Speed Racer may be a “demon on wheels” as the carton theme song proclaims, but the real-life version of the beloved Mach 5 (pictured right) proved a disappointment to some at the Detroit auto show, including the auto enthusiast Web site Jalopnik.

The teen driving sensation, whose popular cartoon adventures were dubbed into English in the late 1960s, is set to get live-action treatment this year from the Wachowski brothers of “The Matrix” trilogy fame. The movie, starring Emile Hirsch as the title character and Matthew Fox as the mysterious Racer X (psst, really Speed’s long-lost brother Rex) is set to race into theaters in May.

The Mach 5 show model in Detroit lacked many of the features the cartoon version sported, including saw blades, jump jacks and a gull-shaped homing robot. It even lacks a trunk, which every true fan knows is where Speed’s younger brother Spritle and his pet chimpanzee Chim Chim often hid.

A Warner Brothers spokesman at the show assured that all the favorites will be in the move thanks to CGI magic. Phew!

Photo: Reuters