In the same way dogs can resemble🦄 their owners, in movies, cars can tell you something about their drivers. But which cars are actually the most iconic in movies?
Throughout the 20th century, both the film and automobile industries experienced parallel growth and evolution. Both started out as niche interests, until their widespread adoption coincided with rapidly changing lifestyles. As more families bought more cars, that gave them the power to indulge in certain pastimes – like seeing more movies. Along the way, advancing technology and plain old human i🧸ngenuity ch🎀anged the way both things were made forever.
The history of movies is simply full of great cars. Whether it’s due to a movie’s sense of romance and adventure, or just the way cars are captured on camera, some movies have the🀅 power to make a specific car desired forever. In a lot of ways, driving an iconic 🌜car feels like stepping into the movie yourself.
From import tuners driven by punk teenagers to luxury cars driven by handsome spies, these are the 32 most iconic cars in moviಞes.
32. Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86 (Initial D, 2005)
In its debut in the 1980s, the Toyota AE86 was favored among Japanese motorsportists for its drifting capabilities. But the AE86 found permanent reverence for its central role in the Japanese anime and manga series Initial D about street racers who light up the winding roads of Mount Akina. In 2005, Initial D was adapted to the screen by Hong Kong filmmakers Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, with Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou in his acting debut. In Initial D, an aloof teenager (Chou) smokes Japan’s most feared racers using his dad’s lame car, which he primarily uses for tofu delivery runs. With its plain but versatile black and white colorway and restaurant decal on its side door, the AE86 is a metaphor f🅘or Initial D’s core message: It’s not the engine under the hood that matters, but the driver behind the wheel that counts.
31. 1971 Chevrolet Nova SS, aka “Death Proof” (Death Proof, 2007)
It’s a car that guarantees immunity from death – you just have to be in the driver’s seat. In Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, which makes up one half of the Grindhouse double bill (with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror), Kurt Russell plays a Hollywood stuntman and serial killer who targets beautiful women in his customized 1970 Chevrolet Nova SS (for “Super Sport”). With a memorable matte black 🔯paint job and a white skull painted on the hood, the “Death Proof” is like a pirate flag🌠 on rubber wheels, with a threatening vibe that feels like an extension of its sinister owner.
30. Audi R8 Model 2008 (Iron Man, 2008)
When the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with Iron Man, Tony Stark arrived in style behind the wheel of the Audi R8. Appropriately sporty and expensive, the car lives up to the playboy lifestyle of a wealthy industrialist like Tony Stark, never mind that electric vehicles might better appeal to Tony’s technical brain. Born out of a product placement deal for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Marvel Studios’ first movie, the Audi R8 now enjoys iconic status as Iron Man’s car. Any time Iron Man is in a Marvel m🐭ovie, you can bet his R8 is parked nearby.
12. 1948 Ford De Luxe, aka “Greased Lightning” (Grease, 1978)
It’s systomatic, hydromatic, ultra-matic – why, it’s Greased Lightning! In the 1978 film version of the stage musical, John Travolta’s Danny Zuko pours his heart and soul into “Greased Lightning,” a souped-up 1948 Ford De Luxe that magically and inexplicably changes from white to red ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚpaint. Originally bought by Danny’s friend Kenickie to race other greasers with, it’s ultimately Danny who gets behind the wheel. While there are plenty of iconic cars in movies, none of them have their own theme song. But Greased Lightning does! “Go, Greased Lightning! Go, Greased Lightning!”
11. 2006 Chevrolet Camaro Concept (Transformers, 2007)
Who wouldn’t want to drive a Transformer? In Michael Bay’s film version of the ‘80s anime, teenager Sam Witwicky (Shia La🌸Beouf) is desperate to get his first car only to end up with the Autobot scout Bumblebee. Initially appearing as a rusty ‘76 Camaro, Bumblebee gets a wild 21st century upgrade midway through the movie by replicating a then-unavailable fifth generation Chevrolet Camaro. (It was first unveiled a year earlier, at the 2006🀅 North American International Auto Show.) While the general public couldn’t get these Camaros for themselves until 2009, the epic success of Transformers instructed dudes everywhere on what to look for when the time came to buy one. Of course many of them got it in Bumblebee yellow, too.
10. 1967 Austin Mini Cooper S (The Italian Job, 1969)
Starring in one of the most elaborate chase scenes of all time is a surefire way to bec❀ome an unforgettable car. In the iconic British comedy crime movie The Italian Job, several variants of the Austin Mini Cooper S speed around Italy, terrifying pedestrians but amusing audiences by how nimble these tiny fellas can man💧euver around tight roads and alleys. While the 2003 Hollywood remake also featured reborn Minis, with model year 1997 and actually modified for the film to become electric vehicles, the Minis seen in the original movie can’t be beat, being so synonymous with British pop culture of that decade.
9. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 1968)
It sounds dirty, and there’s a chance it actually is. But Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the name of a classic race car featured in James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and celebrated 1968 film version starring Dick Van Dyke, about a magical car that can fly. Fleming was inspired by several real-life British racing cars, whose engines were so loud it inspired its name. (There’s also rumors it comes from a bawdy World War I song.) Regardless of where the name originates, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a steampunk dream notable for its wood chasꦺsis and aeronautical engine. In a 2011 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dick Van Dyke recalled that the car, which he actually drove for the movie, was “difficult to maneuver,” describing it like trying to steer a battleship.
