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On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz filed a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine” and on January 7, 1894, Thomas Edison invented the Kinetograph (A.K.A the movie camera). Since movies and cars burst on the scene around the same time, they were a natural fit. The experts can’t agree on the first automobile to appear in moving pictures, but for sure the first car chase was in the 1903 silent film, Runaway Mitch.
There is an old adage in Hollywood, made famous by W.C. Fields about not appearing in movies with children or animals, because they will steal the show. It’s one thing to get upstaged by a cute kid or chimpanzee, but getting pushed to the background by a motor vehicle has to be crushing to an actor’s fragile ego. That however is exactly what happened as cars got cooler looking and motion picture technology advanced.
There have been plenty of cars over the years that have topped a film marquee like Herbie The Love Bug and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but those were B-listers all the way. A real car celebrity is sleek, fast, and can wrestle the spotlight away from any human on the set. Though their names may not roll in the end credits, some cars have been genuine movie stars.
10 007’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5
James Bond films are memorable for cool gadgets, beautiful women, and exotic cars, all of which started in 1964 with Dr. No. Well actually, 007 drove an 80 horsepower 1.6-liter Sunbeam Alpine in that one, but by the next film the cars were as hot as the action. No disrespect to Sean Connery, but the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger, should have at least co-headlined, because it was a bona fide star.
With a 282 horsepower 4.0-liter V-6, the Aston Martin was a quick as it was stylish. It also held some secrets to help Bond complete his mission, like bumper-mounted machine guns, revolving number license plates, and an ejector seat. For defensive purposes, it also came equipped with a pop-up bullet-proof shield, tire slashers, oils slicks, and smoke screens.
9 John Wick’s 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
John Wick’s 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 is the catalyst for the entire film franchise. Without the car, thousands of lives would have been spared and there wouldn’t be four movies and hopefully a fifth, full of some the greatest on-screen action and violence ever made. It all started in the first movie when some Russian gangsters stole John Wick’s Mustang and killed his puppy, which was a huge mistake.
To prove that the Mustang deserved to share top-billing with Keanu Reeves, it’s a vehicle with genuine acting chops. Playing the role of a 1969 Boss 429, the car is in reality a Mustang Mach 1. There are a lot of actors who essentially play themselves in every film, but here is a Mach 1 that can play a believable Boss 429. Sadly, the classic muscle car was snubbed by the Motion Picture Academy for this brilliant portrayal.
8 Bandit’s 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Screaming Chicken
With larger-than-life personalities like Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason in Smokey and the Bandit, it was hard for the rest of the cast to get noticed. The 1977 Pontiac Trans Am “Screaming Chicken” however did manage to chew up the scenery and became a viral sensation decades before the Internet.
The car was so popular in the film that Pontiac saw a massive jump in Trans Am sales. An average of 35,000 Trans Ams were sold each year, but following the 1977 release of Smokey and the Bandit, sales jumped to 93,341, and then 108,117 a year after that. The movie did alright as well, grossing $126.7 million, finishing second only behind Star Wars.
7 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB From Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the teenagers may have some leisure time, but the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB worked hard the entire movie. “Borrowed” by protagonist Ferris, from his friend Cameron’s dad, the rare exotic never had a moment of downtime. It transported the kids to Chicago, went on an insane joyride with parking attendants, revved its engine on jack stands in a vain attempt to roll back the odometer, and eventually got kicked out a window.
In another case of a vehicle that can act, the “Ferrari” in the movie was a replica. In fact, three replicas were used and only two of them actually drove. They were loaded with 308 ci Ford V-8s, instead ot the proper 3.5L-liter V-12s, and were built with automatic transmissions because star Mathew Broderick couldn’t drive a stick. Ferrari sued the movie because these replica cars were branded with their badges, but the producers never secured the rights.
6 1970 Challenger R/T From Vanishing Point
The 1971 film Vanishing Point barely has a plot and the lead actor, Barry Newman, hardly has any lines, so there’s no doubt the car was the real star of this one. Especially since that car was a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T and the fact the film’s minal story line was a guy driving that badass Mopar around for 98 minutes.
