Long before Pixar gave us animated cars, '60s TV series 'Speed Racer' reveled in the magic of cartoon racing.

But when 'The Matrix' directors Andy and Larry Wachowski decided to transform the cult Japanese anime show into a live-action Hollywood spectacular, they were faced with a few questions. Like how to recreate Speed Racer's Mach 5 — one of the most recognisable onscreen cars.

Its aggressive profile, complemented by a glossy, white finish with a red 'M' emblazoned across the hood, is synonymous with the animated series. The updated design of the Mach 5 could have gone in a number of directions: "After exploring several possibilities, Larry and Andy looked at the original Mach 5's iconic profile and decided to retain the essence of the original because its look is truly timeless and unique," says producer Joel Silver.

But they also upped the ante by introducing a new generation of the Mach series — the Mach 6.

"As can be expected with Larry and Andy, they also wanted to break new ground here," explains production designer Owen Paterson. "For the Mach 6, which is used strictly for track racing… we went for a very bold-yet-refined profile, and maintained the colour scheme and overall 'M' shape of the Mach 5."

The Mach 6 belongs the 'T-180' class of cars which can turn their wheels 180 degrees and drift across banks sideways, generating over four Gs of lateral acceleration, and capable of speeds in excess of 400mph.

Paterson and his team began work nearly a year in advance of principal photography to create more than 100 individual car designs. "In our world we have architects, but in the world of 'Speed Racer' people hire 'carchitects' to custom build their vehicles," Paterson states.

Once the car designs were approved, they were modeled and painted in a digital environment. Additionally, Speed's Mach 5 and the Shooting Star of his arch-nemesis Racer X were constructed in full-scale for use in certain scenes. And while you could sit in the cockpit of each car, these full-size replicas weren't actually going anywhere as no power trains were installed. All of the high-flying car action in the film was rendered digitally with CGI.

"At the speeds they’re driving and with the combative techniques they use, there are a lot of precarious moments on the track," says visual effects supervisor Dan Glass. "It's an extremely dangerous-looking sport, but no one gets seriously hurt, because we've developed a special device that protects the driver."

Visual effects supervisor John Gaeta adds: "Larry and Andy came up with a safety feature they call 'Kwiksave Foam', which is like a big rubber ball that inflates around the driver to protect them in the event of a crash. This is standard equipment on all of the cars."

As impressive as the cars are, they needed an equally dramatic place to show off their moves. "The Wachowski brothers' first directive was: 'Our racetracks should be a cross between a giant ski slalom and a skateboard park,'" recalls Paterson.

"Larry and Andy felt strongly about making sure that each of the races looked very different from each other," says Silver. "Since we have the freedom to build tracks and backgrounds digitally, we really put our imaginations into overdrive."

Four racetracks were created, each with unique characteristics. Not only do the racetracks feature loop-the-loops, winding spirals and jumps, but they also take place against exotic-looking environs.

Speed Racer's hometown track is Thunderhead, where his late brother, Rex, still holds the track record. While Thunderhead is a world-class track, it is not one of the majors on the WRL circuit. Paterson notes: "Thunderhead is a track that's definitely seen better days. Still, it holds a special place in Speed's heart because of Rex Racer's legacy. It has all of the excitement our other tracks bring, including spirals, banks, butterflies and giant drops."

The second track in 'Speed Racer', the Fuji Helexicon, a big-league track on the WRL circuit, is set on a tropical archipelago against a backdrop of natural volcanoes and ultramodern buildings inspired by the designs of internationally renowned architects. The track weaves in and out of the atoll and over the sea with twists and turns.

The Casa Cristo 5000 is the death-defying road rally race where Rex Racer lost his life. This perilous course, so dangerous that it has been nicknamed "The Crucible", spans several continents and crosses every imaginable terrain. Drivers must endure extreme climates, from the desert heat in the Zunubian Desert to the narrow Glacier Cliffs and icy Maltese Ice Caves. One wrong turn could send a driver plummeting thousands of metres to their demise. Though the WRL has made an effort to clean up the style of racing in this event, underhanded driving tricks, including spear hooks, tyre shanks and catapults, make the Casa Cristo 5000 the most brutal test of endurance in 'Speed Racer'.

"The Casa Cristo 5000 is the most treacherous cross-country race in the world, and competitors will use whatever means to get ahead," Paterson explains. "We developed what I called the Roman chariot kind of racing, where we have big swords coming out of the cars and shields to protect the wheels."

There is intense pressure to win the Casa Cristo 5000 because the champion will gain entry to compete in the most highly regarded event in the WRL, the Grand Prix. A victory at the Grand Prix will not only garner fame and fortune for the winner, but also make him or her an instant legend in the World Racing League.

"The Grand Prix racecourse is built right into the city of Cosmopolis," Paterson states. "It’s enormous. It is a fantastical high-rise track with giant dips, loops and butterfly turns that enable the cars to accelerate at breakneck speeds."

The inspiration for the design of the Grand Prix comes from the Wachowski brothers. "They had this idea that we could take whole skyscrapers and turn them into grandstands. As a result, the city itself became a grandstand for the biggest race of the year," says Paterson.

Attention was also paid to covering the many camera angles required to capture each actor's close-ups and reactions during the fast-paced action sequences in 'Speed Racer'. While the exterior of the cars were composed digitally, full-size cockpits — replete with steering wheels, accelerator and brake pedals and back-lit instrument panels — were fabricated and mounted on hydraulically powered gimbals controlled by a virtual-reality driving program to simulate vehicle dynamics of actual racecars.

Second unit director James McTeigue, director of 'V for Vendetta', worked with his team to shoot the film's four major racing sequences, staged against a 200 x 40-foot green screen. The gimbals were designed to simulate the movement of the various cars in each race as they made their way around the tracks. The powerful, hydraulically operated platform enabled the cockpits to move in a three-dimensional space, precisely mimicking a driver's commands over a custom-designed track.

"The gimbals' base is controlled by software that ties the movement of the car cockpit to the pre-visualised scene. We also threw in live elements like wind to help the actors feel as though they were actually driving instead of being driven," says Owen Paterson.

Matthew Fox, who plays Racer X explains: "The gimbal is wild and requires a good amount of focus. It's important for the action to look convincing, since the racing in 'Speed Racer' is a full-contact sport. James and his team had total control of the gimbal and they adjusted the levels and manipulated that thing however they wanted. I was always telling them to 'Crank it up!'"