Did This Hyundai Tiburon Ad Inspire The Fast and the Furious?
Three identical sporty imports impossibly chase down the bad guys.
The Tiburon was Hyundai's sports coupe from 1997-2008. For its debut, Hyundai made a short and cheesy action flick to show off its virtues. A rogue biker gang steals a Porsche 911, Porsche 928, and a Shelby Cobra from a moving tractor trailer. The police, unable to catch the thieves in their old Cadillac, themselves hijack three new Tiburons from another moving tractor trailer to chase them down. Throughout the pursuit, captions point out the Tiburon's high-tech features such as "MacPherson Strut Front Suspension," "EPS (Electronic Power Steering)," and "Perfect Ergonomics," as demonstrated during a cutaway scene to the interior for no apparent reason. The marked police cars spin and crash frequently, but the Hyundais are able to catch up to and capture the thieves—no doubt thanks to being "Sporty, Dynamic."
The entire video is so cringeworthy to watch it becomes funny. There is no way a stock Tiburon would have a chance of catching any of these stolen cars. Why would the police be driving an old Cadillac, complete with a vinyl top, in the first place? Why wouldn't the truck driver stop to let them borrow the cars without a dramatic exit sequence straight out of Knight Rider? And why wouldn't the police simply radio ahead for help and a helicopter? Even some of the captions are wrong. The Tiburon can't possibly have "14-inch Ventilated Front Disc Brakes" when the stock wheels are 14 inches in diameter. And finally, no biker I know would ever intentionally drop their bike to climb aboard a truck. A rider's bike is their pride and joy.
However, you can see many elements in this video that would later appear throughout the Fast and the Furious movies. It's similar to how Duel, Steven Spielberg's first movie, contains many elements, in rough form, that he would refine and reuse in his later blockbuster films. Is it possible that this Hyundai advertisement inspired the creators of the franchise to start making feature length movies like this? The world may never know.
(Thanks to Wobbles the Mind on Oppositelock for sharing this.)
