Ripsaw From 'The Fate of the Furious' for Sale on the Eve of the Fast X Premiere

In case you forgot what that was all about, we'll tell you it's the one where Charlize Theron first appeared as Cipher. It's also the one that continues to exaggerate the original Fast and Furious story by taking the original heroes way out of their comfort zones and turning them into hacker- and submarine-fighting characters.

For all its shortcomings, though, the movie did have a lot going for it. And, as usual, the vehicles used in the flick more than played their part.

One of the most insane machine to be featured in The Fate of the Furious was the 2011 Howe & Howe Ripsaw. That's not a regular machine, but a sort of miniature tank that more than did its thing during the movie's mammoth chase in the Arctic. You know, those scenes when the movie's heroes were chased by bad guys not only in cars, but also in a submarine.

And the thing is now for sale, but without the roof-mounted gun, of course.

A tad earlier than the Fast X movie is set to premiere, on May 12, auction house Mecum will open the doors to a major sale in Indianapolis. It's there where the Ripsaw will go under the hammer, hoping to fetch as much as $180,000.

This particular vehicle is an old Hollywood star, having also starred in the G.I. Joe movies. It's featured by Mecum in its Fast and Furious spec, though, packing a 2007 Duramax 6.6-liter engine and an Allison automatic transmission. Even the U.S. Army markings over the original Combat Green paint seen on the thing as it's driven by Ludracis are still there.

We are given a bit of info on how this thing ended up on the auction block. We're told this Ripsaw, an original prototype wearing VIN 000000001, was at one point purchased by the current owner from the "museum that worked with Universal Studios."

The tracked vehicle was put together by a company called Howe & Howe. These guys presently sell for the civilian sector a variant of the machine called Ripsaw F4, which is described as the "fastest-dual tracked vehicle on the market." That would be a top speed of 55 mph (89 kph).

In the case of the Fast and Furious Ripsaw the top speed is a tad higher, going as far as 60 mph (97 kph). We're told the thing is still in working order, although it's unlikely whoever buys it will use it for something other than display purposes.

To make sure everyone understands the bargain this Ripsaw is at $180k, the seller says putting the thing together cost Howe & Howe $750,000. The seller also throws in a copy of a certificate of authenticity from the company, but no mention is made regarding paperwork tying it to The Fate of the Furious.

Now, it's obvious the moment of sale was carefully chosen to coincide with the release of Fast X, and that just might work in favor of the seller. We'll of course come back on the story once we learn if and for how much the Ripsaw went.