Mach Five (Speed Racer)

Mach Five was designed by Mitsuki Nakamura, who was the art director of Tatsunoko Production, which produced the 1967 TV anime series. The initial plan was to keep the original manga design for the anime production, but it was decided to redesign the car, and Nakamura, a car enthusiast, was entrusted with the task. Mach Five's design remained timeless and modern half a century after its birth, and passed muster for the Wachowskis' 2008 live-action film adaptation with few changes 40 years later. == Works featuring Mach Five ==

Original Japanese TV anime series Speed Racer (known as Mach GoGoGo in Japan) is the first series produced in Japan in 1967 based on the manga. Mach Five is the racing car driven by "Speed Racer" ("Go Mifune" in the Japanese version), whose car was designed, manufactured, and created by "Pops Racer" (Daisuke Mifune), Speed Racer's father. The car is a two-seater, left-hand drive car with no detailed specifications other than that it is powered by a V12 engine. The body is painted white and blue with the letter "M" written in red on the hood. The car has seven special functions, each of which is controlled by a button on the steering wheel assigned to each initial from A to G. Mach Five was almost identical in design to the original anime and was used in the film's main races with an actual vehicle. However, the car was rarely driven on real roads, instead it was hung on a crane and the effects were generated by computer graphics. Little about the Mach 4 is known, as it appears only briefly in the film and is portrayed as a red-colored companion to the 6. Speed's main car for races on the WRL track (Thunderhead, etc.) is the Mach 6. The Mach 6 was destroyed in a fixed race, but was later rebuilt for the film's final race. ==Real-life replicas==

In 1997, a replica of the Mach Five, which was based on Nissan's entry-level race car, the Saurus, modified and covered with an FRP body, was produced to promote the Japanese anime remake. It was unveiled at the time of the TV broadcast in Japan, and later ran again at the Toyota Automobile Museum in 2010. In 2002, 100 product models of Mach Five replica were planned to be manufactured as road-legal vehicles. In 2008, after the premiere of the film Speed Racer at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California, the actual racing car used in the film was unveiled. A full-scale replica of the Mach Five was exhibited at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. It was produced in connection with a project by Japanese chocolate maker Tyrol Choco, in which Mach Five miniature cars were given away through a lottery. ==Mach Five in popular culture==

• A Speed Racer-themed catamaran, named after the franchise, was built in 2005, designed to resemble the Mach 5. • Road & Track magazine released an article about a "real" Mach 5 prototype car on 31 March 2008 (the day before April 1st), about a "genuine running model" made for the 2008 film. The article included performance data and feature descriptions for the car that was "in a league by itself". • In the online typing game, Nitro Type, it was available as an achievement car for completing 30,000 races and is renamed the "Wach 6". It was created as a commemoration to the player CarriePirc for being the first person to reach 30,000 races on one singular account. • The Mach Five is featured in the 2018 movie Ready Player One during a car racing scene. == Notes ==