Actor Kevin Hart injured in a 70 Cuda

[Lee Stewart]

Kevin Hart's classic car from accident lacked safety features

TMZ spoke to "several owners of car customizing shops" who specialized in performance vehicles, who told them that it was "highly unusual" for cars with 720 horsepower -- like the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that Hart was riding in -- to not have a five-point harness seat belt and a roll cage.

In fact, the outlet spoke to Rad Rides by Troy, who build Joe Rogan his Hemi-powered 1970 Barracuda -- similar to Kevin's -- and it did have those safety features. Apparently the staff was "shocked" that Kevin's didn't.

They also reached out to the company that customized Kevin's car, SpeedKore, but they had no comment when asked about the car's safety features.

Kevin was riding with two friends -- one was reportedly airlifted to a Los Angeles hospital; the other walked away with minor injuries -- in his 1970 Plymouth Barracuda when it went off the road and crashed through a fence on Mulholland Highway near Malibu and Calabasas in the early-morning hours of Sept. 1.

According to TMZ, Kevin's security removed him from the scene of the accident prior to the paramedics arriving, taking him to his house before calling paramedics for treatment. The actor suffered serious back injury and doctors fused three sections of his spine. He will be undergoing physical therapy for several months.