Great Car Movies

It is a movie with as many plot flaws as it has great car scenes, yet it is a classic among car lovers and racers alike due to its great car scenes and sometimes very funny comic relief moments. The movie stars Burt Reynolds, Sir Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Adrienne Barbeau, Tara Buckman, Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Peter Fonda, Jamie Farr, and many more. It was inspired by an actual event: the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an anything-goes, all-stops-out, and very much illegal race that has grown to legendary status and influenced a few more on this list. It is a fun-loving, action-packed adventure that everyone should watch at least once.

Notable cars
Dodge Tradesman Ambulance (with a NASCAR engine)
Ferrari 308 GTS
Aston Martin DB5
Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S
Subaru Leone (Subaru DL 4WD)
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Mercedes 280 SEL sedan

What can be said about the 1977 movie Smokey and the Bandit that hasn't already been said? Well, it is the first of three films about the misadventures of Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Cledus (Jerry Reed), the black-and-gold Pontiac Trans-am, and their big-rig truck. It has equal amounts of comedy and action, and there are some really cool stunts being done in this one; and before you say it, there is no CGI in it at all, there wasn't anything called CGI back in the late 1970s, so it's all practical stunts by some fantastic stunt drivers. There are also many improvised scenes in the movie, mainly from Jackie Gleason playing Sheriff Buford T. Justice, and those are hilarious.

Notable cars
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Buick Riviera
Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Pontiac Bonneville
Plymouth Fury

A movie that is just as much about music as it is about the blues mobile (a 1974 Dodge Monaco dressed as a cop car) as it is about the characters "Joliet" Jake Blues (John Belushi) and Elwood J. Blues (Dan Aykroyd) and their journey. It is a fun comedy with fantastic car scenes, and it also has an excellent soundtrack, not only the engine noises but actual music, many blues and rock 'n' roll. At the time of its release, The Blues Brothers film held the world record for the most cars destroyed in one film (103 of them). However, the true brilliance of this movie is the acting and singing done by John and Dan.

Notable cars
Dodge Monaco Sedan
Bentley S-Type
Buick Centurion
Buick Electra 225
Buick LeSabre
Buick Regal
Datsun B210 Coupé
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Mercury Cougar

Two-Lane Blacktop is a 1971 American road movie directed and edited by Monte Hellman. It was written by Rudy Wurlitzer and starred singer-songwriter James Taylor, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, and Laurie Bird. It promptly features a highly modified, primer-gray 1955 Chevrolet 150 two-door sedan drag car and a rather strange and almost psychedelic atmosphere that is hard to describe. There are quite a lot of unspoken scenes where sound or even silence dominates what you are watching as if someone was trying to make a point or forgot to fill the gap with noise. It's an odd movie, but it's a true petrolhead wet dream, sort of.

Notable cars
Chevrolet One-Fifty
Chevrolet Biscayne
AMC Javelin
Chevrolet Camaro
Dodge Charger
Pontiac GTO
Plymouth Duster

The Gumball Rally is a 1976 American action comedy film directed and co-written by Charles Bail, a former stunt coordinator also known as Chuck Bail, about an illicit coast-to-coast road race. It was inspired by the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash run by Brock Yates, which inspired several other films, including Cannonball (1976), The Cannonball Run (1981), and Speed Zone (1989), as well as actual events like the American Gumball Rally, and Gumball 3000 Rally. It stars Raúl Juliá, Gary Busey, Michael Sarrazin, and many more, and it is a fast-paced, action-packed adventure from New York to Los Angeles. Some of the scenes, as well as the sound, are divine. It is an absolute must-watch kind of movie.

Notable cars
Chevrolet Camaro Z28
AMC Javelin AMX
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C3
Ferrari 365 GTS/4 (Daytona)
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster
Mercedes-Benz 450 SL
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow
Shelby Cobra 427
Porsche 911 Targa
Dodge Polara 440 police car
Jaguar XK-E V12 Series III

Grand Theft Auto is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring and directed by Ron Howard in his feature directorial debut. Howard also wrote the screenplay with his real-life father Rance Howard, who also co-starred in the movie. This is the only movie that Howard has both directed and starred in. The movie takes its title from the crime grand theft auto, which is committed multiple times by several different characters. It is a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, and it has a lot of nice cars in it as well.

