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

Most of the 23 cars in the exhibit haven’t been seen at the Petersen before, but regular visitors will have seen the pink Honda S2000, which is part of the museum’s permanent collection. “That car is interesting because it was… an actual custom. It was owned and built by the editor of Super Street Magazine, RJ DeVera, who played Danny Yamato in that first street race scene,” Feay told me.

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The S2000 is best known as Suki’s bright pink car, but it actually appeared in various guises. “It was black. It had the yellow graphics on it, and that was the original iteration. After that, it went back to RJ, who painted it black, painted it orange, and then rented it back from production as Suki’s car. And then it got a pink paint job, its iconic paintwork,” Feay told me.

Lettie’s Nissan 240SX revealed something interesting about the engine swap scene.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Lettie’s Nissan 240SX revealed something interesting about the engine swap scene.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Is this one of the very first SR20DET engine swaps into an S14? It very well may be.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Is this one of the very first SR20DET engine swaps into an S14? It very well may be.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Lettie’s Nissan 240SX revealed something interesting about the engine swap scene.

Petersen Automotive Museum

Is this one of the very first SR20DET engine swaps into an S14? It very well may be.

Petersen Automotive Museum

“When you hear the stories behind these cars… you’ll hear about the history, but when you actually look at the object, it makes it real, Feay said. “And with our cars, you can actually see there are some dings in the paint, like in the interior engine bay, and you can actually see the layers of colors in it. You can see it’s black, you can see it’s orange, you can see when RJ painted it. It’s that object that made me realize that these cars are essentially archeological. These are cars that have this history.”

Lettie’s 240 SX also has an interesting history. Owned by a private collector, it was found—painted orange—in someone’s yard.

“It was a notable custom,” Feay told me. “… It is really a true S14 JDM car. It was built by this shop called V-Spec, who also had connections with Super Street. It was significant in that it was what we believe to be one of the first kooky front-end SR20 DET engine-swapped S14s in the US.”

“A Fast and Furious Legacy” opens at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA on March 14 and runs until April 2027.