Most Iconic Movie Cars of All-Time
Cars can be the main character of a movie from an Aston Martin DB5 featuring in James Bond to the Delorean in the Back to the Future franchise. So, we are taking a look at some of the best movie cars of all time.
1964 Aston Martin DB5, Goldfinger
Image Credit: EON Productions
The James Bond franchise is famous for its cars and far-our gadgets and this all started with the 1964 Aston Martin DS5 that James Bond drove in Goldfinger and Thunderball. The vehicle is one of Aston Martins most popular vehicles, The manufacturer announced earlier this year that they will release 25 limited edition vehicles for about $3.5 million a piece.
1981 DeLorean DMC-12, Back to the Future
Image Credit: Frank Schwichtenberg
Under the hood, though, the DeLorean wasn't quite the supercar that flashy bodywork promised, carrying a pokey 130-hp 2.9-liter V-6. No matter. Reportedly, the prop staff replaced that sluggish V-6 with a V-8 from the Porsche 928, which went a long way toward helping Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) hit 88 mph, fire up the Flux Capacitor, and shoot back to 1955.
1970 Dodge Charger, The Fast and the Furious
Image Credit: Universal Studios
The classic 1968-70 Dodge Charger is a TV and movie superstar. The most famous of all was the '69 Charger "General Lee" from the The Dukes of Hazzard TV show. With a wicked stance, giant rear tires, and a humongous engine and supercharger sticking out of the hood, the Charger was insanely cool.
1958 Plymouth Fury, Christine
Image Credit: Columbia Pictures
Stephen King was so popular at the time and had enough clout that the film went into production before the book was even published. Anywhere between 23 and 28 cars were used in the film (sources vary), and not all of them were Furys. Another deceiving trick? The sound we hear from Christine’s engine isn’t actually a Plymouth Fury. Filmmakers used a recording of a 1970 Mustang 428 Super Cobra Jet engine.
1976 Ford Gran Torino, The Striped Tomato, Starsky & Hutch
Image Credit: Vauxford - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson were tasked with reviving the personas of Starsky and Hutch, two ’70s police detectives with a badass 1976 Gran Torino. Due to the popularity of the TV show, Ford produced a run of roughly 1,300 Starsky & Hutch replica Gran Torinos. None of the original Torinos were available to use as a basis for the movie, but one of the special-edition replicas was used as a template, along with tapes of show, old photos, and model cars.
The 1974 car has just over 2,100 original miles on its odometer and a hot-rodded 435-hp, 360-cubic-inch Ford Windsor pushrod V-8. The suspension was rebuilt with stiffer rear leaf springs and air shocks, and the slot mags wear 235/60R-15 BFGoodrich Radial T/As up front and 275/60R-15s in back. It runs to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and through the quarter mile in 14.1 seconds at 102 mph.
1963 Volkswagen Beetle - Herbie: The Love Bug
Image Credit: Vmanjr - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
In each of the five films, Herbie appear slightly different and upward of 100 cars were used in all five. Walt Disney Studios built 11 cars for the first Herbie movie, and of those 11 only three are known to exist today. Normally, the interior of this beetle would have been white but for the film they painted it a gray color so it wouldn’t reflect the studio lights.
One of the VWs in the film was outfitted with a Porsche Super 90 engine for extra performance. Herbie #10 resides at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, if you’re suffering from a different kind of Beetlemania and need a quick fix.