Notable cars
Bugatti Type 35 B Replica
Bradley GT
Cadillac Fleetwood 75
Cadillac Seville
Datsun B210 Coupé
Dodge Charger
Porsche 911
Porsche 911 S
Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud
Volkswagen Beetle
Ford Mustang
Datsun 260Z

The original from 1971 focuses on a disaffected ex-policeman and race driver delivering a muscle car cross-country to California while high on speed ("uppers" in the story), being chased by police, and meeting various characters along the way. Since its release, it has developed a cult following.

This movie was remade in 1997 with a slightly different story than the original, starring none other than Viggo Mortensen as Kowalski, that handsome guy from The Lord of the Rings movies. The car featured in both the original and the remake is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Magnum, which is a relatively cool car. In both movie versions, the chase scenes and action are equally impressive and contain literary-only practical stunts; definitely no CGI here.

Notable cars
Dodge Challenger R/T
Dodge Polara
Chevrolet Chevelle
Chevrolet Impala
Ford Galaxie 500

It is a movie that has been debated, dissected, and prodded from its inception till this day. According to recent claims by Claude Lelouch, the director, and driver, he was driving his own Mercedes in the film, later dubbing over the sound of a Ferrari 275GTB to give the impression of much higher speeds. Calculations made by several independent groups using the film show that the car never exceeds 140 km/h (85 mph), which seems to lend credence to his recent comments. The shortfilm is nine minutes long because the camera's film cartridge could only hold 10 minutes of film, and it was taken in a single shot, without any special effects or stuntmen. The route taken in the movie is 10.42 km long (6.48 mi). It takes the driver 7:57 to cover that distance, giving them an average speed of 78.64 km/h (48.86 mph).

Notable cars
Mercedes 450SEL 6.9
Ferrari 275GTB (sound only)

Bullitt from 1968 is a cult classic thriller that features one of the best and most riveting car chases in modern cinema, where Steve McQueen's Ford Mustang GT Fastback is being pursued by a Dodge Charger 440 Magnum. One of the most exciting things about it is the driver's perspective or point of view, not only in the slow parts at the beginning of the almost 10-minute-long car chase in the streets of San Francisco and on Highway 101. It has been voted as one of the greatest, if not the greatest car chase in cinema for almost 50 years, and we tend to agree. The movie is also rather good, but the car chase is a beautiful cat-and-mouse game played with real cars.

Notable cars
Ford Mustang GT Fastback
Dodge Charger 440 Magnum
Porsche 356 C Cabriolet

The film is often cited as featuring one of the greatest car chase sequences in movie history. The chase involves Popeye (Gene Hackman) commandeering a civilian's car (a 1971 Pontiac LeMans) and then frantically chasing an elevated train on which a hitman is trying to escape. So essentially, it's a train car chase, if we are to be picky, but the really cool thing about it is that the accidental collisions that are in the film are real, and instead of re-shooting the whole scene, they left in the mistakes, and other are a few. It is a tire-squealing, horn-honking thrill ride for around 5 minutes as Gene Hackman chases the train, and just like in Bullitt, the driver's perspective is used as well as a bumper-mounted camera, making it even more exhilarating.

Notable cars
Pontiac LeMans
Cadillac Coupe DeVille
Cadillac Fleetwood 75
Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado
Ford Galaxie 500

Few movies are more American than this one, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young, Madge Sinclair, and Franklyn Ajaye. The film was made when the CB radio/trucking craze was at its peak in the United States and followed the similarly themed films White Line Fever (1975) and Smokey and the Bandit (1977). It is essentially a truck movie about breaking the law in a massive truck while going from state to state, wreaking havoc along the way. If you are really into trucks, then this is a movie you shouldn't miss.

