Go with the Gallo 24 and bid on a Fast & Furious Supra driven by Paul Walker
Like just about every car-centric movie from the past 50 years, the Fast and Furious films are filled with cheesy lines, fatuous jargon, and absolutely impossible physics. In the most memorable of those car-centric films from decades past, whether it’s Two-Lane Blacktop or Smokey & The Bandit, a signature car managed to steal lots of the best scenes. For the first Fast and Furious movie it’s no different. There’s one car in particular that everyone recognizes: the orange Supra driven by star Paul Walker. Eight Supras were prepped for filming to represent that single car. Some were “hero cars” that were driven by actors and destined for prime screen time. Some were stunt cars that could be a little rougher around the edges and often had incomplete interiors. This Supra has the distinction of being a bit of both, driven in the film by Paul Walker and now heading to the auction block at Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas sale in June.
Craig Lieberman, technical advisor for the original The Fast and the Furious, was also the original owner of several of the cars used to film the movies, including the main hero car Supra that Walker drove in the movie. Lieberman details this stunt car’s provenance in this video:
Lieberman explains that this car, a twin-turbo automatic model, was driven by Paul Walker and even includes the specific scene. After filming the first movie, this car was modified and appeared in the sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious. Since then it has been restored to appear as it did in the original movie, but there are a few discrepancies, such as the seats, wing endplates, and possibly the wheel sizing. Still, Lieberman admits those are trivial and easily remedied.
Lieberman estimates that the no-reserve auction will yield $550,000 for this rare movie car, based on the fact that it does have a connection to the late Paul Walker and that a previous stunt car from the movie brought in $185,000 at Mecum’s 2015 Indy sale. We asked two Hagerty valuation experts, Greg Ingold and John Wiley, for their thoughts. “I think $500K is a reasonable expectation given June is the 20th anniversary for the first film and this is a car that Walker drove on camera,” said Ingold. Wiley had a similar opinion: “Given that a car with less screen time sold for about three times the condition #1 (Concours) value in 2015, and Supra values are up a lot since, this car with more screen time should sell for $375K–$500K.”
The cars from Paul Walker’s personal collection did well at auction when they sold in January of 2020, proving that Walker’s connection to the car enthusiast community carries some weight. The fact that Walker drove this car, a vivid icon of the first installment of the franchise, will only add to its stature. With the 2015 Mecum Indy sale as the current high-water mark for Supras, this stunt car has the potential to be the most expensive Supra ever sold.
