Mach 5
From Speed Racer
Mach 5
- Car: Mach 5
- Driver: Speed Racer (all media)
- Number: #5 (all media)
- Affiliation/Sponsor: Racer Motors
- First Appearance: Speed Racer (1967)
- Other Appearances: Speed Racer (film); Speed Racer The Videogame; The New Adventures of Speed Racer;Speed Racer - The Next GenerationR
- Backround:
Buttons
- Button A (Auto Jacks): “Releases powerful jacks to boost the car so anyone can quickly make any necessary repairs or adjustments.” Although not designed for this function, the auto jacks can also be used to “jump” the car short distances at high speeds. The "chyock chyock" sound effect played whenever the car jumped through the air is instantly recognizable to the show's fans.
- Button B (Belt Tires): Toggles special grip tires for traction over rough terrain (firm, icy, or unsteady ground, ocean floor, vertical mountainsides etc.). At the same time, 5,000 horsepower is distributed equally to each wheel by auxiliary engines.
- Button C (Cutters): For use traveling over heavily wooded terrain. A matched pair of powerful rotary saws protrude from the front of the Mach 5 to cut away many obstacles.
- Button D (Deflector): Releases a powerful transparent cover which seals the cockpit into an air-tight chamber. The cover is bullet- and crash-proof. The cockpit becomes a water-tight chamber which then allows the car to be completely submerged under water.
- Button E * ("Evening Eye"): Controls special illumination lights "which can be controlled singularly or in tandem", allowing the driver to see more clearly than with ordinary headlights. When used with the “night shades” attached to Speed’s helmet, his vision is enhanced with infrared light. The original Japanese version strictly translates this as "illuminating eyes".
- Button E was later modified to activate mini-wings that would slide out from under the car to assist Speed in long jumps.
- Button F (Frogger mode): Used when the Mach 5 is submerged. An oxygen canister supplies the cockpit with breathable air. A periscope can then be raised to scan the surface of the water. Everything viewed is relayed to a video screen inside the Mach 5's cockpit. The 100-pound auxiliary supply of oxygen is enough to last for thirty minutes.
- Button G (Gizmo Rocket): Releases a flying, gull-shaped "homing robot" from under the hood of the car.
- Button H (Home): Mounted in the center console with the rest of the controls for the homing robot, this button sends the homing robot back to the Racer house.
