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Real Working Mach5 On eBay 127

Posted by Hemos from the go-speed-racer-go-go dept.
Taper writes "Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer... now you too can drive Speed Racer's car, the powerful Mach 5. Complete with saw blades, jumping ability, and robot homing pigeon. The entry price looks to be over $150k though part goes to charity and the winner gets delivery with a Speed Racer party featuring the voice cast! "
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Real Working Mach5 on eBay More

Real Working Mach5 on eBay

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  • yum! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    i hope this is included! [mymach5.com]

    i looked all through the galleries on mymach5.com and alas no more pictures :-(

  • "Do you [mymach5.com] come with the car?"

    "Oh, you!" <giggle>

    --

  • but it is generating replies, so someone must notice it.


    See my reply to your anonymous friend.

  • Irony.... (Score:4)

    by SaintAlex ( 108566 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @08:28PM (#981469)
    "Child Safety Network appreciates the enthusiastic interest in the Mach 5 prototype."

    "Additional Features: 18" McCulla retractable pneumatic saw blades."

    Anybody else find this insanely funny?



    Observe, reason, and experiment.
  • (nt)
    --
  • thanks a lot.

    now i can't get that tune out of my head.

    go speed racer! go speed racer!
    go speed racer, GO!
  • It's because only the nerds who got lots of stock options could afford to buy it!

  • It has safety features. If you are about to hit a tree, or a wood house, you use the blades to cut through. Otherwise you jump.

    The homing pigeon is to watch out for accidents up ahead.

  • 'Cause you need to have been involved in an actual auction with the person you're giving negative feedback (you need the auction number). Recently I think they changed it so that you have to have an auction number for any feedback, which is probably why there is no recent feedback on that account.
  • Uh...maybe it's just me, but this looks weird. "...I am financially qualified to purchase a limited addition Mach 5..." Don't they mean limited edition? You'd think for $61,000, they could hire a lawyer with a grammar checker.

    And, yes, there's prolly a grammar or spelling error up there someplace (or down here), but you didn't pay me $61,000 for this comment, now, did you?

  • If street legal (Score:4)

    by www.sorehands.com ( 142825 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @09:36PM (#981476) Homepage
    I'd think about buying it. Let see some cop give you a ticket...Make of car: Mach 5, Violation: jumping over police car, cutting through trees on side of road, riding with kid in trunk.

    You think the judge would throw it out?

  • This article [cars.com] at Cars.com [cars.com] says:

    While the animated Mach 5 had the uncanny ability to fly, drive under water, the real-life replica is a little more "limited" with special jumping hydraulics, interactive voice responses to the steering-wheel buttons and a pair of circular saw-blades -- an indispensable gizmo for those off-road car chases. The remote-control homing pigeon will also be added in the future, as will the underwater periscope (no word, however, whether or not the car will gain submersible powers).

    So I question whether the pigeon is there.

    -m

  • I like the new Mustang styling, it gives a nice homage to the original, especially the side air intakes.

    George
  • Bah, street legal is overrated. I'll just drive it in my driveway. At 185MPH (discounting time for acceleration and whatnot) I can go from one end of my driveway to the other in just 0.37 seconds!
  • if you don't like ./ don't read it. simple as that...

    "Leave the gun, take the canoli."
  • Corvairs never came with a SBC. They were all 6 cylinder, though some were turbocharged. What I find interesting is that the production cars they are making are based on factory five cobra kit cars! Never mind these kit cars start at about 10K for body, frame and suspension. 302 Ford engine, 5 speed . . . . Does look like it's based on the prototype too much. John
  • i remember there was a contest right after the movie (batman, 1988) came out where the winner got a non-running batmobile. i had a picture of it and all i could think of was how was he going to get it home.

    "Leave the gun, take the canoli."

  • Those cool tires (C button?) that allow it to go up vertical cliffs?
  • I'd really like to see how the saw blades work on this car. From the picture, it looks a bit like they were drawn on, and how the heck do they fit under the hood?

    And where's the gearshift knob? I don't see it near that beautiful woman's curvy leg... wait, what were we talking about?

