Top 6 ultimate car movies

With the Fast & Furious 6 premiere only around the corner, we thought we’d take a look back at the ultimate car movies of all time.

A good movie needs a good iconic car, or at least a good iconic car chase. So from the Mini’s of The Italian Job, to the blistering chase scene between the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Charger in Bullitt, here are the top six car movies of all time.

Ronin

Ronin (a term used to describe a Samurai without a master) sees a team of mercenaries on the hunt for a mysterious briefcase, which is about to be sold to the Russians. The mercenaries, or ‘Ronins’, head to Nice in order to track and ambush a convoy that’s in possession of the case. Eventually the team ambush the convoy and pursue the survivors that get away. A lengthy car chase around the streets and highways ensues and the end product is one of the most captivating car chases in movie history. It was filmed at full speeds so what you see is what actually went down, which makes it even better. It’s a class chase and you can watch it over and over without getting bored (if you’re a petrol head who loves car chases, that is).

Bullitt

The ultimate man’s man, Steve McQueen, is behind the wheel as detective Frank Bullitt in a Ford Mustang chasing two hit men in a Dodge Charger across the streets of San Francisco. Regarded by many as the greatest car chase scene in film history (particularly dads who can’t stand the more modern stuff), the Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger involved were said to have reached speeds of up to 110 mph during filming, with petrol head McQueen doing the bulk of the stunt work in the Mustang himself. Like the car chase in Ronin, what you see is what you get.

The Italian Job Original

Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) leads a team of British thieves intent on intercepting a highly lucrative shipment of gold from China destined for Italian car giant Fiat in Italy. The car chase scene at the climax of the film sees Croker and his team escape a gang of mafia and police in three mini coopers though the streets of Turin and into the safety of their base in the Alps. The chase in Turin sees the Minis drive down the steps of the famous Gran Madre di Dio church while a wedding is in progress, race around the rooftop test track of the Fiat Lingotto factory, through the packed shopping streets of the Via Roma and finally through the city’s sewerage system where they finally shake off the police.

Fast & Furious

What list featuring the most epic car movies of all time ever would be complete without a mention of the Fast and the Furious Franchise? Back at the start of the 00’s, modified car building became big business and everyone wanted to change their car from a beat up old rust bucket into the next big street racer. The first movie, The Fast and the Furious, really catered to the needs of car lovers who just didn’t have the time nor funds to add a tank of NOS to their mam’s Toyota Starlet – sorry,Glanza. Thankfully, the franchise has continued to make movies with great motors in them ever since along with a few of our favourite actors incliding, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez (pictured below) and The Rock. We even featured some of our favourite cars from the franchise which you can check out over here.

Drive

Drive, featuring none other than Ryan Gosling, is the most recent movie on our top six list and it’s definitely one of the better car related movies to come out in a while. It sees a Driver (Gosling), a guy with no real background, no real personal life and more importantly, no name. He’s just another guy, doing another job. However, his job turns out to be a stunt driver/mechanic by day, and the mob’s getaway driver by night. There are a few seriously tasty cars in this movie including a 1973 Chevrolet Malibu, an early 90’s Toyota Camry, a muscle car era Pontiac GTO and a 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 and there’s a great chase scene between the Mustang and a Chrysler 300, but it’s the chilled out cruising around that really makes this a good car flick.

Gone in 60 Seconds

We think most people will agree that one of Nicolas Cage’s better movies was Gone in 60 Seconds, a remake on the 1974 classic of the same title. The film was directed by Dominic Sena and starred Angelina Jolie (pictured below for no particular reason), Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Duvall and Vinnie Jones, so safe to say it was a star-studded cast. In fairness, the movie had everything you could have wanted; Angelina Jolie in a pair of seriously tight pants, witty one liners and a crop of gorgeous cars. The plot saw Cage’s character, Randall “Memphis” Raines being forced out of retirement as a car thief in order to save his little brother from the mob. However, to save his little bro, Randall must complete the arduous task of stealing 50 cars in just 24 hours.

Ever wondered what the 50 cars were and what they were code named in the movie? Well, wonder no more…

1   1999 Aston Martin DB7 – Mary
2   1962 Aston Martin DB1 – Barbara
3   1999 Bentley Arnage – Lindsey
4   1999 Bentley Azure – Laura
5   1964 Bentley Continental – Alma
6   1959 Cadillac El Dorado – Madeline
7   1958 Cadillac El Dorado Brougham – Patricia
8   1999 Cadillac Escalade – Carol
9   2000 Cadillac El Dorado ETC (El Dorado Touring Coupe) – Daniela
10 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – Stefanie
11 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 – Erin
12 1953 Chevrolet Corvette – Pamela
13 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Big Block – Stacey
14 2000 Ford F350 4×4 modified pick-up – Anne
15 1971 DeTomaso Pantera – Kate
16 1969 Dodge Daytona – Vanessa
17 1998 Dodge Viper Coupe GTS – Denise
18 1995 Ferrari 355 B – Diane
19 1997 Ferrari 355 F1 – Iris
20 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4 – Nadine
21 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello – Angelina
22 1987 Ferrari Testarossa – Rose
23 1956 Ford T-Bird – Susan
24 2000 GMC Yukon – Megan
25 1999 HumVee 2-Door Pickup – Tracy
26 1999 Infiniti Q45 – Rachel
27 1994 Jaguar XJ 220 – Bernadene
28 1999 Jaguar XK8 Coupe – Deborah
29 1990 Lamborghini Diablo – Gina
30 1999 Lexus LS 400 – Hillary
31 1999 Lincoln Navigator – Kimberley
32 1957 Mercedes Benz 300 SL/Gullwing – Dorothy
33 1999 Mercedes Benz CL 500 – Donna
34 1999 Mercedes Benz S 600 – Samantha
35 1998 Mercedes Benz SL 600 – Ellen
36 1950 Mercury Custom – Gabriela
37 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda – Shannon
38 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner – Jessica
39 1965 Pontiac GTO – Sharon
40 1999 Porsche 996 – Tina
41 2000 Porsche Boxster – Marsha
42 1961 Porsche Speedster – Natalie
43 1988 Porsche 959 – Virginia
44 1997 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo – Tanya
45 2000 Rolls Royce Stretch Limousine – Grace
46 1966 Shelby AC Cobra – Ashley
47 1967 Shelby Mustang GT 500 – Eleanor
48 2000 Toyota Landcruiser – Cathy
49 1998 Toyota Supra Turbo – Lynn
50 2000 Volvo Turbo Wagon R – Lisa