the underground street racing syndicate where Dominic Toretto is king. Throughout the movie, Brian turns from an honest cop to a rogue agent who cares about his new family. From there, eight movies have been created—with a ninth on the way—following the crew as grows in size and international scope.
Since the original crew was introduced with relatively unknown faces, some of the most famous actors today have taken part in the franchise and have been along to see it grow, attracting legions of fans from around the world. Along with this growth, we’ve also seen the loss of characters such as Jesse, Sean, Han, and more importantly, Brian. The actors who’ve portrayed these characters have since gone their own ways, with appearances in other media. In Paul Walker’s case, his tragic loss hurt every fan (Rest in Peace, Paul).
These big actors and actresses drive some unassuming vehicles for starring in such a high octane movie, where other stars who have appeared drive cars that coincide with their characters’ need for speed. From avid car enthusiasts like Paul Walker and Jason Statham to those that aren’t, like Eva Mendes and Elsa Pataky, we sift through the star-studded cast to find 12 Fast and Furious stars that drive boring cars and 13 who keep it furious!
25 Slow: Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel has been around since the beginning, starting the series off with a red RX-7 and his trademark black Dodge Charger. Since then, his character, Dom, has driven some of the coolest, most exclusive cars of the series. In real life, however, Vin drives things that are a little more to his size, as he’s been seen driving not only this Tahoe but a Honda Odyssey and a Mercedes-AMG G-Wagen, as well. Vin has been said to have quite the collection of cars but it his Tahoe that took us most by surprise.
24 Furious: Sung Kang (Fast)
Another huge car guy is Sung Kang, who helped create this beautiful custom Nissan 240Z which he nicknamed “Fugu Z” after a Japanese delicacy, known as the blowfish, that is dangerous to consume if it’s not properly prepared. Sung and his buddies installed an RB26 from a Skyline GT-R in place of the standard L24 that only had about a modest 151 horsepower. The Fugu Z has been to SEMA and won the Gran Turismo Award, which then got the car featured in the popular video game.
23 Slow: Eva Mendes
Though she only played in one movie, Eva Mendes owned the role of Monica. In real life, however, her automotive tastes don’t include hopped-up imports or Ferrari supercars. Instead, she owns a Lexus RX400h that she’s owned for quite a while. The Lexus isn’t about power as much as it is about practicality and comfort. The 268-hp V6 coupled along with a couple of electric motors produces enough efficient power to drive the car comfortably. Out of all the cars that might feature in the future of the Fast & Furious franchise, I think it’s safe to say the RX400h won’t be one of them.
22 Furious: Gal Gadot
Instead of being all about cars like the characters in the movies are, Gal is all about motorcycles, with a particular itch for ones that are fast and simple. Her bike, a Ducati Monster, is almost tame, with a 700cc tucked into a frame without any sort of fancy body-cladding (besides a front fender) to save weight. Of course, she doesn’t just drive around on a motorbike, but she also owns a beautiful Jaguar F-Type that we could definitely see Gisele getting comfortable in.
21 Slow: Ludacris
Ludacris is another true motorhead in the Fast & Furious franchise. He owns a lot of flashy luxury cars, including a BMW, a Land Rover Range Rover, and a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. His most prized possession, however, is this 1993 Acura Legend that he has owned since before he was famous. He calls the Legend his dream car. When he, unfortunately, got into a wreck with it, Acura complete restored it for him and threw in little extras such as new rims and a new sound system.
20 Furious: Tyrese Gibson
Tyrese is another motorhead who invests a lot into his cars, He’s been pictured driving a custom Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, a Bentley Continental he got for his birthday, and a custom Jeep Wrangler that he had a hand in designing along with Voltron Motors. Perhaps his most prized car is his white Maserati GranTurismo that he has been seen in time and time again. Tyrese may be a huge car enthusiast but above all, he certainly loves his cars from Europe.
19 Slow: Michelle Rodriguez
I’ve spoken before about this when talking about her Mercedes but to discover she drives a Prius is just mind-boggling. Though we all know Letty would be thoroughly disappointed, Michelle is on the side of helping be green and lessen the carbon footprint her character has made throughout the movies. In all seriousness, a Toyota Prius is very unassuming and definitely a popular choice by actors, as there are quite a few who drive hybrids—in fact, three on this list in total.
This is a bit bittersweet, as Bow Wow was on top of the world before he fell off of the deep end fame-wise. During this time on top, he owned a few cars, like a Gallardo, Bentley Continental, and a Land Rover Range Rover. Problems came when he got behind on his car payments and seemed to refuse to hand the cars over to the bank. A beautiful orange Murcielago like the one pictured was also one of Bow Wow’s cars, probably even the fastest car he’s owned, with a top speed at about 205 miles per hour.
17 Slow: Jordana Brewster
Jordana is much like Vin and she owns a lot of SUVs. The most sporty SUV that she has owned, among others like the Range Rover Vogue and a Chevy Tahoe, was this Range Rover Sport. The hulking SUV is powered by a 390-hp V8 with a suspension that is more akin to a car than an SUV, according to Motorweek. Not only is it pretty powerful but it’s perfect to carry the kids around while maintaining a sense of style that a woman like Mia demands.