    I just thought of an idea. Get an old, unrusted white Datsun, paint it white, add some stripes, etc, and sell it as a real-life sized Transformer PROWL! You just know you'd get top bidding from that.
  • That's true, Leno is the biggest car-freak I've ever heard of. Think I remember him doing a bit part on 'Home Improvement' and there was a background story on ET or one of those flyffy shobiz shows about how Leno was a big buff.

    But somehow I get the impression that he wouldn't want something like this because a) it is not an original/andor/vintage car and b) cause he wouldn't be able to take it for a spin on Topanga Canyon road.

  • :) (Score:1)

    by Phokus ( 192971 )
    Go George Clooney,Go George Clooney,Go George Clooney GOOOOOOOOO... Sorry i couldn't resist :)
  • screw the Pheonix Hawk - give me a Marauder lance with an Overlord Dropship. Long Live House Davion!
  • WTF? OK, now I know this has got to be some kind of sick joke!

    Refrag
  • ... That was from a Saturday night live 'real audio' cartoon parody of speed racer :)
  • People would probably notice you too if you cut your head off. So since you seem to crave attention, why don't you do that?
  • Who CARES if it is not street legal. Technically, *MY* car isn't street legal. :)

    Dead cow interior looks nice, but is too hard to maintain and too hot in the summer. My dead cow is going to be replaced w/ nice high quality cloth. Breathes much better.
  • This might be remotely cool if I cared anything about Speed Racer.

    And for $300K? The only thing I'd pay that much for would be the Yamoto [starblazers.com] and its Wave Particle Gun.

  • It would certainly be possible to make it street legal. The description even mentions the possibility of modifications.

  • Hmmmm...Chevy? (Score:3)

    by ktakki ( 64573 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @07:48PM (#981494) Homepage Journal
    Definitely looks like it was assembled from parts of a mid-'60s Chevrolet Corvair.

    • Body: Fiberglass®
    • Mid-Engine: 400hp 327ci 4 Bolt Main
    • Rear Suspension: Saginau[sic] trans-axle with Air Bags
    • Brakes:8" Rear Drum, 9" Disc Front Vented Rotors, Tilton Brake & Clutch
    • Additional Features: 18" McCulla[sic] retractable pneumatic saw blades. U.S. Navy PX18 periscope. Airtronics remote control homing pigeon. Pneumatic auto jacks for jumping.


    Homing pigeon? Oh, right: that mechanical thing.

    Okay, first of all, the 327 is probably a small-block Chevy. Saginaw is a GM plant; these days they make tilt-wheels for obese Caddy owners.
    It looks like someone took the engine, drivetrain, and brakes from a Corvair and stuck it in a tube frame covered with plastic. Drum brakes in the rear? Sixties tech, along with the air suspension.

    I think I remember seeing this at an auto show back in the '60s, along with the Muenstermobile, the Batmobile, and other George Barris Kalifornia Kustom Kar Kreations.

    Hell, throw in the girl, the kid, and the chimp, and it's a deal.

    k., who wants the Jaguar hearse from Harold and Maude
    --
    "In spite of everything, I still believe that people
    are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
  • I remember reading someplace on the net, I think it was the page that discusses all the many different kinds of religions, anyway, it even had listed that some people had started a religion based on that Elian brat. It shouldn't suprise me, but I STILL get amazed at the ignorance of the Human Race....
  • I noticed that too. The car on eBay, 'built for CSN', apparently cost 350k to build. However, the pics are hte same as for the 61k car? It's far less cool if everyone gets to be Speed Racer... I mean, who gets Trixie?
  • dude, I have had it with slashdot. I have been reading the comments, the articles, etc for over a year. during this time I have had to endure some good stories and some really poor ones, like this one about the speed racer car, that promote the yuppie lifestyle. fuck that shit. the quality of the stories and the quality of the posts has been getting worse since Slashdot got "purchased" by VA Linux.

    anyway, a threehundred thousand dollar car that has saws? what the fuck does that have to do with geeks? speed racer? maybe. speed racer is poor quality anime that lacks creativity if you ask me. i need information. not advertisements for yuppie luxury items that so called geeks should lust after. i don't know what has gotten into slashdot, but i feel that it has sunken to a level of mediocrity that befuddles. i might as well be "surfing" msn.com [msn.com].

    what do you think?
  • Easy. The hope is, people will assume that the reserve is ridiculously high, and bid over the reserve price, thus starting things off with a higher price, and ending up with much more money than would have been gotten otherwise.
  • a threehundred thousand dollar car that has saws? what the fuck does that have to do with geeks?

