From the earliest days of cinema to the present, cars have played a pivotal role in shaping some of the most memorable moments on the silver screen. These iconic movie cars have become symbols of adventure, style, and innovation, captivating audiences with their unique designs, thrilling performances, and the stories they helped bring to life.
Movie cars have often become inseparable from the characters who drove them, becoming extensions of their personalities and playing vital roles in the narrative. Whether it's the sleek and sophisticated vehicles driven by suave spies like James Bond or the muscle cars that embody the rebellious spirit of outlaws and renegades, each car has contributed to the overall visual storytelling and emotional impact of the films they appeared in.
10 007's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 From Gold Finger
In Ian Fleming's original novel, Bond drove an Aston Martin DB Mark III. However, when the production of the James Bond film “Goldfinger” began, the more current Aston Martin DB5 was chosen and borrowed from Aston for use in the movie. This is where the historic partnership between Aston Martin and the Bond movies began, each serving to enhance the other's reputation.
The DB5 had a 282 horsepower 4.0-liter inline-six engine that took the car up to a speed of 145 miles per hour. But in the Bond movies, the Aston could do a lot more than go fast; featuring ejector seats, machine guns, and GPS tracking equipment, the DB5 was sure to get James Bond out of even the stickiest of situations. The DB5 exuded class and luxury and solidified itself in both car and movie history.
9 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 From Back To The Future
The DeLorean DMC-12 owes much of its fame to the Back to the Future movies. When Marty McFly drove the DeLorean at 88 miles per hour to travel through time, the car instantly became part of movie history forever. Looking at the car, it's not hard to see why it was picked for the movie. Being designed by the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro, the DeLorean looked more futuristic than anything else on the market back then.
But sadly, the car's good looks are where its attractiveness ends. The actual DeLorean came standard with a rather weak 130-hp 2.9-liter V-6 engine and reportedly had trouble even reaching the 88-mile-per-hour speed showcased in the movie. To help it out, the production crew had to swap out its engine with a V-8 from the Porsche 928. Nevertheless, due to some good old movie magic, none of this was ever visible to the average person watching the movie, and the audience loved it.
8 Ford Mustang From John Wick Movies
The highly acclaimed John Wick series had its first film debut in 2014, and audiences around the world immediately fell in love with the movie's extremely well-choreographed high-adrenaline action scenes along with the character of John Wick himself, played by actor Keanu Reeves. In the movie, John Wick is seen owning and driving the iconic 1969 Ford Boss 429, which is among the best Mustangs ever produced. The car featured a 7-liter, 375-horsepower V-8 that could take the Mustang from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds.
After the movie had been out for a while, internet users with keen eyes quickly figured out the true nature of the Mustang featured in the movie. One shot of the movie clearly showed that the Mustang being driven by Keanu has an automatic transmission, while the original Boss 429 was only ever available with a four-speed manual. By looking at this and many other details on the vehicle, people concluded that the car being driven in the movie is actually a Mach 1 because they are more readily available and aren't as expensive as Boss 429s.
7 1971 Chevrolet Nova SS In Death Proof
Kurt Russell drove the Chevrolet Nova SS in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, a movie about a stunt driver who likes to take unsuspecting women for rides and intentionally get into horrific car crashes. The car's driver seat has been swapped out for a bucket seat with extra padding, and the roof above the driver has also been reinforced to protect him in case of a crash.
This made the seat "death proof," while the passenger sits on a tractor seat surrounded by plexiglass. The second-generation Chevrolet Nova SS featured in the movie produced 425 horsepower from a 5-liter inline-six and a V8 engine and got up to a top speed of 185 mph.
6 1967 Shelby GT500 From Gone In 60 Seconds
The reboot of the classic "Gone in 60 Seconds" featured Nicolas Cage driving a modified 1967 Dupont Pepper Grey Shelby GT500 with dual black stipes rolling down its body. Dubbed Eleanor, the car featured numerous modifications that enhanced its performance and looks, such as pumped fender flares, a lowered suspension with coil-overs, a faux nitrous kit, and 17-inch wheels.
