VOLO – Cars from "The Fast and the Furious" franchise have been a favorite must-see among Volo Auto Museum visitors for more than a decade.
Dozens of the cars have been on display in the years since stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and others first spiked audiences' adrenaline in 2001. None, however, has meant more to Brian Grams than the blue Subaru Impreza now suspended as if in freefall in Showroom 2.
"After Paul Walker passed, we were working really hard to get a 'Furious 7' car," said Grams, director of the museum, 27582 Volo Village Road, Volo. "We were all fans. His passing was tragic. We wanted to do something really special in his honor."
Nov. 30 will mark the third anniversary of the actor's death in a single-vehicle crash in Valencia, California. It also marks the official opening of Volo's new Walker tribute exhibit.
Filming on "Furious 7" was ongoing at the time of the 40-year-old actor's death. In its final minutes, the movie includes a tribute to Walker, a portion of which now loops in a memorial video clip Grams put together for the new display.
The exhibit features the only one of the film-used Impreza WRX STIs still in existence, Grams said. Subaru donated six of the cars to Universal Pictures for the making of "Furious 7," in which Walker's character drives the Impreza.
"All of the Imprezas got trashed in the making of the movie," Grams said. "Universal put one of them back together and had it on display. That's the one we've got. … It's like the Holy Grail of 'Furious' cars."
Walker himself once sat in Volo's blue and gray car, now suspended in a backdrop fans will recognize as the mind-blowing air-drop scene from "Furious 7."
"They actually dropped cars out of a plane for that scene," Grams said. "Something could easily have gone wrong."
Presenting pieces of movie car history is nothing new for the museum, he added. But for "Fast and Furious" fans, this one is particularly priceless.
The Volo Auto Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It features about 400 classic, antique, muscle and Hollywood cars and more. Admission is $15 for adults, $9 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children 4 and younger. For information, call 815-385-3644 or find Volo Auto Museum on Facebook.