    It has to do with geeks because it has to do with Speed Racer. Speed Racer, tripe that it is, is very popular with certain elements of the geek crowd. And just because you're a backwoods hick doesn't mean yuppies shouldn't be buying $300,000 worthless cars.

  • Anyone saw this little gem (Score:3)

    by hpa ( 7948 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @09:56PM (#981500) Homepage
    The bottom of the page says:
    In order to maintain bids from qualified buyers, you must contact the company that owns the Mach 5. They will ask for information that will verify your ability to purchase the vehicle.
    This will assure that unqualified bidders do raise the price.


    My emphasis... :)

  • Hello. Does anyone know if any of the batmobiles used in Tim Burton's Batman films was ever sold or auctioned? If not, does anyone know which company built it? I recall reading an interview with the designers back in 1992 (Batman Returns) and the stuff they went through to get it designed and built for the film but I lost the magazine.

    Thanks in advance!

    E
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • How ironic that the is being used to promote child safety.

    The woman in the picture is not a child, is she? Clearly a child's head would be well below the decapitation point.
  • Not only to you get to blow $300k on the thing.... but they won't even let you play with it for 8 friggin months...

    The high bidder has to agree to loan it out for 8 months so it can finish its current campaign..

    Why didn't they just wait until 8 months to auction in it off.... so the lucky dude yu buys it can drive it home and have something to show for his $300k... jeezz

    You never know though... this speed racer hype could all be gone in 8 months...
  • Forget the car, when does bidding start on the girl? :)
  • All you have to do is read the website.

    But since you asked, they got rid of the lawyers who filed the countersuit, and replaced them with the one who persecuted the CPHack case.

  • is she oem, or aftermarket add-ons?
  • After Usenet and email, even Slashdot is now spammed with auction pointers...
  • I believe that I read that, Eastman one of the guys who made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Bought the Batmobile at a auction, and that he donated it to a museum.

    although I can't be exactly sure

  • Oh good, I'm not the only one. I don't get that. No doubt she is very attractive, but the hair coloring is very distracting. I'm not put off by colored hair - just badly colored hair. Plus, she would probably look better as a brunette anyway. Chrissakes, if you're going to pose in a $300,000 automobile, at least go get your hair re-colored for the picutre, eh? (or is that some new in-style look that I'm just not aware of?)
  • I'll glady pay you Tuesday for a Mach5 today.
  • As of this posting, the bid price on the car is a mere $150,000. This has exceeded the sellers reserve price.

    -S

    Scott Ruttencutter

  • like u said, would any self -respecting yuppie have ANYTHING to do with anything as daggy and uncool as speedracer a "poor quality anime that lacks creativity" as you say?

    It's geek culture... it's cheap tacky scifi that we all watched and love when we were growing up... and it's still quite a laugh when u look back on it now :) pretty funny stuff actually...

    and like some other guy said... if you don't wanna read it, just don't?! It's the same story when people whinge about Katz and his articles - if you don't wanna read it, just excercise some control and DON'T CLICK that read more link

  • Is the chick on the picture included?

    ;)
    if so, not too bad of a price.

  • stupid (Score:1)

    by zeck ( 103790 )
    That is really ludicrously stupid. Why did anyone waste their time building such a thing? Who would be dumb enough to buy it?
  • But, do we really want to support Ebay while they continue removing valid auctions of Microsoft products?

    I don't share the overwhelming hatred of MS that some on Slashdot express. But Ebay violating their own EULA is an important blow against consumer rights. Acceptance of this policy is a bad precident for the online marketplace.

    Boycotting Ebay until they change their policy can be a worthy action. Nerds like us still make up the majority of the population that are making internet purchases. Our boycot would be felt.

