Cars have a knack of stealing the limelight and over the years many movie cars have become more famous than the actors themselves. We’ve chosen our top 10 kick-ass movie cars of all time.
1. General Lee (Dukes of Hazzard)
General Lee is based on a 69 Dodge Charger and is famous for the massive jumps it could pull off (or at least appear to pull off), and its signature Dixie horn. With the doors welded shut so the Dukes had to clamber in and out through the windows, it was arguably a bit of a death trap – but a hell of a lot of fun in the mean time!
9. Ecto-1
This bad ass ghost fighting vehicle wasn’t exactly a show car but it was certainly ‘different’. Built on a 1959 Cadillac chassis, the weird combination of an ambulance and hearse came about as a result of Dr. Ray Stantz repairing the beat up car after remortgaging his mother’s house. Sony only built one Ecto-1 and one Ecto-1a (the car from part 2) for the filming of Ghostbusters and recently sold it to fans who couldn’t bear the sight of it rusting out and turning into a junk heap in the corner of some prop car park. It’s a weird looking thing but seriously, it’s the Ghostbusters… who wouldn’t want to ride around and flash all those lights around, scaring ghosts for a night.
8. Starsky & Hutch Ford Gran Torino
The red car with the white decal down the side is probably the first thing you’ll think of when you hear the name Starsky & Hutch. Such is the reputation of the Ford Gran Torino that it had to make our list. We can’t quite work out if the crime fighting cops made the car famous, or the other way around but either way, we reckon the Torino deserved its own Emmy. The growth of the show in the 70s saw car fan clubs established all over the world and if you weren’t clued onto the sexy beast already, the 2004 movie based on the TV series brought it to the masses. Car collectors are still clambering to get their hands on one.
7. Eleanor
Many will remember Eleanor from the original Gone in 60 Seconds movie but we couldn’t see beyond the Shelby GT500 from the 2000 version. Nicolas Cage caresses her like a lady and with such a fine body and power under the trunk; we’d do the same if given the chance to take her for a test run.
6. American Graffiti Ford Coupe
American Graffiti encapsulates many things, such as romance and growing up but above all else, if we’re completely honest, it’s about cars. And more specifically, American cars, when car culture was at an all time high in the 50s and 60s. John’s Deuce Coupé is the bee’s knees and really became the star of the show. It was the car every bloke wished they owned and imagined themselves cruising down the highway in with some hot chick riding shotgun. The striking yellow paint job and protruding engine combined to make this car truly kick-ass and that’s why we couldn’t go without including it in our top 10.
5. DeLorean (Back to the Future)
You can pick yourself up a used DeLorean for around $50, 000 these days – yes they look a little dated but that stainless steel body is pretty sweet. Unfortunately though, that’s the price for a model without time travel functionality. Indeed, models fitted with a flux capacitor are quite hard to come by. And then you have to ask yourself, ‘is the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity needed to power the flux capacitor an affordable option for my needs?’ What would the Mrs say?
4. Batmobile
What kid didn’t grow up dreaming of driving a Batmobile? Whether your preference is the original 1966 Lincoln Futura or the recently revealed 2016 machine, they’re all undeniably slick and tough. For this top ten we’ve gone with the 1989 Batmobile but really, any Batmobile would be worthy.
3. V8 Interceptor (Mad Max)
If my best mate, wife and baby were killed in the wastelands of post-apocalyptic Australia, I’d damn sure want one of these bad boys to go and wreak my vengeance in. A modified 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe, the V8 Interceptor has got to be up there as one of the beefiest machines to ever grace the silver screen.
2. Aston Martin DB5 (James Bond)
The 1965 Aston Martin DB5 is arguably the quintessential Bond car and has featured in six of the films. It is fitted out with machine guns behind the front indicators, an ejector seat, rear bullet-proof screen and an assortment of other secret agent accoutrements – all in one stylish package. It is one sweet ride and one I think most of us would trade our mothers for.
10. Bullitt’s Mustang
If you haven’t heard of the movie Bullitt, don’t worry, it’s not the plot or the acting that won this movie an Oscar in 1968, but the epic car scene. All 10 minutes and 53 seconds of it. Steve McQueen was a cool dude and at the time of its release, movie-goers were salivating at the thought of getting behind the wheel of the 1968 Mustang GT 390 Fastback. Even to this day mouths water at the prospect of driving the green machine. The car was so fly that Ford released the Ford Mustang Bullitt in 2008/09.