Notable cars/trucks
Chevrolet Chevelle
Jaguar XK-E
Mercury Marquis Brougham
Kenworth K-100
Mack Cruise-Liner
Kenworth W-900 A
Mack RS-712 LST
Peterbilt 352

The film takes place in a dystopian American society in 2000, where the murderous Transcontinental Road Race has become a form of national entertainment. The screenplay is based on the 1956 short story "The Racer" by Ib Melchior. It is a movie that is strange, odd, crazy, and somehow exciting at the same time. It features actors like David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone, Martin Kove, and John Landis (yes, that is John Landis, the director of The Blues Brothers, and many more). The movie is essentially 80 minutes of cars racing and killing each other and pedestrians along the way to the finish line. There are remakes or reboots of the film, such as Death Race (2008), Death Race 2 (2010), Death Race 3: Inferno (2013), and Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018), but all of those have a close circuit format compared to the open street format of the original. A direct sequel was also released, named Death Race 2050 (2017).

Notable cars
Fiat 850 Spider
Ford Mustang
Manta Mirage
Nova Sterling
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
Chevrolet Corvette (C3)

The original film from 1974 centers on a group of car thieves and the 50 cars they must steal in a matter of days. It is known for wrecking and destroying 93 cars in a 40-minute car chase scene, one of the longest in film history. A total of 127 cars were either destroyed or damaged throughout the entire film. The movie is better than the remake mentioned below.

The 2000 version of the film is a loose remake of the original, and it has had its own kind of cult status, mainly due to a certain car featured in it, Eleanor, a customized Shelby Mustang GT500 done by Chip Foose. If we are honest, it is a rather good-looking Mustang.

Notable cars
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Porsche 911 Turbo
Dodge Charger Daytona
Plymouth Hemi Barracuda
Plymouth Roadrunner
Chevrolet Corvette
Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado
Citroën SM
Aston Martin DB7
Aston Martin DB1
Bentley Arnage
Bentley Azure
Bentley Continental
DeTomaso Pantera
Chevrolet Camaro Z28
Intermeccanica Italia GFX
Ferrari 550 Maranello
Mercedes Benz 300 SL/Gullwing

With actors like Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce, not much can go wrong with such a lineup. The film is about a team of former special operatives hired to steal a mysterious, heavily guarded briefcase while navigating a maze of shifting loyalties. The film was praised for its realistic car chases in Nice and Paris. The car chases, favorably compared with those in Bullitt and The French Connection, were among the best depicted on film. It is a well-made action thriller that one can view repeatedly. 

Notable cars
Audi S8 D2 quattro
BMW M5 E34
Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9
Peugeot 406
Peugeot 605
Citroën XM
Citroën Xantia
Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi van.

The film was inspired by the short film series The Hire, a form of branded content, the shorts were directed by popular filmmakers from around the globe and starred Clive Owen as "the Driver" while highlighting the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles. It is the first installment in the Transporter franchise and stars Jason Statham alongside Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze, and Ric Young. In the film, Frank Martin, a British mercenary driver living in France, finds himself involved in a people-smuggling plot. There are some really good car scenes in this one, but also, if you are into Jason Statham, then the second and third movies are equally good.

Notable cars
Audi A8 6.0 W12
BMW 735i (E38)
Mercedes-Benz S500
Peugeot 307
Peugeot 206

Taxi is a 1998 French action comedy film starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal, and Marion Cotillard, written by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès. It is the first installment in the Taxi film series. It has four sequels, Taxi 2, Taxi 3, Taxi 4, and Taxi 5, and one English-language remake, Taxi (2004), which is not good at all. But, the excellent thing about this film, which sets it apart from most other car movies, is that it features a white 1997 Peugeot 406 (slightly customized) that the main character drives and a Mercedes-Benz 500E, which the bad guys drive. It also has a lot of funny moments and is a joy to watch again and again. It just makes you feel good.