The engine powering this beast was a 7.0-liter V-8, which produced 355 horsepower and propelled the car up to 130 mph. The Shelby GT500 was a highly desirable car on its own, and Eleanor's appearance in the movie solidified its place in history forever.
5 1967 Austin Mini Cooper S 1275 From The Italian Job
When the production of the 1969 movie "The Italian Job" began, there was a problem. The British Motor Corporation, the makers of the Austin Mini Cooper, would not allow any cars to be donated to the film. Normally, if a production faces such an issue, they simply swap out the car for another and move on, but screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin refused to trade out the iconic Mini and instead bought them at retail price.
The Mini was then used to create some of cinema's most famous chase scenes, as the nimble car flees the police and helps the bank robbers secure the stolen gold. The car features a four-cylinder, 75-hp engine with a top speed of 97 mph.
4 1999 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 From 2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fast and Furious movies has featured some truly iconic JDM cars, and on top of that list was the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. The iconic silver GT-R with blue stripes is seen being driven by actor Paul Walker in the role of Brian O'Conner, a street racer who uses the car throughout the movie to win multiple races. The Skyline GT-R R34 is equipped with an RB26DETT 2.6-liter DOHC, 24-valve twin-turbo straight-six engine that produces 280 horsepower.
The car also features Nissan's ATTESA all-wheel-drive system along with Super HICAS four-wheel steering in order to get the most amount of grip in turns. The GT-R had an impressive amount of grip; in fact, it had so much grip that the production crew decided to remove the front driveshaft from the vehicle and disable the Skyline's four-wheel steering so that it could slide around more for the camera.
3 Lykan HyperSport From Furious 7
The Lykan HyperSport is a Lebanese sports car manufactured by W Motors. Costing $3.4 million, it stands as the most expensive car to ever be featured in the "Fast and Furious" movies, and only seven examples of the car were ever produced. In the seventh iteration of the blockbuster franchise, the Lykan can be seen making a jump from one skyscraper to another in Abu Dhabhi, as Brian and Dom escape the film's villain, Deckard Shaw.
The Lykan sports a mid-mounted 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six engine designed by Ruf Automobile that produces 780 horsepower. The car has an astonishingly fast 0 to 60 time of just 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 240 mph, making it one of the fastest cars on the planet. Its platinum diamonds and sapphire-embedded headlights, along with other expensive materials used throughout, also make it one of the most expensive cars.
2 VeilSide Mazda RX-7 Fortune From The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is an iconic movie that features sensational cars, and one of the most eye-catching ones seen in that movie is a VeilSide Mazda RX-7 Fortune that's driven by the character Han. In the movie, this beautiful car can be seen drifting through Tokyo streets, escaping pursuers, and even drifting alongside a two-wheel-drive Lan Evo IX.
But there was a problem: the VeilSide Mazda RX-7 had extremely wide rear wheels that were geared towards drag racing and high-speed driving, which made the car unsuitable for drifting. To combat this problem, the production crew fitted the car with two sets of front wheels, making it easier to lose traction in the rear. Underneath the exterior, the VeilSide RX-7 is a regular third gen RX-7 with the same 1.3-liter twin-turbocharged rotary engine producing 276 horsepower.
1 K.I.T.T. From Knight Rider
K.I.T.T., which stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand, is an artificially intelligent electronic computer module in the body of a highly advanced, very mobile, robotic automobile from the hit TV series "Knight Rider," starring David Hasselhoff. Underneath the high-tech car is a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am that's been modified inside and out by Michael Scheffe, giving it a fully redesigned interior full of switches, lights, and a yoke steering wheel.
In the original TV series, K.I.T.T. was voiced by William Daniels, giving the car a unique personality. The Pontiac Trans Am underneath K.I.T.T. was powered by a 5-liter V-8 that produced 150 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. The intelligent car struck a chord with audiences since the day it debuted and has been cemented in movie history ever since.