CARS ON THE SILVER SCREENS

Cars have graced our Silver Screens and have become celebrities in their own right. There is much debate as to which is the best driving movies as there are so many to choose from! Here at HiQ we have listed our top 10 driving movies and iconic motors with everything from flying cars to time travel machines.

Top Ten Driving Movies and their Cars

10. The Dukes of Hazard

The 2005 movie is a remake of the TV series which premiered in 1979. The movie follows two brothers, Bo and Luke Duke and the adventures they face. General Lee (Dodge Charger) was born on the TV series and has featured in all the TV episodes and remake movies. The iconic car is a 1969 Dodge Charger 7.2L Magnum V8 with 375 Horsepower. This featured in the movie with an orange paint job, number one on the side and doors welded shut so the brothers could jump out the windows in true movie style. Did anyone watch the original TV Series? How did the film match up? Fun Fact: General Lee was supposed to be called the “Traveler” after the General’s horse, but the producers decided General Lee sounded better.

9. Drive

A Hollywood stuntman played by Ryan Gosling gets into trouble when helping a neighbour and becomes a getaway driver. The criminals have a five minute window and The Driver (Gosling) guarantees a safe getaway. Gosling’s car of choice in the movie is the 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle which had a V8 engine and 300 horsepower. Chevrolet then went on to introduce the performance powered SS range. Fun Fact: Ryan Gosling built the Chevelle himself and it is also fitted with Dunlop tyres.

8. Transformers

Not a driving movie but it has cars that transform into robots! Bumblebee starts of the movie as a worn out 1977 Chevrolet Camaro but soon morphed to a beautiful rally yellow 2006 concept Camaro that later became the 2010 released model from Chevrolet. The 2006 Camaro had a 6.0L V8 engine with 400 horsepower. The new Transformers movie is out in July. Who here is looking forward to seeing it? I know we are. Fun Fact: The film was based on the Transformers toy line which first launched in 1984.

7. 2 Fast 2 Furious

The movies that introduced us to NOS. This movie follows Ex Agent Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) taking down criminals in Miami in exchange for a clear criminal record. Racing round the streets in his Nissan Skyline R34 GTR, the car has become an icon for the Fast and Furious movies. The car is a GTR V-Spec II Dual Turbo 2.6L Inline Six with 280 Horsepower, plus NOS of course and is styled with a silver paint job and blue racing stripes. Fun Fact: The Skyline R34 in the movie was actually Paul Walkers personal car which he customized himself. Verone’s mansion in the film was owned by Sylvester Stallone.

6. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Caracacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) creates a flying car. The success of this new invention captures the attention of a dictator of a foreign government who wants the car for himself. The car was created especially for the movie and fitted with a Ford 3000 V6 engine with automatic transmission. Fun Fact: The tyres on the car were manufactured by Goodyear.

5. Goldfinger

Sean Connery is James Bond in the 1964 Goldfinger movie, the third of the Bond films. The MI6 agent is sent to take down a gold smuggler who has a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve. For over 50 years Bond has graced our screens and used some amazing cars kitted out with spy gear, guns and not forgetting the ejector seat. We have chosen the Aston Martin DB5 that first appeared in Goldfinger but also appeared in Golden Eye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale and the most recent Skyfall. The car has a 4.0L straight six engine with 282 horsepower. Fun Fact: The car that appeared in Goldfinger was sold in 2010 for £2.6 million. The DB5 was fitted with Dunlop Tyres.

4. Back to the Future

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) time travels to 1955 in the famous DeLorean time machine and risks changing his future forever and leave him trapped in the past. The famous Delorean is the DMC-12 model and the only car the manufacturer produced. It has a 2.8L V8 engine with 150 horsepower and cool Gull Wing Doors for a futuristic look. Speeding to a specific 88 miles per hour, the activation of the flux capacitor sends Marty McFly to the time travel destination of his choice. Fun Fact: The DeLorean was originally produced in Dunmurry, (Northern Ireland) with an estimated 6,500 still on the road today.

3. The Italian Job

Michael Cane stars as Charlie Croker who creates a plan to steal a gold shipment in Italy by creating a traffic jam. The movie features the Mk1 Mini Cooper S which was quick and agile. The mini was deemed the symbol of ‘British Cool’ and the movie features one of the most popular car chases. The car features a 1.3l inline four engine with 76 horsepower and weighing just over 600kg. The film ends on a teasing cliff hanger. Would you have gone for the gold? Fun Fact: Star Michael Cane couldn’t drive when the movie was filmed.

2. Cars

The movie follows the story of hot shot race car named Lightening McQueen (Owen Wilson) who discovers the true meaning of friends and family after an accident leaves him stranded in Radiator Springs. Driving down the famous Route 66 McQueen makes some new friends on his journey and meets a beautiful Porsche Carrera called Sally. Lightening McQueen’s car design is unique to the movie and based on the design of a Mazda Miata and a Dodge Viper. Fun Fact: Lightening McQueen has “Lightyear” tyres, which is inspired by Goodyear Tyres and Pixar Character Buzz Lightyear. Director John Lasseter chose Goodyear because expert drivers in NASCAR choose Goodyear for the superior performance.

1. The Love Bug (1968)

Probability the most famous Volkswagen Beetle ever! Herbie is a car with a mind of his own who teams up with race car driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) to become a racing champion. The famous number 53 was sold at the start of the movie but Luxury Car Dealer Peter Thorndyke who wanted Herbie back once he became a successful racecar. Herbie is a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with 1.2L with 40 Horsepower plus a mind of his own. Fun Fact: Herbie is fitted with Goodyear Tyres. These were chosen because of the high levels of performance driving in the movie and the Goodyear Tyres provided the grip and traction needed to film the fast racing scenes.

From talking cars to robots there certainly have been some interesting driving movies with some classic muscle cars still appearing today. These cars rely on performance on the road, good grip and breaking which is why it is important to have the right tyres for the job.