16 Furious: Laz Alonso
Laz is told to own a few interesting cars but the most interesting is perhaps Cadillac’s most well-known car: the Corvette-powered CTS-V. In the early 2010s, you could have the potent CTS-V in all sorts of configurations, from a sporty two-door coupe to the roomy four-door wagon. All of them were powered by a supercharged V8 pushing out a brutish 556 horsepower. The coupe may be a little strange looking with its sharp lines and stout front end, but it certainly has plenty of power to turn heads at a red light.
15 Slow: Charlize Theron
Almost the same as Eva Mendes’ Lexus, Charlize owns one with a little more power under the hood and plenty of space for the children. Contraindicative of what we can consider her more personal car, the Lexus is just a Luxury SUV that’s easy at the gas station too. The RX450h has a 245-hp motor along with 103 lb-ft electric rear motors. It’s nothing fancy, just something good enough to go around town comfortably without attracting too much attention from any fans.
14 Furious: Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle may be on this list for a whole other reason but when she’s not spotted in her Prius, she can be found in a black Mercedes, which Letty might approve of a little more than the popular hybrid Toyota. In an interview, Michelle has claimed that since starring in the first movie, she has grown an appreciation for cars, even going as far as appearing in a photoshoot with a red Jaguar and testing out a Ferrari 488 GTB during an exotic car track day.
13 Slow: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Hobbs is a big dude so naturally, he drives some of the biggest machinery seen throughout the movie. This is not so far off from real life, as Dwayne is known to drive big trucks. His jacked up Ford F-150 is big and we certainly could see Hobbs driving it around on his days off. But smashing through walls and over cars is where the Ford would come to a stop. As much as we think Hobbs would approve, we can’t say the Ford would keep up with the crew too well.
12 Furious: Don Omar (FasT)
Perhaps the only racer on this list, Don Omar—who starred in Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Fate of the Furious as Santos—is not shy around some of the more powerful cars on set, as he races a high-six-second quarter-mile Toyota Celica funny car. The Puerto Rican reggae singer, actor, and former pastor seems like there isn’t much Don can’t do, but we can guarantee he’d wipe the smirk from Johnny Tran’s face as Santos blew by his S2000 like it was standing still.
11 Slow: Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell has also been in a fair share of car movies, the most memorable being Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. In real life, Kurt Russell doesn’t really own anything of notoriety. He’s been pictured with this simple and plain Audi A8. The A8 features a 372-hp, 328 lb-ft V8 but it wasn’t really built for power. The roomy nature of the cabin is good enough for two actors (Goldie Hawn included) to drive around in comfort and luxury as they grow older.
10 Furious: Luke Evans (Fast)
Luke Evans and Jason Statham could both fit this car, as they both have an Audi R8, but Jason has a bunch of cool cars which we’ll talk about in a minute. Luke Evans has been in the franchise since the sixth installment, playing Owen Shaw, who would definitely approve of the beautiful V10 rocket. The Audi R8 is a masterpiece that has only gotten better over time; currently an R8 puts down 602 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque from the 5.2-liter V10 whose drivetrain can either lead to just the rear wheels or through all four wheels, which we can assume is the way Luke went when purchasing this fast machine.
9 Slow: Elsa Pataky
Easily the most average car on this list, this Acura belongs to Elsa, who also owns a Land Rover like Jordana’s, along with an Audi Q7, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Cadillac CTS. Those are all typical luxury cars, though it’s the Acura that attracts our curiosity. The MDX comes with a V6 that only puts down 300 horsepower. Performance aside, the MDX isn’t even the most luxurious car she owns. It may just as well be a good way to drive around semi-discretely, though we can’t say that an MDX fits into the Fast & Furious formula too well.
Like I mentioned before, Jason has some seriously cool cars, one of which is this sleek grey F12berlinetta. One of “only a handful” of front-engined, V12 powered Ferraris out there, the F12berlinetta packs a 731-hp punch backed by 508 lb-ft of torque, propelling the Ferrari to a 0-62 time of 3.1 seconds. Deckard Shaw would be right at home in this wicked-looking machine that has more than enough power to give the fight to most of the other cars featured in the movie.
7 Slow: Ronda Rousey
I’ve seen Ronda’s Accord talked about quite a bit and she has since bid farewell to her old Honda, and even wrote a touching message about the old car’s loyalty and dependability. Since then, she has owned this Cadillac Escalade, which is a perfect kind of car for the ever-rising star. It’s a powerful machine for a woman who has been titled as “The World’s Most Dangerous Woman” by Rolling Stone. Though the Cadillac fits nicely among the common world, it stands in contrast to everything in the Fast & Furious franchise.
6 Furious: Charlize Theron (Fast)
The car pictured is the one Charlize drove in her other famous car movie, the remake of The Italian Job. From what I’ve found in my research, she actually owns a red Cooper like the one in the movie. They may not be fast particularly, but I could see a Mini Cooper in the Fast & Furious franchise, and I could see Cipher in it. Maybe we’re just imagining a crossover where Stella is really Cipher and she can lead the crew through alleyways throughout Italy.