You might have heard about the mid-century autos you can still find running on the streets of Cuba. Heck, if we were to search a little better in the office, we’re certain there’s at least one of those popular Cuban posters somewhere. All petrolheads have that image of classic cars randomly sitting on the streets when they think of the Caribbean island nation.
But what would you say if we were to tell there’s an underground drag racing world that has been growing illegally for years in the communist country? It might not sound like a big deal to you since we’re all used to being connected, getting anything we want pretty easy. But it is for Cuba, a place where motorsports have remained underground pursuits, where drivers risked their cars and facing jail time to speed in a straight line on public roads.
Havana Motor Club documents an unknown world
The Kickstarter-funded movie Havana Motor Club is documenting that precise world. It “tells a personal, character-driven story about Cuba’s vibrant community of underground drag racers and their quest to hold Cuba’s first official car race since shortly after the 1959 Revolution”. The film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and we can't wait to watch it.
You see, it’s not just the legal factor, it’s the lack of mechanical means to construct these cars, to tune the pre-embargo vintage rides into racing vehicles. There’s no place you can order new parts from, only some petrolheads that travel outside the country and bring some stuff back now and then, apparently.
The passion grows deep in these people, so there’s a generation of wanna-be mechanics who figured out a way.
The documentary also tackles how Cuba’s recent reforms have affected the lives of these racers and their families. All these and some seriously modified classic beauties such as a 1955 Chevy Bel Air, 1956 Ford and a Porsche 944 build up what could be a great film. So far, we only managed to find the official trailer, which we listed below, but we’re pretty sure it will be streaming soon.
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