13 Most Memorable Cars From Hollywood Classics

Hollywood and cars go hand in hand. Some are obvious, such as the Fast & Furious franchise. Others, like Thelma & Louise or the Blues Brothers, have carefully chosen cars, but they aren’t the stars.

We’ve listed 13 of the most memorable cars that appeared in Hollywood classics. This list is certainly not exhaustive — we could easily have found 50.

Smokey and the Bandit: Pontiac Trans Am

Smokey and the Bandit was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977, only beaten by Star Wars. Pontiac didn’t have any 1977 Trans Ams that could be used in the film, so they modified some 1976 models to look like the 1977 version. Only four cars were used; three were destroyed during filming, and one was used as a hero/promo car.

The Malaise Era was still in full effect, so while the Pontiac Trans Am looked mean and powerful, it’s 6.6-liter V8 engine only produced a paltry 200 hp. Donating a handful of cars proved a clever move for Pontiac, as the sales figures shot up over the following years.

Ghostbusters: Cadillac Miller-Meteor

Ecto-1, also called the Ectomobile, is driven by your favorite ghostbusting crew in all the movies, animated series, and video games in the Ghostbusters franchise. The original and most iconic Ecto-1 was a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Sentinel, and according to Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore, the Cadillac never ran right.

Who you gonna call? Well, it seems someone called the NYPD when the Ecto-1 broke down while they were shooting a scene on the Brooklyn Bridge, which resulted in a considerable fine for blocking traffic.

Bullitt: Ford Mustang

Bullitt is a must-watch and one of the most iconic Steve McQueen movies for gearheads. It features one of the greatest chase scenes ever, as McQueen gets into his 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback and chases after the bad guys driving another iconic car — the ‘68 Dodge Charger R/T.

McQueen’s Mustang disappeared over 4 decades ago, and no one knew where it was until it reappeared in 2018. Apparently, the 390 cu-in V8-powered ‘Stang just sat in someone’s garage all that time. At least Ford built Bullitt versions of later Mustangs as a tribute to the original.

Starsky & Hutch: Ford Gran Torino

Starsky and Hutch was one of the first wisecracking “buddy cop” shows, and it was later turned into a movie featuring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as the lead actors. To gearheads, the main star was the red Ford Gran Torino with a white stripe on the sides and across the roof.

While the Gran Torino may look fast, thanks to the oil crisis and emission control of the Malaise Era, it really wasn’t. The cars used for the pilot episode in 1975 had 351 cu-in Windsor V8s with 150 hp, and the cars used for the rest of season 1 had 400 cu-in engines with 160-hp. For season two, things got slightly better thanks to the 460 Lima engine with 226 hp.

Back To The Future: DeLorean DMC–12

DeLorean’s DMC–12 had already flopped spectacularly by the time the first Back to the Future movie arrived in 1985. After years of bargain-basement prices, the DMC–12 is now highly sought after by collectors, so getting your hands on one today will cost you an arm and a leg.

Undoubtedly, the movie franchise is a massive part of why the DeLorean is so famous today. The car itself is cool but was never particularly good, as it suffered from shoddy build quality and a lack of power. In fact, it was so weak its speedometer only goes to 85 mph, and every time travel enthusiast knows you need to hit 88 mph to go back to the future.

Knight Rider: Pontiac Trans Am

In the 1980s, David Hasselhoff starred alongside a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am in the Knight Rider TV show. The Trans Am, named K.I.T.T., or Knight Industries Two Thousand, was jam-packed with futuristic technology and even used AI long before that was a thing.

Exterior-wise, K.I.T.T. received a flashing LED light bar at the front and some other minor updates. Its interior was an ocean of instruments, buttons, gauges, screens, and lights to make it appear as futuristic as possible. It couldn’t be further from a Tesla Model 3 if they tried.

Dukes of Hazzard: Dodge Charger

Cousins Bo and Luke Duke were two good old boys whose constant shenanigans put them in trouble with the corrupt Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Just as important as the Dukes was their vehicle of choice, the General Lee — a Dodge Charger that spent much of its time on the show soaring through the air during spectacular jumps.

Hundreds of ‘68-’69 Chargers were wrecked when filming the show, but none of them had the 426 Hemi engine, as they all used the 318, 383, and 440-cubic-inch engines. In the 2005 movie, Cooter upgraded the Charger with a 426 V8, and the car saw plenty of drifting action in the hands of professional driver Tanner Foust.

The Love Bug: VW Beetle

In 1969, the world was introduced to Herbie the Love Bug, an anthropomorphic, sentient, and slightly mischievous Volkswagen Beetle that loves embarrassing sports cars on the racetrack.

Some critics said the movie was like a long VW commercial, which is ironic since the German carmaker didn’t allow Disney to use any names or logos associated with them or the Beetle in the first movie. At least one modified racing Herbie had a Porsche 356 engine, finned brake drums, and Koni suspension.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder

Matthew Broderick starred as Ferris Bueller in this 1986 hit comedy. Basically, he, his girlfriend, and his best friend skip school. They need a car, so they “borrow” the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder from his friend’s dad.

While they used some real Ferraris for the close-up shots, most of the cars in the movie were replicas, including the one that crashed at the end. While classic Ferrari prices weren’t as crazy then as they are now, these cars were still too expensive to damage in a movie. Even one of the used replicas sold for $360,000 at an auction in 2020.

Vanishing Point: Dodge Challenger

The original Vanishing Point from 1971 is a cult classic, and the entire movie is just a long chase scene. There’s also a remake from 1997, and it’s practically identical, but this time, Viggo Mortensen stars as Kowalski — the main star remains the white Dodge Challenger.

Vanishing Point inspired several songs and albums, and Audio Slave’s Show Me How to Live music video was basically a short version of the movie. Even Tarantino referenced it in Death Proof when a group of women takes a white Challenger for a spin and encounter Stuntman Mike.

James Bond, Goldfinger: Aston Martin DB5

James Bond has driven many iconic cars during his 62-year-long career as the world’s most famous secret agent. We could’ve gone with the Wet Nelly Lotus Esprit that turned into a submarine or even the BMW Z8 that was cut in half, but the one everyone remembers is the Aston Martin DB5.

This legendary British sports car appeared in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger. Q, MI6’s inventor and gadget expert, fitted it with essential spy items like a smoke screen, bullet shield, machine guns, and an ejector seat. The DB5 returned to reprise its role in the 2021 Bond movie No Time to Die.

The Italian Job: Mini Cooper

In the original Italian Job from 1969, Charlie Croker, played by Michael Caine, and his crew plan to steal a gold shipment in Turin, using the iconic Mini Cooper as their getaway cars. The movie is packed with plenty of now-iconic cars, and the intro scene with the Lambo Miura is a must-see for driving enthusiasts.

In 2003, there was a remake of the movie, now starring Mark Wahlberg as Charlie Croker. Once again, the crew decided to use Mini Coopers, but now it was the new Mini, complete with the original Aero body kit.

Mad Max: Ford Falcon

No list of movie cars would be complete without Maxwell “Mad Max” Rockatansky’s Australian 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT Hardtop, known as the Pursuit Special.

With its sinister, black paint job, aggressive body kit, eight side pipes, and colossal supercharger protruding through the hood, it was perfect for its role in the dark, post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max.