Pursuit Special
Replica with air dam and headlight covers
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| Affiliation | Main Force Patrol Mad Max film series |
|---|---|
| Launched | Mad Max |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | V8 Interceptor Coupe Muscle car |
| Propulsion |
Internal combustion engine FR layout |
The Pursuit Special, also referred to as the V8 Interceptor, is the iconic black muscle car (featuring a distinctive supercharger) driven by the title character during much of the Mad Max franchise, where it appears in three of four films, as well as both video games.
The first car shown in the film with the title Pursuit Special is a 1972 HQ Holden Monaro V8 coupe stolen and driven by the escaped criminal, the Night Rider. The more famous Pursuit Special is a modified Ford Falcon XB GT originally assembled in November 1973. Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) is offered the black Pursuit Special, referred to as a V8 Interceptor, as an incentive to stay on the force as their top pursuit man after he reveals his desire to resign. Although Max turns the offer down, he later uses the black car to exact his revenge on an outlaw motorcycle gang who killed his wife and child.
The vehicle started out as a standard white 351 cu in (5.8 L) 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe when in 1976, filmmakers Byron Kennedy and George Miller began preproduction on Mad Max. The movie's art director Jon Dowding designed the Interceptor and commissioned Melbourne-based car customizers Graf-X International to modify the GT Falcon. Peter Arcadipane, Ray Beckerley, John Evans, and painter Rod Smythe transformed the car as specified for the film.
The main modifications are the black paint scheme, roof and boot spoilers, wheel arch flares, and front nose cone and air-dam designed by Arcadipane (marketed as the "Concorde" style). Also, eight individual exhaust side pipes were added (only two of them being functional, others appeared to be working because of the vibrations the first two created). The most famous feature of the car is a nonfunctional Weiand 6-71 supercharger protruding through the bonnet. Research conducted by Bob Fursenko, the original restorer of the vehicle after Mad Max 2, indicated that it was powered by an electric motor, others stated it was driven by the air-conditioning compressor, both controlled by a red push-pull switch on the gear stick. Typically, functional superchargers are driven constantly by the engine and cannot be switched on and off, as portrayed in the first two Mad Max films.
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