Six of the most iconic movie cars

Cars have played their part in movie history, helping to shape the story, transporting Hollywood icons old and young, and even being the main star. From old bangers to shiny sports cars, and everything in between, hundreds of cars have graced the big screen over the years.

Here are some of the best movie cars ever. Which would you add to the list?

Herbie

An iconic VW Beetle, Herbie was the four-wheeled star of several live action Disney films including The Love Bug, Herbie Rides Again, and the more recent Herbie: Fully Loaded. He was a classic Disney hero – an unwanted soul who found a home with the plucky racing driver Jim. He went on several adventures, many of which were self-driven, vising Mexico, Monte Carlo (naturally), and even on a cruise ship. Who didn’t want a car that could drive itself and get you into a lot of fun and mischief?

Photo Credit: Dirk Rock (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The DeLorean

The Back to the Future movie trilogy would not have been complete without a flux capacitor and a DeLorean DMC-12. It was an unlikely pairing – time-travel and the only model of car ever produced by a company beset with troubles. Even Marty McFly himself expressed shock that Doc had made “a time machine? Out of a DeLorean?!” But now the movies would not be the same without it, and those lifting doors looked right at home in the second movie set in ‘the future’ of 2015, right? Want to see one in person? There is a DeLorean at the Lakeland Motor Museum in Cumbria.

Photo Credit: By Ewen Roberts from San Diego, CA, United States (DeLorean  Uploaded by Masem) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Ecto-1

Photo Credit: http://screenrant.com/

Ecto-1 is instantly recognisable to those of us of a certain age, and many more, as the wheels of choice of the Ghostbusters. Big enough to carry Egon, Ray, Winston, and Peter and all their associated ghost-busting paraphernalia, Ecto-1 was a 1959 Cadillac, which would have been fairly vintage by time of the first movie’s release in 1984. Who ya gonna call?

The Aston Martin

Photo Credit: The Daily Mail

First appearing in Goldfinger in 1964, the Aston Martin is the most common of all the different James Bond cars. An Aston Martin has appeared in several of the James Bond films including the more recent Skyfall, and Spectre. Associated mainly with racing, the Aston Martin was a smooth choice for an even smoother spy. The original has recently been up for sale for £3m, complete with the revolving number plates and set of machine guns. Nice.

‘Christine’

Photo Credit: Hylnder777 at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christine.jpg#/media/File:Christine.jpg

A beautiful car with a lust for murder, Christine was the anti-heroine in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1983 novel. With a dubious service history, and one unlucky owner from new, Christine is snapped up by teenage nerd Arnie, who then suddenly becomes attractive and bags himself the hot girl at school. With a Herbie-like life of her own, but with more bloodthirsty intent, the film ends with the demise of both Arnie and Christine, and a bit of 1950s rock and roll. Christine was a red Plymouth Fury but in true movie fashion, she was heavily made-up and had a fair few body doubles.

The Mini Cooper

Who can forget the iconic scenes of the three British minis scooting around the streets and the subways of Turin in the 1969 classic The Italian Job? Built by the British Motor Corporation between 1961 – 1971, the Mini Coopers which featured in the film have become an icon of Britishness ever since. The Minis used in the film are since long gone, but the Mini brand is going as strong as ever today.