Looking For Speed Racer, I Found Lots Of Interesting Info On The Mach V!

I love Speed Racer, and while looking for places to buy Speed Racer tshirts I found a lot of great info about the Mach V, too!

Okay, so today we’re going to take a look at all of the Mach 5’s wonderful powers. Here’s the original list, with names translated directly from the original 1960’s Japanese manga:

1. Auto Jack- A series of 4 jacks that can be rapidly deployed. Ostensibly, these jacks are so that the car can be repaired quickly but in practical use, Speed usually ends up using them to jump over obstacles in his way.
2. Belt Tires- A special tire grip is activated, allowing Speed to keep control on icy or uneven terrain. When this power is activated, 5,000 extra horsepower are also evenly distributed amongst the 4 tires; the power is drawn from secret auxiliary engines.
3. Cutter- Two huge rotary saw blades pop out of the front of the Mach 5, enabling obstacles such as trees to be cleared out of the way with ease.
4. Defensor- Seals the driver in a waterproof, bulletproof cockpit. The driver inside is basically invulnerable once the Defensor is deployed.
5. Evening Eye (or Illuminating Eye) a special illumination system allowing the Mach 5’s driver to see much further down the road than normal. This system can also interface with the goggles on Speed Racer’s helmet to give infrared vision assistance.
6. Frogger Mode- essentially submarine mode, this allows the Mach 5 to serve as a submarine, complete with periscope, for 30 minutes- that’s when the air runs out.
7. Gizmo Rocket- activates a small homing rocket, controlled by a joystick on the center console. This rocket can be used to carry messages, take aerial video, or for self defense.
8. Button H is located on the center console and activates the Gizmo Rocket’s homing device, sending it to a pre-programmed location automatically.

The Mach 5 featured a steering wheel with 7 buttons on it; each of the buttons corresponds to one of the powers above. The 8th “power”- the “homing” function of the Gizmo Rocket- was activated by pressing a button on the center console. Speed needs these special “additions” to the Mach 5, as the races he competes in are not generally contested under the most sporting of conditions, and his opponents have no problem with blatant cheating either.

In Speed Racer X, a short-lived 2002 Nickelodeon remake, several of the names and special functions of the buttons were altered. The Auto Jacks were replaced with a system using rockets and compressed air- this solidified the change of the jacks’ original design as a pit stop system, to a “jumping” system, allowing Speed to jump over dangerous obstacles. The Belt Tires were also replaced with tires that allowed the Mach 5 to float. The night vision system was also replaced with a grappling hook, and Frogger mode changed to be a whole-body transformation of the car.

In the 2008 live-action movie, there were several other changes made to the Mach 5. Frogger mode was abandoned, and so was the Illuminating Eye feature. Jump Jacks and the bulletproof cockpit were kept intact, and tire shields- controlled from a joystick on the center console- were added. Speed also got a set of instant-inflating spare tires and steel crampons that emerge from the tire treads when things get too slick or icy. It’s interesting to note that the car in the movie IS an actual, physical car- unfortunately; no one drove it, though. It was suspended from a crane and moved with hydraulics to create its effects, and then it was inserted into the digital footage later. If you DO want a Mach 5 of your own to drive, 100 of them were produced in 2002, for charity. They featured 345 horsepower and came at a price of 75 to 125k, depending on options. They even build a non-street-legal version that included functional, concealed cutter blades in the nose!

The Mach 5 has had several different iterations, although the basic design of a white car with a bubble dome cockpit, tail fins and a large M on the side hasn’t really varied much. The Mach 5 actually looks a lot like a racecar produced in the 60’s called the Chaparral 2C- originally designed by Jim Hall. The Mach 5 can’t actually do Mach 5, either- the name is intended to be a pun- as “go” means “5” in Japanese. In the manga and the Japanese version of the TV show, the car is just called the Mach, and Speed races in a car class where the rides are designed for minimum weight and maximum speed.

That’s all for now. If you’re looking for Speed Racer cartoon, stop by the store and pick some up!