A glimpse into tuner culture: Fast and Furious exhibit at the Petersen

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is marking 25 years of the first Fast & Furious film with a 23-car exhibit. The Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra from The Fast and the Furious are among the cars on display. The franchise has come a long way in the quarter-century since the first film’s release: originally an undercover cop story, it has morphed into a bombastic expression of automotive culture mixed with caper elements.

Many early film cars came from the tuning scene, built and owned by tuners and shops such as Super Street. Kristin Feay, an assistant curator at the Petersen, says sourcing vehicles required digging into both institutional and personal histories—tracking hero cars, stunt cars, and the customs that changed hands and gained fame.

Some original owners found themselves swamped at car meets, while others watched their cars enter cycles of auctions and private collections.

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