    Besides, does anybody really need more garage-sale junk? :-)

  • My understanding is that it was commissioned for some promotional use that required the purchase of a license from whoever holds the rights to the 'Speed Racer' thing. They say if you are going to use it for commercial purposes, you have to negotiate a separate license agreement. I would imagine if you started using the 'Mach 5' in commercials, the owners of 'Speed Racer' would come after you with C&D.

    It's not street legal, so personal use seems to be limited to keeping it in your garage to impress visitors and towing it to the local track and paying $100/hr to drive in ovals. Not very practical, but I guess if you had gobs of cash and had already built your own petting zoo, amusement park and whatever else... MJ, anyone?
  • Wrong cartoon... ;)
  • That cockpit looks a lot more uncomfortable than sitting in, say, a Triumph TR-3.

    Of course, the Mach 5 doesn't have a monster steering wheel that rubs against your thighs like a Triumph TR-3 does.
  • who wants the Jaguar hearse from Harold and Maude

    Lot's of people, unfortunely it really went over that cliff in the end. Appearently, the producers couldn't figure out anything else to do with it.

    sigh.
    -Rob

  • I know. It was a cross-cartoon cultural reference. Not neccessarily witty or funny. At least the title is a reference...
  • Why bid when you can have your very own Mach 5 for $31.95 (WITH REMOVABLE SAW BLADES!)?
  • Seems they built it for promotional use for whatever that children's charity thing is. The auction on eBay seems to be a promo gimmick as well, probably just to get free pub. Notice that the buyer has to agree to let them continue using it for their promotional tour.

    This car wasn't built for the purpose of auctioning on eBay to make a profit, it seems. A collector with lots of cash would be 'dumb' enough to buy it (but not so far, it appears).
  • I would! I would! This is why people become rich, so they can by wonderfully ludicrous shit like this . Would someone PLEASE loan me HALF a MILLION?
  • Notice the picture of the woman in the car. The windshield is at about head level. If there were an accident, the driver would be sent head first against the edge of the glass. It would likely decapitate the driver. How ironic that the is being used to promote child safety.

    On the website, one of the listed features is a 5 point seatbelt, so IIRC, if you wrecked it you wouldn't go forward all that much if you kept the seatbelt nice and tight.

  • Starting at a base price of $61,000, you can order one of the Mach 5's from here [mymach5.com]. Of course, you have to put down a $35,000 deposit, and you aren't guaranteed a Mach 5. On a side note, they're going to build a Racer X [mymach5.com] car too.
  • but it does have a 400 HP 327 engine. whee! too bad it's lined with birght red DEAD COW. top estimated speed is 185 mph, clocked at 135 in third gear, etc, ad nauseum.

    don't moderate this.
    thanks.
  • Really! If I was going to pay $300k for a car, it'd be a Porsche 550A Spyder. *DROOL*

    Refrag
  • ...a helmet and a red bandana.
  • I've got a Real Working Mach64 right here with me.
  • Looking over the ad, I waxed a bit nostalgic... for a moment. Then my senses came back and I realized that if I had lots of money to throw away, this would possibly be one of the things I would buy. Sorry, while this is neat and kinda cool, I just don't see it as having any kind of value. I especially would NOT pay the kind of money that they are looking for! (125K and STILL not made minimum bid!!) For that kind of money, I could rent a decent room in someone's partitioned garage here in the San Jose area! Gots better things to buy...
  • Actually, it looks to have pretty good clearance up front. Besides, thats typically not too big a problem, just watch out for curbs.

    I'm lower than that (See? [dyndns.org]) and have no problems up front w/ speed bumps, my exhaust is another story. :-(

  • Re:stupid (Score:3)

    by The Man ( 684 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @07:50PM (#981533) Homepage
    Why did anyone waste their time building such a thing?

    Because he was paid to do so.

    Who would be dumb enough to buy it?

    Speed Racer fans and/or car collectors who have too much money, obviously.

    Lighten up.

  • it's actually legally licensed, so, in some stupid way, it does 'officially' relate to the cartoon.

    they claim it cost em $350,000.

