The English rights to Mach GoGoGo were immediately acquired by American syndicator Trans-Lux. Speed Racer premiered on American television in 1967. In the series, Speed’s given name was Go Mifune, in homage to Japanese film star Toshiro Mifune. His name, Americanized, became Speed Racer. His adventures centered on his powerful Mach 5 car, his girlfriend Trixie, his little brother Spritle with pet monkey Chim Chim, and his mysterious older brother, Racer X. For American consumption, major editing and dubbing efforts were undertaken by producer Peter Fernandez, who also provided the voices of many of the characters, most notably Racer X and Speed Racer himself. Fernandez was also responsible for a rearrangement of the theme song's melody, written by Nobuyoshi Koshibe, and subsequently wrote its English lyrics.
A cover of the show’s theme song Go Speed Racer Go, performed by Sponge, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.
In a 2008 interview with Chicago Tribune DVD columnist Louis R. Carlozo, Fernandez recalled that he landed the job working on "Speed Racer" after ghost-writing scripts for "Astro-Boy" and "Gigantor." Simultaneously with "Speed Racer," Fernandez also voiced the main character and wrote scripts for another anime series, "Marine Boy," sometimes taping both shows in the same day in New York City. Fernandez also said he could not possibly have predicted "Speed Racer's" lasting appeal at the time or in the decades that followed. Reflecting on the series' staying power, he commented: "There was the family relationship. You knew about Speed's family, you knew them well. They were all involved in each race. And we all play with cars as little kids, we love cars. The Mach 5 was a hot car, and there were all sorts of cars throughout all episodes. I still think the Mach Five is ahead of its time."
