Mach Five

The Mach Five (マッハ号, Mahha-gō^?) is the racing car Speed Racer (Go Mifune in the Japanese version) drives in the anime series of the same name (known as "Mach Go! Go! Go!" in Japan). The car was designed, built, and created by "Pops Racer" (Daisuke Mifune), Speed Racer's father. It features a set of special devices which Speed Racer uses throughout the series. In the original 1967 series, the Mach Five is a white racing car with an "M" written on its hood (which does not stand for "Mach 5", but instead stands for "Mifune", both Go's last name, and the name of his father's motor company). In the 1993 American remake, the design was completely changed.

Its name probably derives from the fact that speeds above Mach 5 are known as hypersonic. However, the Mach Five cannot reach Mach speeds. The name is also a pun in two languages: the word for "five" in Japanese is "go". However, the "go" used for the car's name is a suffix attached to the names of ships, etc. Thus, the car is known in the Japanese version as simply the "Mach".

Actual race cars that closely resemble the Mach Five are the 1966 Japanese Grand Prix-winning Prince R380(1965)/Nissan R380-II(1966-68), the Le Mans-winners Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (designed by Scaglietti around 1958 through 1961), the Aston Martin DBR1 (Le Mans winner in 1959), the Ford GT40 (which was a very popular and successful racecar, mainly in Le Mans and other Touring series, in the 1960s), and the Chaparral 2C.

The car is designed to compete in a type of "open formula" racing, where cars are usually built with the maximum power and minimum of weight.

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