8. The Gigahorse (Mad Max Fury Road, 2005)
If there is a car that evokes the spirit of heavy metal music, it’s the Gigahorse, the crown jewel of Immortan Joe’s (played by actor Hugh Keays-Byrne) armada and his personal ride in George Miller’s modern classic Mad Max Fury Road. The Gigahorse is made up of 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Villes crudely stacked on top of each other in a most unholy way, plus tractor tires including rear wheels 70 inches in diameter. A monstrosity in every sense of the word, the Gigahorse almost had even more alarming features (like turret guns) that were ul💫timately🐲 scrapped for both practical and in-universe logic reasons. It’s a car that evokes power in the gaudiest way, and terrifying to see coming at you at full speed.
7. 1970 Dodge Charger (The Fast and the Furious)
Those who live their lives a quarter mile at a time probably drive a Dodge Charger like Dom. While the “General Lee” from Dukes of Hazzard popularized the Charger, it was Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto, a mechanic and muscle car faithful, who made it cool for a n🔥ew generation in 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. While the car got wrecked in a final race against Brian (Paul Walker) at the end of the movie, it has subsequently reappeared in almost every Fast and Furious sequel afterward, taking Dom everywhere to places like Tokyo, London, New York, and even the Arctic. It seems to run on the power of family.
6. 1969 Boss 429 Mustang (John Wick, 2014)
Keanu Reeves’ John Wick isn’t the first man of action to drive a Ford Mustang, but you get the feeling he wouldn’t care if he was. The Boss 429, a very valuable variant of the Ford Mustang, is a prized and powerful car that was mostly made for NASCAR competition and sold in very limited quantitieไs. Because of its rarity, the filmmakers of John Wick actually used a Mustang Mach 1, itself a very formidable car. But onscreen it is the Boss🌞 429, which is an important detail to understand John Wick. The Boss 429 is lethal in its ability, effortlessly cool, and almost one of a kind. Sounds like a certain sharp-dressed assassin, doesn’t it?
5. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986)
In John Hughes’ iconic teen film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,🌳 Cameron’s dad (who is never seen in the movie) seems to prize his Ferrari more than his own family. And so it becomes a metaphor for the lofty expectations parents burden their kids, along with whatever intrusive forces people let disrupt the sanctity of their homes. The end of the movie is the most memorable part, where – in a desperate attempt to undo the car’s accumulated mileage from Cameron and Ferris’ playing hooky – it ends up backing up and falling out from the elevated garage. That Cameron takes it as an opportunity to confront his father without fear is a bold step forward for him, and a moving lesson for anyone else struck frozen by filial piety. That people see the movie and still revere this iconic Ferrari model anyway shows how much people are willing to miss the point.
4. 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, aka “Herbie the Love Bug” (The Love Bug, 1969)
Before Disney’s Cars, there was Herbie the Love Bug, a sentient Volkswagen Beetle. Debuting in the 1968 film The Love Bug, Herbie is a lovable silent character whose personality comes out in his very limited actions. A talented racing vehicle, Herbie is visually distinguishable for his red, white, and blue stripes, pearl white body, and the number 53 painted on his surfaces. While the Volkswagen Beetle enjoyed a prolific history before the movie, The Love Bug and its many s🀅equels make it hard to ignore how much Herbie has made the Beetle a commonplace vehicle on roads everywhere.
3. The Tumbler (Batman Begins, 2005)
So much about Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy can be gleaned by its version of the Batmobile, officially called The Tumbler. In collaboration between Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley, the Tumbler takes inspiration from the tank-like Batmobile of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns while grounding it with military functionality. A hybrid of a Lamborghini and a Humvee, the Tumbler runs li𒆙ke a wrecking ball on wheels, yet manages to be one hell of a stealth machine in its ability to disappear from police scanners and even people’s eyesight. A vast departure from the sports car-like Batmobiles of previous movies, the Tumbler proved that Nolan’s Batman was made for the 21st century.
2. DMC DeLorean (Back to the Future trilogy, 1985-1990)
For many, it’s the car in movie history. The DMC DeLorean, ♉a two-seater sports car sometimes called the DMC-12, lived a terribly short lifespan on the commercial market, available only between 1981 and 1982. But today, it enjoys worldwide fame as the car that Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) modifies into a time machine, which brings Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) back and forth in time throughout the Back to the Future trilogy. In the original script, Doc Brown’s time machine was suppose𒐪d to be a normal device (and was once even a refrigerator). But director Robert Zemeckis ultimately chose the DeLorean due to its unique design and possibilities for mobility. When the Ford Motor Company offered a sponsorship for the filmmakers to use a Mustang, screenwriter and producer Bob Gale nixed the idea, saying: “Doc Brown doesn’t drive a … Mustang!” (He used an expletive.)
1. Aston Martin DB5 (The James Bond series)
No movie character and no car are so intertwined like James Bond and the Aston Martin. In the original Go🍎ldfinger novel by Ian Fleming, James Bond drove the Aston Martin DB3, which Fleming implemented at the suggestion of a fan. When the book was turned into the 1964 movie sequel starring Sean Connery, Bond was given the latest version of the car, the DB5. The rest is history. A beast of a sports car even without all of Q’s modifications, t💧he Aston Martin DB5 exudes all things known to James Bond: luxury, adventure, exoticism. It’s an elegant vehicle that never sacrifices performance. Since appearing in Goldfinger, other Bonds like Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have also gotten behind its wheel. Because while Bond can drive other cars, nothing else comes close for a double-O agent.
Eric Francisco is a freelance entertainment journalist and graduate of Rutgers University. If a movie or TV show has superheroes, spaceships, kung fu, or John Cena, he's your guy to make sense of it. A former senior writer at Inverse, his byline has also appeared at Vult⭕ure, The Daily Beast, Observer, and The Mary Sue. You can find him screaming at Devils hockey games or dodging enemy fire in Call of Duty: Warzone.
