Fast & Furious, The Italian Job, and Drive are just a few of the many films that featured top-tier vehicles over the years. In 2017, Edward Wright wrote and directed Baby Driver— a film that was added to the top list of films that are exciting not only because of the plot but also because of the different vehicles that appeared in it.
Although there were many vehicles featured in the movie, the one that stood out the most is the 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX. Read on to discover more about this vehicle.
The Story
Baby Driver is about a young Atlanta getaway driver named Baby. He survived a car accident as a child, which killed his parents and left him with tinnitus. He finds solace in music, typically using iPods to alleviate his tinnitus.
Baby transports robber crews assembled by criminal mastermind Doc. In his spare time, he remixes snippets of conversations he records and looks after his deaf foster father, Joseph. He meets Debora, a waitress, and they begin dating.
Baby’s next robbery goes wrong when an armed bystander chases them down. Luckily, he was able to escape. After repaying his debt, Baby gives up his life of crime and begins delivering pizzas. Doc interrupts Baby’s date with Debora and forces him to participate in a post office heist, threatening to harm Debora and Joseph if he refuses. This is where the movie gets more exciting.
The Legendary Car Chase
Do you remember Baby Driver’s opening car chase scene? The first six minutes of the film showed how Baby and the rest of the crew escaped after robbing a bank. The soundtrack of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s “Bellbottoms” made the scene more exciting.
A lot of movies would do car stunts in a parking lot with a green screen, but this particular scene was different. They purposely found an alley and placed a bunch of trucks and dumpsters to make it more realistic.
In this scene, Baby does a J-turn, and then slips through a narrow intersection. He smoothly used the Subaru Impreza’s clutch and hand brakes to swerve around bends. He also did two consecutive, counterclockwise 180 degrees to get through a busy alley.
As expected, they got away at the end of the scene. These and a lot more made the Subaru Impreza WRX one of the movie’s most unforgettable characters.
Why the Subaru WRX?
The production team wanted a pedestrian car that wouldn’t look so different from the rest. However, they wanted to make it look cool on screen. Considering that the 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX is a performance car that can do wonders even on challenging roads, they concluded that the Subaru WRX STI is the perfect stunt vehicle for the 6-minute opening scene.
But did you know that there was more than one Subaru used in the film? The production crew used three different 2006 Subaru Impreza WRXs for the scene. One of the stunt vehicles was a rebadged Subaru WRX STI. They also used another WRX that was tuned by Allpro Subaru to reach 320 horsepower. The third Subaru is an automatic transmission model with a camera on top converted to rear-wheel drive.
The World’s Only RWD WRX
Of course, what most viewers loved about the film are the world-class stunts featured in it. If you’re not particularly a gearhead, you may wonder how Baby was able to do a complete J-turn and corner drift with an AWD car.
Interestingly, the film made way for the world’s only RWD WRX. They had to modify the car to be able to do some of the stunts. They boosted the engine of one of the Impreza to 200 horsepower and disabled the front half-shafts. However, the modified vehicle’s rear suspension was destroyed in another stunt.
Jeremy Fry, the film’s stunt driver, was forced to try drifting the AWD debadged STI. He managed to drift the vehicle around the bend and captured the perfect scene in just two takes.
From Reel to Real Life
One of the WRX stunt vehicles from the movie was put up for auction on eBay by a Subaru dealer. The auction drew 71 offers, and the car eventually sold for $69,100. It’s a little higher than the average price for a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX.
You can safely live out your movie fantasy by owning your own Subaru Impreza WRX. Each model in the WRX series is loaded with cutting-edge technology. The upgraded EyeSight Driver Assist Technology and a new 11.6-inch STARLINK multimedia touchscreen are examples of available next-generation features.
While the movie’s car stunts are a delight to watch on screen, it’s better to be cautious and respectful of other vehicles on the road. It’s a good thing you can always rewatch the movie to get that adrenaline rush.
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