Mad Max Falcon
The History Of The Mad Max InterceptorThe car started life as a standard 1973 XB GT Ford Falcon Coupe, a car exclusive to Australia. And for the first few years of its life, this is pretty much how it stayed. Then, in 1976, film makers Byron Kennedy and George Miller began pre-production on Mad Max. They needed a vehicle to feature in the film as the black police 'Interceptor' - a high performance, evil looking Australian car. Around the same time, Murray Smith was hired on as part of the Mad Max crew. One of his tasks was to put together the Interceptor, and he started by acquiring the XB Falcon mentioned above. Then Murray, along with Peter Arcadipane, Ray Beckerley, and various others, proceeded to modify the car to what was needed for the film. The main modification is obviously the Concorde front end, and the supercharger protruding through the bonnet (which is for looks only). The Concorde front was a fairly new accessory at the time, designed by Peter Arcadipane at Ford Australia as a showpiece, and later becoming available to the general public due to its popularity. The car also received quite a few other, more minor modifications, to complete the package. There was only ever one black interceptor built for the first Mad Max. For a fairly extensive list of exactly what was done to the car, see below. Following the production of Mad Max, the car was no longer needed, and was modified once more to make it suitable for use as a standard road car (basically by removing the blower and the side pipes). It was then toured around Melbourne to shopping centres, car shows and so on as part of the promotion done for the film. Following this promotional work, the car was finally put up for sale. Surprisingly though, no one at the time was actually interested in buying it! In the mean time, this low budget Australian film had gained worldwide success, prompting a sequel. The black interceptor was acquired back by Kennedy Miller for use once more. The blower and pipes were put back, although different to the originals, along with changing the rear wheels. The car was further modified to fit the setting of the new film, with large gas tanks fitted in the back, and its general appearance given a more used and stressed look. The front end was also modified by removing the bottom section, probably to give more clearance at the front in the outback locations it was required to be driven in for the second film. In addition to modifying the original car, a duplicate car was also put together for Mad Max 2. It seems that the duplicate car was used for most of the driving sequences, while the original car was used for all the close ups and interior shots. When eventually the story required for the black interceptor to be destroyed in a spectacular crash and burn up sequence, the duplicate car was used, leaving the original more or less intact. However, its use for the filmmakers was over, and the car was collected by a used metal dealer from Broken Hill for scrap, along with several other vehicles from the film, and destined to be destroyed for ever. Although it was supposed to be scrapped, the new 'owner' was reluctant to destroy this important car, and instead it was ultimately passed on to a colleague, Ray Evans, from Adelaide. The car then sat outside Ray Evans' scrap yard for more than three years, and was the subject of much interest. When a great fan of this film series, Bob Fursenko, spotted the car, he realised he had to have it, and after negotiations, Bob became the Falcon's new owner. Bob recalled that the car was not in too bad a condition. The front end was smashed, as seen in the film, but generally the car was sound. Off the car went to Franklin Side Crash Restorers where Tony and Mario Romeo went to work on the car. A number of months and $25,000 Australian dollars passed and the car was complete. The car was restored to its original former glory, but retaining the tanks fitted in the sequel. Eventually Bob located Murray Smith, and managed to get a number of photos of the car with its registration number still fitted at the Kennedy Miller studios, and obtained confirmation that this was in fact the original car which Murray had built. Bob also obtained photos and information from Ray Evans confirming the cars authenticity. Bob needed to recoup some of his outlay, so the Interceptor was put to work at shows and exhibitions. Bob first put it into the Launceston Show, charging a dollar each for a look. It was a phenomenal success. Eventually Bob's other interests took residence, and the car was loaned to the National Motor Museum of Australia, at Birdwood, South Australia. The car became the museum's greatest attraction, which is not surprising, as the car must rank as THE most famous Australian car, with the Mad Max films being the most successful Australian film series. In 1993 the World Forum for Motor Museums was held in Germany. One of the participants at the forum was John Cashen, the director and curator of the Birdwood Museum. Another was Dr Peter Nelson, the compulsive collector of film and TV vehicles and owner of 'Cars of the Stars Motor Museum' in Keswick, in the English Lake District. Peter and John eventually met at the forum and when John mentioned that they had the Interceptor at their museum Peters ears pricked up. Although John would not disclose the name of the owner of the car, he promised he would pass on Peter's interest in the car to the owner. Bob Forsenko phoned Peter one lunchtime and disclosed his asking price for the car. After a number of air mail letters and faxes, and after Peter had received documents and photographs proving conclusively that the car was the original one, a deal was struck. The car then went to the 'Cars of the Stars Motor Museum' in England with other famous cars like The Batmobile, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Munster's Koach, Mr Bean's Mini, FAB 1, KITT, etc etc. However, the Interceptor is one of Peter's favourites. "This is the one and only Mel Gibsons Mad Max Police Interceptor" says Peter, "Any others are obviously fakes, I wouldn't part with this car for a million Australian dollars simply because it is such an important car, although I hope someday it will return to its native lands because it is a big part of Australian history". My Source: http://www.madmaxmovies.com Other Vehicles
By the end of filming, 14 vehicles had been destroyed in the chase and crash scenes, including the director's personal Mazda Bongo (the small, blue van that spins uncontrollably after being struck by the Big Bopper in the film's opening chase). Links
|
                         |
|