"The Last of the V8's" Theory

Um, Max's car isn't just a V8, it is a Super Charged V8. That is rare no matter how you look at. Look at the price of a Super Charged V8 today. They said Max's car has over 600 horsepower, that is amazing power even in 2014.

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I assume he means its the last NEW V8 off the production lines, the end of the line, the most advanced there is or will be. The other V8s you see are older less capable models.

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You are correct; The line means it is just the last of the MFP Interceptors outfitted with a V8. This is confirmed in Mad Max 2 when the mechanic at the compound gushes "The last of the V8 Interceptors!"

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1) Night rider stole a similar car for his chase and eventual death. there is a line about how that car is one of two (I think)

Can't remember that being mentioned, and in any case the car he stole was a different make (Holden) and was around well before 'max's' interceptor anyway so I'm not sure how it has any bearing on the Falcon being the last one or not.

(a piece from here... a piece from there)

Don't you mean "a ppppppiece from here, a ppppppiece from there?"

3) the scene in the office, after Max views the black falcon interceptor for the first time the two men are talking about enticing him to stay with a hotrod the "candy". talking about a waste of money.

lol that does seem like an odd and very expensive tactic to employ to tempt a grown man to stay in a job he knows is messing up his head. Goose maybe, but not a responsible family man like Max.

...then whoa, differences...

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Considering the generally large supply of functioning V8s in the functioning civilization Max occupies, I'm not sure how it's the last of anything. They could always rebuild an existing V8 motor from somewhere else or combine parts from several to make a working engine.

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This is an Australian movie and the last of the V8 line is more about the Ford XA GT HO that was the fastest production car ever made in Australia and was banned from the road in 1974 i think it was.

It has become an icon to motorheads here.

The 3 that are still around, it could be 2 i am not sure but they are worth over $500,000.00 AUD

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[deleted]

Just some points.

* I believe that the underground mechanic was alluding to the fact that with the decline in civilization, decay in society and low supplies of petrol, no more new V8s engined cars will ever be produced. In the late 1970s (and even now) that is not too hard to imagine, especially after the 1973 oil crisis. Ford Australia stopped making V8s in 1983, and Holden stopped making large sedans (Kingswood etc) and moved to a smaller/lighter more efficient dunnydore (Commodore). Holden made their last 308ci (5.0L) V8 in 1999. All V8 engines fitted to Australian made cars (Commodore and Falcon) are now imported from the USA. It's only a matter of time till they stop making them as well.

* The mechanic most probably had a shifty contact (presumably at Ford) who sold/gave him the engine, "a p-p-piece from here a piece from there".

* At the beginning of the film it shows Max under the bonnet tinkering around with the engine of his yellow XB Ford Falcon 'Interceptor'. I always took this to mean that he often works on his car in his spare time and therefore it is highly modified (when was the last time you saw a cop working on his cop car? lol). Hence his car being faster than the average cop car (in Max's universe) and how he catches up with 'The Nightrider'. Max is also the 'go to' guy, that's why they don't even involve him till after the other cop cars are all disabled, as if Max is thinking "ok so you guys failed, now move over and watch how it's done". :)
My best friend while growing up was a Ford fan and I was a Holden fan (motorsport), every time we'd watch the scene where Max catch up to The Nightrider my friend would turn to me and say something like "ha the Ford rips the Holden!" He still does it till this day. :)


Just to clear the cars up...
Max's yellow car is a XB Ford Falcon 351ci (5.8L Cleveland V8).
Roop and Charlie's yellow car is a XB Ford Falcon 302ci (4.9L Windsor V8).
Big Bopper's yellow car is a XA Ford Falcon 250ci (4.1L inline 6 cylinder) (dunno how it kept up).
All the yellow cop cars are 4 door sedans.

The black 'Pursuit Special' that Crawford Montizano a.k.a The Nightrider stole with his 'floozie' at the start of the film was a Holden Monaro LS 2-door coupe with either a Holden 308ci (5.0L) V8 or a Chevrolet 350ci (5.8L) V8 (they came out with both, never mentions which in the film and there are no visual clues). I'd say the 350ci Chev, considering those (fake) side pipes. :)
For our American friends, Holden are the Aussie GM branch (who will sadly end local production in 2017 after almost 80 years).

Max's legendary black supercharged 'Pursuit Special' was a XB Ford Falcon 351ci (5.7L Cleveland V8) 2-door coupe (hardtop) with a Weiland 'blower' which in Max's world he can magically engage and disengage at a whim! We all know that that cannot be done in the real world, but we all wanted one just like that when we grew up! The blower itself was a plastic prop, it wasn't actually connected to anything and had no effect on the performance of the engine. There's a replica of Mad Max's black 2-door Holden 'Pursuit Special' at Silverton (near Broken Hill) with a very similar supercharger (even down to the Weiland letters), hasn't any booby-trapped boot-mounted fuel tanks though.

Sorry for the long post.

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