FILM · 2014 · USA
Need for Speed
34 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
Most of the film's car stunts were performed practically using car shells, with almost no visual effects used. The bodywork of the Koenigsegg, a $4.6 million supercar, cost around $300,000.
- #002
According to director Scott Waugh, the entire cast took stunt driving lessons. When Tobey returns to Little Pete's crashed car, Aaron Paul repeatedly undershot his mark by fifteen meters because he was afraid of hitting Waugh, who was operating the camera. Waugh told Paul to try to hit him. Someone holding Waugh's belt was told to pull him out of the way, but only if he was about to be hit. On the next take, Paul came within five centimeters of hitting the camera. In one continuous shot, the Koenigsegg drives all four wheels toward the camera, with a close-up of Aaron Paul's face in the window, followed by Paul jumping out of the car.
- #003
Executive producer Steven Spielberg was binge-watching Breaking Bad (2008) and, together with director Scott Waugh, decided that Aaron Paul should play the lead rather than the villain. Aaron Paul said this during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003).
- #004
Crossing the United States in forty-five hours seems very difficult, but Google Maps says a trip from southern New York (specifically Mount Kisco) to San Francisco, California (a distance of 4,935 miles) would take forty-three hours, driving almost entirely on I-80 while exceeding the speed limit. The detour to Detroit to pick up Finn and evade various police officers would be made up for with excessive speeds.
- #005
The Mustang featured in the film is a 2013 Shelby GT500 Super Snake Wide Body. The Shelby GT500 Super Snake has a 5.8-liter supercharged V8 in two different configurations, one producing 662 horsepower and the other 850 horsepower. The car in the final scene before the credits is a 2015 Mustang GT prototype.
- #006
The police helicopters seen repeatedly are actually helicopters used for aerial photography, with the camera equipment removed in post-production. This cost less than renting two helicopters and made it easier to store the helicopters on the ground, an important point in the rural areas where they were widely used.
- #007
The final race is taken directly from the video game Need For Speed II (1997) and runs along the coast to a lighthouse finish. Each car's elimination during the race is inspired by the "Knockout" challenge, a first for the game.
- #008
Finn calls Maverick "Nimrod," and Maverick is confused about what it means. It is actually a Hebrew word meaning hunter, but it is often mistakenly assumed to mean idiot, because the cartoon character Bugs Bunny frequently uses the term for Elmer Fudd, who is both a hunter and a fool.
- #009
The Bugatti Veyron in the De Leon race at the end of the film is painted to resemble the Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition but is actually a standard Veyron. One of the telltale signs is the roof air ducts on the standard Veyron (as shown in the film), while the Super Sport's air ducts are integrated into the roof.
- #010
The song playing in the film's final scene and end title sequence was written and performed by Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi), who plays Benny in the film.
- #011
The cars used in the DeLeon race are as follows: Saleen S7, Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, Spano GTA, McLaren P1 and Koenigsegg Agera R.
- #012
The Mustang's top speed test scene was filmed at Road Atlanta.
- #013
The film was shot mostly with the Canon C500.
- #014
Alan Pflueger, who plays "Flyin' Hawaiian," owns the Honda dealership in Oahu, the largest automotive dealership in the state. Brian L. Keaulana, the "right seater" who fires a shotgun at Tobey (Aaron Paul) and Julia (Imogen Poots), is a legendary Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer.
- #015
In fact, all the exotic cars except the Mustang are replica kit cars. The crew used a Mustang, an F458 Italia and an Audi as camera cars to shoot the film. As for the replicas, there are many continuity errors. For example, the McLaren P1's spoiler was supposed to raise automatically at high speed but did not. Koenigseggs do not make high-pitched engine sounds; they have a twin-turbo V8. In the first race, Dino (Dominic Cooper) says the three cars are all the same Koenigsegg Ageras, but Dino's car and Little Pete's (Harrison Gilbertson) car are Agera Rs, while Tobey's (Aaron Paul) car is only an Agera. Finally, Koenigseggs have front bumpers with a low spoiler, but the replicas in the film do not.
- #016
Taylor Kitsch, Liam Hemsworth, Brenton Thwaites and Luke Bracey were considered for the lead role, but Aaron Paul was ultimately cast.
- #017
When they exit the interstate with the Mustang, they are heading south on I-75 in Macon, Georgia. At the end of this sequence, they get back onto the interstate heading north.
- #018
DVDs of Act of Valor (2012) and Real Steel (2011) are visible on the DVD rack at the gas station; Scott Waugh co-directed Act of Valor (2012) and John Gatins co-wrote Real Steel (2011).
- #019
The film playing on screen during the drive-in scene is Bullitt (1968). In particular, during the chase scene set in San Francisco, a 1968 Mustang is seen being pursued by another vehicle. Later in Need for Speed, a 2015 Mustang is seen driving down the same street.
- #020
The Mustang has a 5.8-liter supercharged engine, but it makes the sound of a turbocharged engine throughout the film. When the driver releases the throttle to slow down, you can hear the turbocharger's wastegates.
- #021
After The Peacemaker (1997) and Minority Report (2002), this film became the third action film made by DreamWorks Pictures.
- #022
Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots both appeared in A Long Way Down (2014).
- #023
The film's premiere coincided with the release of Need for Speed: Rivals, the series' latest game at the time. As a special celebration, a blue and silver Mustang concept car, the 'Mustang GT NFS Movie Car', was added to the game.
- #024
Much of the film's plot was inspired by Need for Speed: The Run (2011), in which an interstate race is held between San Francisco and New York City. In the film, however, things are reversed.
- #025
The police cruiser whose rear axle is torn off during the pursuit attempt recalls the same event in American Graffiti.
- #026
As the gas station is approached, the fuel cap is seen to be open, recalling the mid-motion refueling of the previous scene.
- #027
The final race, called "De Leon", takes its name from Victor De Leon III, who entered the Guinness World Records book as the youngest professional actor ever. This is a nod to Need for Speed's origins as a video game, even though Victor De Leon III is not known for playing Need for Speed.
- #028
There is a connection between the real Carol Shelby's life and the race organizer. Both had heart conditions and had to give up racing, and both took heart pills under stress. This is also mentioned in the film Ford vs Ferrari.
- #029
The film's title design was to become the main logo of the Need for Speed video games, as seen in Need for Speed: No Limits (2015). This logo would continue to be used until Need for Speed: Heat (2017).
- #030
The funeral scene was shot in Rome, Georgia.
- #031
Throughout the entire DeLeon Race, the active aerodynamic wings of the Bugatti Veyron and McLaren P1 remain unopened, because anyone with basic knowledge of supercars knows that the McLaren's wing opens at a little over 70 MPH and stays up until 156 MPH, then drops slightly. The Bugatti's wing also opens at around 60 MPH and acts as an air brake.
- #032
When Finn (Rami Malek) picks up his phone at his workplace in Detroit, the caller ID reads Joe Peck. There is in fact a Detroit police officer named Joe Peck who worked in the area where they were filming at the time.
- #033
Aaron Paul and Dominic Cooper both played characters named "Jesse" in an AMC series. Paul played Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad (2008), and Cooper played Jesse Custer in Preacher (2016).
- #034
When the Mustang first arrives at the shop where it is to be built, Ramón Rodríguez is wearing a hat. The hat is for the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier CVN 74, or U.S.S. John C. Stennis.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work