2 Fast 2 Furious S2000 Bridge Jump Took Tons of Work
2 Fast 2 Furious technical advisor Craig Lieberman explains in great detail just what it took to pull off one of the cooler 10-second scenes in movie history.
Breaking It Down
If you're a fan of the Fast & Furious movie franchise (and who isn't?), you'll probably agree that Suki's S2000 bridge jump in 2 Fast 2 Furious is easily one of the more iconic scenes in the franchise's history. But little did we know exactly how much work went into pulling off these 10 seconds of the film, until technical advisor Craig Lieberman posted this cool breakdown video on his YouTube page.
Photos: YouTube
Four Cars, One Scene
The crew actually used the two S2000s they had left over from the original Fast & Furious film, and then purchased two more. All four cars were painted to match, while one of them was fitted with a complicated remote-control steering system so that it could be controlled video game style from behind.
Photos: YouTube
Going Wild
The "hero car" of course had all the good stuff, including a Comptech supercharger, cold-air intake, and cat-back exhaust. Lieberman admits that the movie's producers wanted to really "one-up" their efforts from the first film, thus they went wild with the paint job and custom airbrushing, neon lighting, a ridiculous number of gauges, and a crazy stereo system.
Photos: YouTube
Bathroom-Inspired Interior
Even the fuzzy interior was constructed from "materials you'd normally find in bathroom floor rugs," Lieberman said. In the trunk, the team rigged up a series of propane tanks used to create different colored flames from the exhaust.
Photos: YouTube
Life-Sized Toy
Once all this work was finished, the real work began. Lieberman tells us that the producers wanted a real car to make the bridge jump, yet it was too dangerous for a stunt driver to pull off. Thus, they resorted to turning one of the cars into a "giant remote-controlled vehicle."
Photos: YouTube
Technical Challenges
The stunt team controlled the S2000 from a Dodge Durango, where the passenger used a Playstation-like controller to drive it. This technology was fairly new at the time, which created a lot of challenges. One of which was the fact that they had to be within 100 feet of the car to control it, and the car had to stay in second gear.
Photos: YouTube
All the Feels
Though movie folks never seem to care about the cars they mess us, Lieberman apparently felt bad about it. "At the end of the test session, I stopped to ponder the fact that we were probably going to destroy a very, very nice car," he said. "And that made me sad for a moment."
Photos: YouTube
Painful Process
The team also gutted and cut up a silver S2000 to make the "Mic Rig" car, a process that Lieberman called "painful to watch." The good news is, he notes that all the other cars in the film were "taken good care of," receiving all the maintenance you'd give your own ride.
Photos: YouTube
Launch Control
The next step was to build a giant ramp with a carefully calculated angle. A lot of math later, they had created the perfect launch platform for the jump, which they bolted to the top of the actual bridge.
Photos: YouTube
Movie History
Then, all that was left was the actual jump. The crew used multiple cameras set up all over the place, knowing that they really only had one shot at capturing this on film. The jump went off perfectly, and the S2000 surprisingly survived. The chase vehicle, on the other hand, didn't, and its driver suffered minor injuries. And the rest, as they say, is movie history!
Photos: YouTube