    (insert long rant about stupid americans making a fuss over elian while making an equal fuss over there being 'too many' immigrants.. sigh)

    --
    blue
  • .. but you have to wait 8 months after your give them your money for suppsoed delivery?

    Thats a hell of a long time to disappear and cover your tracks with. Given the vauge "robotic homing piegon", pardon me if I'm thinking thsi may be the con of the decade in progress...

    I also haven't heard anwywhere of this 'child safety tour', which seems odd for a PR event. has anyone else? (Though even if the tour IS legit, the listing still could be a con. It would just mean the pcitures are real rather then rednered.)

    Call me overly suspicious, but it's covneient that it isn't street legal, as well. This means there is no registration to authenticate ownership...

  • Re:Hmmm (Score:1)

    by fugue ( 4373 )
    Or for the same price you could live just up 280 in Palo Alto, in a spacious one-bedroom cardboard box like the ones they ship fridges in. On-street parking available for a nominal extra charge.

  • I don't know - I guess many of you guys haven't seen the car mags covers in the supermarkets. Now, they've got accessories (chicks) more worthy of a $350k car! [besides - the Racer X beats the sh*t out of the Mach5.]
  • I wonder if it comes with Trixie, man she was a hottie.

    If you're in your late 50's/early 60's, then yes, you have something to look forward to. :)

  • The Yuppie lifestyle? Are you on fucking drugs? I don't know very many gen X geeks who can say they didn't see and love a few episodes of Speed Racer when they were growing up. Even the few I know can see the fun and camp of the show when they finally do see it. Not to try to broadly sterotype anyone, this is just the way that I have observed things to be.

    Also, of the yuppies I have met, most of them would be appaled at the idea of having something as 'childish' as this car.

    My 2 cents
    -Dusty Hodges

  • Re:Trixie (Score:2)

    by PD ( 9577 )
    Yes, it does come with Trixie. The auction says that both the actors who played Speed and Trixie will be there when the keys are given to the auction winner.

    "That's right, Trixie and Speed Racer will be there. Peter Fernandez, the original voice of Speed Racer and Racer X can't wait to turn over the keys to help support his favorite charity, Child Safety Network. Corinne Orr is the voice of Trixie, Mom Racer, Chim Chim and all the female voices used on the show."

    So there you have it.
  • Yeah, I love chicks who dye their roots black
  • Making fun of something is a lot different than ripping it off.

    You must be a lifetime member of PETA, judging by your attitude.

    And you most likely did not even read it.

  • Apparently this guy [slashdot.org] doesn't see the humor. However, even tho I've never seen Speed Racer, I think it's pretty humorous... :)
  • I see a condition is personal use only. Can they enforce that I wonder? If you own it you own it.
  • You know, I've seen porno flicks that started like this [mymach5.com]

    Also, did anyone else notice the rearv iew mirror [mymach5.com]?
  • If I had money coming out my butt, I'd buy it in a second. I loved speed racer.
    P.S. Legally the girl may not come with it, but if you have that much money, she'll come. Trust me.
  • This is a great idea but... It still doesn't qualify to fulfill my car dream. That being a finley crafted automobile whose plush interior required the slaughter of at least one dozen cows. -"Drowning is for cats and blind puppies." -Othello
  • Check the specs of the $61k car vs. the one being auctioned on ebay. The one on ebay is a one-off boxed aluminum chassis with a mid-engine/transaxle setup. The $61k car that you can order is based on a front engine/rear wheel drive kit chassis. Which in my mind is way less cool. The only really unique thing about the $61k car is that it is apparently officially licensed and has a fiberglass body that's made from what is probably the same molds as the prototype.
  • "Child Safety Network appreciates the enthusiastic interest in the Mach 5 prototype."

    "Additional Features: 18" McCulla retractable pneumatic saw blades."

    Anybody else find this insanely funny?

    Just the thing for cutting corners, or getting into (or out of) tight parking spots.

    Mind you, the first speed bump you come to, that nose is history! (Good luck finding spares...)
  • Actually I saw the ebay link earlier this week (Monday I believe) on Bluesnews and at that time it was going for $100k.
  • Actually, I just started using the mach 3. Very happy with it so far, but it has trouble getting the highest mustache hairs (by the bottom of the nose. The space between the front edge and the actual blade is almost double that of my previous blade (Sensor XL).