Notable cars
Peugeot 406
Mercedes-Benz 500E
Citroën 2CV
Dallara F396

Hit and Run is a 2012 American action comedy film written by Dax Shepard, with David Palmer and Shepard co-directing (their second collaboration after Brother's Justice in 2010). The film stars Shepard and Kristen Bell, with Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Arnold, and Bradley Cooper, and follows a man who has been placed in Federal Witness Protection going on the run with his girlfriend to escape a mobster. This film stars a beautiful custom, souped-up 4th-generation Lincoln Continental, which belongs to Dax Shepard along with some of the other cars as well. The budget was only 2 million USD, meaning many of the cast members did their own stunt driving, and it has been reported that almost half of the budget went into the excellent soundtrack to secure the music rights. It's worth watching.

Notable cars
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon
BMW 3 Sports Wagon [E91]
Lincoln Continental
Chevrolet Corvette C6
Buick LaCrosse
Toyota Prius

Another Dax Shepard movie he wrote, directed, and starred in, along with his wife, Kristen Bell. It is based on a TV series with the same name from 1977-1983, created by Rick Rosner. Technically, this is a movie about motorcycles, but it includes some cool motorcycle and car scenes, earning it a spot on this list of good car-related movies. The film stars Michael Peña, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rosa Salazar, Adam Brody, and Jessica McNamee, among others. There are, for sure, some hilarious scenes that make you laugh uncontrollably and will make you chuckle when thinking about them after you've watched it. Worth watching for the laughs.

Notable cars
Chevrolet Camaro
Ferrari California T
Ford Crown Victoria
Ford Mustang
Subaru Forester

Notable motorcycles
BMW R 1150 RT-P
BMW R 1200 RT-P
BMW X1 [E84]
Ducati Hypermotard 939
Ducati Sport 1000 SE

Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt (in one of his first major roles). It also features a beautiful 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible and the edge of the Grand Canyon, so we are not going to say more than that. It is a movie one just has to see, and if you choose not to, then you are at a loss.

Notable cars
Ford Thunderbird convertible
Chevrolet Caprice Classic
Chevrolet Corvette C3
Plymouth Gran Fury
Lincoln Continental

Getaway is a 2013 American action thriller film starring Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, and Jon Voight. Some say it is a terrible movie, with a summary like "Monotonously fast-paced to the point of exhaustion, Getaway offers a reminder of the dangers in attempting to speed past coherent editing, character development, sensible dialogue, and an interesting plot." We tend to agree, but in part, we also disagree entirely. Indeed, neither Ethan Hawke's nor Selena Gomez's acting is good, but the stunts in the movie are pretty cool. So, if you are in endless carnage and eyeing a Ford Shelby GT 500 SVT being driven like mad, this movie is for you.

Notable cars
Audi A4 Avant B6
Alfa Romeo 155
BMW 3 Touring [E46]
Mercedes-Benz 190 [W201]
Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse [W211]
Porsche Cayenne [955]
Ford Shelby GT 500 SVT
Ferrari F430 Spider

Baby Driver is a 2017 action film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Eiza Gonzalez, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, and Kevin Spacey appear in supporting roles. The thing with this film is its excellent action scenes and sound design, along with a fantastic soundtrack that puts most other movies on this list to shame. The use of the Subaru Impreza WRX, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and others make this film a future classic.

Notable cars
Subaru Impreza WRX
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Ford Police Interceptor
Ford Crown Victoria
Chevrolet Cruze

The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (Norwegian: Flåklypa Grand Prix) is a 1975 Norwegian stop-motion-animated feature film directed by Ivo Caprino. It is based on characters from a series of books by Norwegian cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust. Since its premiere on 28 August 1975, the movie has been shown at a cinema somewhere in the world every day of the week for 48 years, mainly in theaters in Norway, Moscow, or Tokyo. The non-stop run ended in 2003. At one point, the movie was running simultaneously at 75 different theaters in Japan. To say that this film is epic would be an understatement, as it has influenced and affected so many young lives worldwide since its release. One of the more famous examples of its impact is the fact that Christian von Koenigsegg was so inspired by the feature car in the film, the Il Tempo Gigante, that he founded Koenigsegg to build the perfect sports car.

Notable cars
Abarth 2000 Sport
Alfa Romeo Carabo
Rolls-Royce 10 h.p.
Il Tempo Gigante