Introduction[]
The X3, about to kill one of the members of the Three Roses Club.
The Melange (マレンゴ, Marengo), or X3, is a race car that was controlled remotely by the son of Flash Marker to seek revenge on the people who murdered his father. It's based on the Jaguar XJ13, and the original version of the Melange driven by Flash Jr.'s father has the exact same proportions as the XJ13, aside from the strangely short tail end that's consistent with the cars drawn in Tatsuo Yoshida's art style. For the sake of clarity, the car used to kill Mr. Green and Mr. Black will be referred to as the X3, and the one used at Danger Pass will be referred to as the Melange.
Involvement in the Race for Revenge[]
The Melange was originally driven by Flash Marker before he was killed in a a wreck caused by the Three Roses Club, as they were afraid of his capability as a racer and the speed of the Melange. Their actions put into motion the events leading up to Race For Revenge Part 1 and Race For Revenge Part 2.
His son Flash Marker Jr. modified the car so that he could control it remotely. He used it to seek revenge on the Three Roses Club for murdering his father, and forced his younger sister Lily Marker to act as a decoy driver during the race at Danger Pass.
To further aid him in concealing the car's identity, he replaced the shell of the vehicle after it was wrecked trying to escape Speed Racer with one that had an open engine design, a two tone coloration, and red racing stripes. A portion in the middle of the shell's hood could be remotely flipped by Flash Marker Jr. to reveal the X3 while the car was killing off the remaining members of the Three Roses Club during the race at Danger Pass.
This "disguise shell" was a 1:1 replica of the original Melange that was driven by Flash Marker and destroyed in the wreck at Danger Pass, and Flash Marker Jr. decided to use this design because only the Three Roses Club would recognize the car, as Pops Racer wasn't involved in the race and Speed Racer would have only been 3 years old at the time of Flash Marker's death.
The Melange in it's new shell, with Flash revealing the X3 at Danger Pass.
He concealed the X3 with his sister as the decoy driver and new shell so that nobody would recognize the car that had been killing members of the Three Roses Club (Mr. Green, Mr. Black) at night, in and around the city they lived in.
Eventually during the race, Flash Marker Jr. uses the Melange to successfully kill two members of the Three Roses Club, with the third escaping with his life only because of Speed's interference. Speed later interferes a second time, which sends it flying down a cliff. This marks the end of the car's life.
The Design of the X3 and the Melange, and their practicality[]
The X3 was destroyed evading Speed Racer, and it was a design based on the original Melange driven by Flash Marker Jr.'s father. It was a happy accident, as Flash wouldn't have had any use for the X3's shell anyways after he used it to kill Mr. Green and Mr. Black prior to the race at Danger Pass, where he'd attempt to get his revenge.
The X3's shell would have probably been recognized by Mr. Herring and reported to the organizers of the race, where the car would have certainly been impounded by Inspector Detector. Lily Marker and Flash Marker Jr. would have also been arrested for being complicit and two counts of murder in the first degree respectively.
The X3 featured a dark blue paint job and had a matching shaker scoop on the hood. It's most likely that it was a covering for the engine's supercharger, which would explain the exposed design of the original Melange since it has no shaker scoop. The X3 also sported a dual-wheel design similar to that of the Dually trucks, although the inner wheels were slightly smaller. It's likely that these were for better traction, and to help with tight offroad corners (Harsh terrain such as the roads of Danger Pass) as smaller wheels are popular for rally racing.
Combined with the concealed supercharger, these features would have actually made the X3 an extremely scary car to go up against, especially considering that these features made it superior to the Mach 5 in a race since it easily caught up with Speed who was topping out in the beginning of Race for Revenge Part 1 at 180 MPH. Sparky also remarked that the X3 clocked in around 220 MPH, 60 MPH over the Mach 5's top speed.
In it's introduction in Race for Revenge Part 1, the X3 attempted to ram Speed off the track. If the Mach 5 didn't have gadgets at it's disposal, Speed would have been killed or crippled. This quickly cements into the minds of the viewers that the driver of the X3 is an extremely dangerous driver, as Speed himself remarks that he nearly crashed.
The Melange is never shown to have the dual-tire design, which may signify Flash Marker Jr.'s respect for his father's original vision of the car. The Melange also seems to have thicker tires than the X3's dual-wheel design, which means that it would perform better at drifting and track racing rather than rally racing like the X3.
The destruction of the Melange impacted Flash Marker Jr. severely, as he was visually distraught at the sight of his father's car being destroyed. It was cherished by him, and was also likely the only thing he had to remember his father by.
Trivia[]
- The Melange appears along with the Mammoth Car in Speed Racer The Next Generation, episode "The Fast Track", parts 2 and 3. In this appearance, it has changed color and now has a roof.
- The Melange takes some design elements (Mostly the nose) from the 1961 British race car, the Cooper Monaco (T-61M) King Cobra. The Melange shares most of it's design with the British concept race car designed specifically to win the Le Mans, the 1966 Jaguar XJ13. Sadly, it was never entered because of unforeseen difficulties and it was later shown in the 70s fully complete. The cockpit of the Melange most resembles the 1954 Jaguar D-Type.
- Car: Melange (1967)
- Driver: Flash Marker (1967); Flash Marker Jr. (by remote) (1967)
- Number: #X3 (1967); #3 (disguised) (1967)
- Affiliation/Sponsor: N/A
- First Appearance: Race for Revenge Part 1 (1967)
- Other Appearances: Race For Revenge Part 2 (1967)
- Background: "Melange is the name of a horse that was famous." When Speed says this, a famous painting of Napoleon Bonaparte on his horse, Marengo, is shown. Apparently, the name "Marengo" must have seemed more Japanese than French in the original materials and was translated as "Melange." Marengo is actually an Italian place name and the site of a very successful battle for the general. Both Napoleon's horse and an orange-flavoured dish Chicken Marengo were named as a result.