    You could always just slather your face in Nair, too... not quite as bad for the rest of your health as chemo...
  • "Child Safety Network appreciates the enthusiastic interest in the Mach 5 prototype."

    "Additional Features: 18" McCulla retractable pneumatic saw blades."

    Anybody else find this insanely funny?

    My, how times have changed...methinks you've been playing Carmageddon too much. :)

  • You can't just throw away the skin of the cow - after you eat all the meat (yum, seared flesh) you might as well make a few jackets, seats and baseball gloves from the hide. Should really use the rest of it too, but oh well... that's what hot dogs are for.
  • Yeah, they were sort of extremely ugly for about 20 years... the real old ones were nice, but the 80's and 90's Stangs were butt...

    The new ones are decent, but [insert obligatory Ford bashing here]. I just haven't found a Ford product made in the last 15 years that is up to any sort of quality standards. Things ain't what they used to be...
  • A bit offtopic, but I just thought I'd pass this along:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIte m&item=364088805

    Some moron is trying to sell a Williamette (Intel's next-generation Pentium) on Ebay. These things aren't available to the public yet. He even took the opportunity to illegally benchmark it. Little does he know that his story has been circulating faster than the ILOVEYOU virus thru Intel and pretty much everyone over there is familiar with it. He's screwed.
  • It's not her that's turning into stone..
    its a part of my body.....
    j/k BTW

  • Trixie (Score:3)

    by Tei'ehm Teuw ( 191740 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @07:27PM (#981557)
    I wonder if it comes with Trixie, man she was a hottie.

    And what about Sprital and Chim Chim? Are they still hiding in the trunk?

  • but if you have that much money, she'll come.

    And even if she doesn't, she'll do her best to fake it.


    ---
  • Is the chick on the picture included?

    Sadly, my first reaction on seeing the article on the front page was "Does Trixie included?"

    Don't waste your time guys, according to the seller, Trixie is now a 50 year-old lap dancer in Kansas City, site of the Slashdot Anti-PETA BBQ. He did try to offer me a deal on a slightly used Chim-Chim, but I didn't want to know what 'slightly used' entailed.

  • I wonder what the RESERVE PRICE on an item like this is?

    It would be kewler with a real Chim Chim to go with it.

    On a lighter note, anyone ever seen the Dexter's Lab episode with the speed racer parody? Now that was funny.

  • Or you could just use the giant retractable sawblades.

    ----
    Oh my god, Bear is driving! How can this be?
  • Current bid is at 125K. Who would pay 125K for a plastic kit car that more than likely cost less than 20K to make and has no relation to anything officially relating to Speed Racer the cartoon.

    Reminds me of the auctions that were selling bottles of air from that little eilian kids neighborhood down in Florida. They were getting bids for upwards of a hundred bucks just for Air that Eilian may have breathed.

    Just seems silly.

  • Razor! (Score:3)

    by MicroBerto ( 91055 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @07:32PM (#981563)
    "Using patented 5-razor technology, the Mach 5 is able to shave your face with 3 easy strokes! And now with ultra-small razors, it actually fits in your mustache area, unlike its bulky predecessor, the mach 3!"

    Mike Roberto (roberto@soul.apk.net [mailto]) -GAIM: MicroBerto

  • I submitted a story two whole friggin' months ago about this project, and it didn't get accepted. Now, only when it's been put up on eBay does Slashdot run anything on it. Grrr!

    I would've thought that the very existence of a working replica of the Mach 5 would be "News for Nerds", if not stuff that matters. The eBay sale was already planned when I submitted the story too!

    Grumble grumble mutter mutter


    ---
    Zardoz has spoken!

  • Re:Goddammit, Hemos! (Score:3)

    by Booker ( 6173 ) on Thursday June 22, 2000 @08:21PM (#981567) Homepage
    I would've thought that the very existence of a working replica of the Mach 5 would be "News for Nerds"...

    You mean sort of like this article here [slashdot.org]?

    ---

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