Race Against the Mammoth Car

Part 1

Only moments from the start of the No Limit World Race, Trixie joins Speed in the Mach Five as his assistant. Spritle and Chim Chim also decide they should be able to stow away, but Pops puts a stop to that. Then Sparky argues that he should be Speed's assistant, not Trixie, because it will be too dangerous and tough for a girl. Speed tells them to stop arguing since the cars are getting into position at the starting line and wisely tells Sparky that Trixie will drive with him (geez, what healthy guy would pick Sparky over Trixie?). Any kind of car can enter this race, and there is one very unusual entrant: the Mammoth Car. It is over 200 yards long and dwarfs every other car in the race.

Officials inspect all race cars $50 million in gold bars have just been stolen from National Bank, according to Inspector Detector. He also says Cruncher Block was in charge of the gang who pulled off the heist. After an inspection, all cars are okayed. Before the race begins, Sparky crawls under the Mammoth Car to see if it has new inventions he doesn't know about. The driver, though, isn't impressed with Sparky's curiosity. He drags Sparky into a building and knocks him out with a wrench - the weapon of choice on Speed Racer, it seems!

As the race is ready to begin we Racer X. Soon after, ``gorgeous Miss Racing Car'' lowers the flag to begin the race.

Back at the building, Racer X helps Sparky up and is interested to hear that the Mammoth Car's driver did this to Sparky. As he helps Sparky up, Sparky says, ``You look familiar.'' Out on the racing course, the Mammoth Car is forcing many cars off the road. At one point, even the Mach Five is forced out out of the way and has to use its grip tires to drive along the side of a mountain to avoid being crushed by the Mammoth Car. As the lights begin to flash at a railroad crossing, the Mammoth Car continues ahead trying to beat the train...but doesn't. The train flies apart with it's cargo of pigs wandering loose. While Speed and Trixie get out to help the engineer clean up, they see the Mammoth Car's small army of mechanics repairing its slight damage. Back on the road Speed comments that it's strange that the Mammoth Car suffered so little damage and suspect that it's hiding some sort of secret cargo. He and Trixie decide to send the homing robot out with an x-ray camera to see what the contents are. A guy in the Mammoth Car sees this, though, and after shooting the camera, calls his boss, Cruncher Block, halfway around the world to report this. Block decides the Mach Five must be taken out.

While driving beside the Mammoth Car, a blast (exhaust blast of some sort, it seems) pushes the Mach Five off the road. While Speed drives down the mountainside, the Mammoth Car puts out a ramp on which many bad guys on motorcycles come racing down. But luckily, up from behind comes Racer X who drops oil causing many of the bikers to crash.

At the same time, Cruncher Block arrives in an airport having decided to come ``finish off the Mach Five.'' But Spritle and Chim Chim, who were at the airport with Pops and Sparky (trying to get a plane to catch up with and help Speed), decide to stow away in Block's plane after hearing his comments.

Detail of cel available from Cartoon Factory

On the racing course, a large hill slows down the Mammoth Car giving Speed an opportunity to catch up with it, but then the Mammoth Car pushes the Mach Five off the road. Now running from the Mammoth Car, Speed uses the Mach Five's rotary saws to cut through the forest. The Mammoth Car simply uses its large momentum to snap the trees out of its way. Out of the forest, Speed tries to use the saws to slash one of the Mammoth Car's tires. He does, but it has no effect. The train-like Mammoth Car is able to almost completely encircle the Mach Five and guns emerge from its sides aimed at the Mach Five. Speed puts up the bullet-proof cover and springs out from the circling Mammoth Car. But the Mammoth bumps the Mach Five in midair sending it into Lake Icy Chill.

The Mammoth Car crew thinks they've finished off Speed and Trixie, but we know better don't we? Speed has the underwater oxygen supply and periscope in action. After the Mammoth Car leaves, they emerge and continue their pursuit. Trixie records a summary of what they've discovered, puts it in the homing robot, and sends it off to Inspector Detector.

By now, Cruncher Block's plane is coming up on the Mammoth Car and spots the Mach Five on the highway. There is an abandoned chemical plant of some kind which the Mammoth Car uses as its secret refueling spot. They decide to ambush Speed and Trixie there. Our heroes are knocked out and then tied to a mining (railroad) car. Since Block is done with the refueling depot, he decides to kill two birds with one stone; he'll collide a car (another railroad mining car, that is) carrying dynamite with the car Speed and Trixie are on. That way he'll get rid of these annoying kids and destroy the depot and all traces of the Mammoth Car's use of it.

About then, Spritle and Chim Chim sneak out of Block's plane and plan on helping Speed and Trixie. Unfortunately, as the car is racing down the tracks through the mine, Spritle only makes things worse by furthering tangling the ropes. Where the tracks join and the cars will collide, Racer X has arrived and throws the switch so that they each take different tracks. Just as he unties Speed, Trixie - and now Spritle who got himself tangled up, the other car blows up. Speed is looking at Racer X thinking that ``something reminds me of my older brother, Rex.'' Everyone safely emerges from the mine but are covered head to toe in black soot from the explosion!

The next morning Spritle sees the beautiful sunrise and exclaims, ``Looks like it's gonna be a groovy day!''

At the race's checkpoint, Inspector Detector and Pops wait nervously. When the cars stop, the police want to inspect the Mammoth Car. They again find nothing. As the Mach Five pulls up, Spritle and Chim Chim get out of the Mach Five and hop on the Mammoth Car as it pulls away. Speed sees this and tries desperately to catch up. At the finish line, it is an exact tie but neither car slows down. The Mammoth Car is racing towards the pier and Speed is trying to catch it first.

On board the Mammoth Car, Chim Chim stand on Spritle's shoulders so that they appear to be an adult mechanic. They use, what else, a wrench to knock out other mechanics they encounter. Finally they reach the cockpit and hold a ``gun'' - actually a rod of some sort (the wrench?) - to the back of the driver telling him to not drive on the ship. Instead the Mammoth Car is going in circles but headed towards a huge oil tank. Speed leaps on and saves Spritle and Chim Chim just after the Mammoth Car slams into the oil tank and bursts into flames. The heat of the fire melts the car and everyone realizes that the gold was built into the car itself and so was never spotted by the inspectors. (One year before the Speed Racer series began, the latest James Bond film Goldfinger was a hit. In it, Goldfinger's car was made of gold so that the gold could be easily smuggled into Switzerland.)

Because the Mammoth Car was disqualified, Speed is declared the winner. Inspector Detector gives Speed the trophy and congratulates him. Spritle is annoyed at not being thanked, but not to worry. Inspector Detector hands him and Chim Chim a smaller trophy filled with candy. What a happy ending. :-)