American Racing Equipment signs licensing agreement with Universal Studios

Leading import performance wheels manufacturer American Racing Equipment announced today at the 2002 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show that they have signed a licensing agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to offer a line of co-branded The Fast and the Furious sport wheels under their Motegi Racing and RO_JA brands. The Fast and the Furious 2 is Universal Pictures’ follow-up to the summer 2001 breakaway hit that grossed $206 million at the worldwide box-office.

Motegi Racing and RO_JA will each roll out wheels that will also be featured in the summer 2003 release. Other licensed products will include Motegi Tuner Car Wax, a car wax formulated for the colorful finishes popular in the import performance market, specially-designed wheel accessories, t- shirts, headwear and window stickers. All will be available in early Spring from Motegi Racing and RO_JA dealers and car accessory boutiques.

The split five-spoke Motegi Racing F&F 5 wheel will come in 17-inch to 19-inch sizes in gun metal, silver, white and hyper black finishes. The RO_JA Furious Five, from tuner car builder and import drag racer RJ DeVeras, is a twisted, blade-like, five-spoke, two-piece wheel. It also will come in 17-inch to 19-inch sizes with a machined finish.

“We are thrilled about our relationship with Universal Studios and are very excited about leveraging the future possibilities for Motegi Racing and RO_JA,” said Chris Anderson, brand manager for both Motegi Racing and RO_JA. “The Fast and the Furious represents today’s car culture for creating a new breed of auto enthusiast and for driving the popularity of aftermarket wheels.”

The Fast and the Furious 2 is the highly-anticipated follow-up to the Summer 2001 box office sensation, which was the first film ever to depict the super-charged world of street racing. Paul Walker returns as former cop Brian O’Conner, who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to transport a shipment of "dirty" money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), while actually working with undercover agent Monica Clemente (newcomer Eva Mendes) to bring Verone down. Ludacris, James Remar and Devon Aoki are also in the cast of this new high-adrenaline adventure directed by John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, Baby Boy) and produced by Neal Moritz (The Fast and the Furious, Sweet Home Alabama), with a whole new line-up of dazzling high-performance vehicles ready to burn up the screen.

Universal Pictures’ The Fast and the Furious grossed $206 million at the worldwide box-office. In addition to its box office success, the film showed even more muscle during the holiday season as the home video and DVD flew off retailers’ shelves, becoming the number one selling DVD of 2001 with over 5.5 million units* (*per Video Scan) sold to date.

The car and motorcycle action sequences depicted in The Fast and the Furious and The Fast and the Furious 2 films are dangerous. All stunts were performed in carefully-controlled environments using professionally trained stunt crews on closed roads. No attempts should be made to duplicate any action, driving or car play scenes portrayed therein. Universal Studios neither condones nor endorses the use of any licensed products in any manner whatsoever other than in strict accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and speed limits.
A note to parents: The Fast and The Furious is rated PG-13.