The director chose the Challenger simply because it was one of the fastest, coolest American muscle car at the time. The 4-speed 440 Six-Pack R/T put out 375 horsepower and could hit 0-60 in 5.9 seconds with a top speed of 109 mph. Because the Challenger was a real star, it had a stunt double. In the climactic scene where the car appeared to crash, it was actually a white Camaro loaded with explosives.
5 Time-Traveling DeLorean DMC-12
The DeLorean DMC-12 from the Back to the Future movies is instantly recognizable, even by folks who aren’t particularly into cars, ranking it one of the most iconic Hollywood vehicular stars of all time. Without a Flux Capacitor, a DeLorean came with a 150 horsepower 2.85-liter V-6 that took almost 10 seconds to reach 60 mph from a dead stop. This provided a challenge for the car to hit the 88 mph necessary for time travel, but the DeLorean was a true professional.
The first film’s director, Robert Zemeckis, had originally written the time travel device as a refrigerator with some kind of laser “power converter” on the back of a truck that needed to be driven into a nuclear blast to initiate time travel. The film’s producer, Stephen Spielberg worried kids would climb into fridges to emulate the movie, and so eventually it became a stainless steel, gull-wing DeLorean.
4 Bond’s 1976 Lotus Esprit Series I
Different Bond, different movie, and different ride, but the same results: the car was the star. Roger Moore did a fine job as 007 in The Spy Who Loved Me, and it’s a great film, but all anyone remembers is the 1976 Lotus Esprit Series I that turns into a submarine. Just as cool, the Lotus had a cement sprayer hidden underneath the rear plates, and was armed with mines, torpedoes, and surface-to-air missiles.
Not only did Moore get outshone by a car, he was upstaged by Jaws, the super villain’s metal-mouthed gargantuan henchman, who debuted in the 1977 film. As for the car, it made such an impression on Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, that he partially based the design of the Cybertruck on it. He also bought a Lotus Esprit used in the movie at auction for $1 million, but was disappointed to learn it didn’t actually convert to a sub. He should know that movies aren’t real.
3 1968 Mustang GT390 From Bullitt
The Steve McQueen action thriller Bullitt is the first film to feature a car protagonist and a car antagonist. Playing the hero was a Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang GT390 and in the role of the villain was a black 1970 Dodge Charger R/T. The chase scene between these two Hollywood heavyweights is regarded as one of the best ever filmed.
In real life, the much faster 440-powered Charger would have easily run down the Mustang, but films are about make-believe and if the script calls for the hero to win, that’s what happens. The iconic Mustang GT390 was one of the few Steve McQueen co-stars he was never ever able to bring home with him, but he did add a similar car to his awesome collection.
2 Mad Max’s 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT
The Main Force Patrol’s top pursuit man, Max Rockatansky, got his name in title of 1979’s Mad Max, but there’s no question the 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT was the real star of the movie. Known as the Pursuit Special and the “Last of the V-8 Interceptors,” the car was an Aussie-exclusive Falcon, customized with flares, spoilers, and a big crazy supercharger.
Mad Max’s Falcon was such a box office draw, it also starred in the sequel The Road Warrior and had a cameo in the recent reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road. The only Mad Max film not to feature the iconic post-apocalyptic ride was Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, which was a disappointing under-performer. That alone is a testament to the ’73 Falcon’s star power.
1 Dominic Torretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger R/T
Dominic Torretto’s supercharged Dodge Charger R/T in the Fast & Furious films isn’t just a movie star car, it’s a franchise star car. Stealing the show in the original The Fast and the Furious, the Charger would make appearances in Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, F9, and the just-released Fast X. It is the hardest-working car in show business.
Supposedly a 900 horsepower 426 Hemi beast, the Charger R/T is a killer ride but also bares some similarity to famous movie killers. The Dodge has been flipped, rammed, dropped, and destroyed in all manners, but keeps coming back like Michael Meyers or Jason Voorhees. With a filmography that many actors would die for and box office receipts of nearly $7 billion, the Fast & Furious 1970 Dodge Charger R/T is the top car that is a genuine movie star.
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