Top 10 Most Iconic Movie and Television Cars

04/14/2012

In some movies and television series the car played just as big a role (or an even bigger one) than the actual human characters. In this list we are counting down the most memorable and iconic movie and television cars that have driven across your screen.

10. George Barris Batmobile

The Batmobile built for and used in the 1966–1968 live action television show Batman (and its film adaptation) was a vehicle that originated as a one-off 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car and was customized by George Barris. Its biggest influence on all future batmobiles (possibly all equally iconic) was the rear rocket thruster that fires as the car makes a fast start.

9. The A-Team Van

The black and metallic grey GMC Vandura van with red details is the iconic car driven by the A-Team. Though the car doesn’t really appear to have any specific powers, it is clearly indestructible. The jumps and stunts would surely total a normal van, but this van reappeared every single episode!

8. Bumblebee
Bumblebee is the autobot known from the series Transformers. He is cautious, but brave and due to a battle injury, he is rendered effectively mute, and communicates through use of selected playback of radio and television signals. Interesting fact: Bumblebee used to be a small Volkswagen Beetle, but since we already had Herbie the car was transformed into a Camaro.

7. Christine

This 1958 Plymouth Fury sure lived up to its name. Christine is known to be the most evil car, apparently possessed by supernatural forces. This car kills and can change people’s personality forever. One characteristic we would like to have for our own cars is Christine’s power to fix herself. Whoo! No more expensive repairs!

6. General Lee

The orange Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard was always involved in chases and stunts. But what you most likely remember it for are the welded shut doors (so that the Dukes had to climb in and out through the windows) and the horn that played the melody from the first line of “Dixie.”

5. James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5

James Bond made this beautiful car the one of the most famous cars in the world in the movie Goldfinger. In 2010, the DB5 used in Goldfinger was sold at auction for 2,600,000 GBP.

4. The Ectomobile

We all know this 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor from the movie Ghostbusters. The car is used to carry the Ghostbusters team's ghost-capturing equipment. It has the ability to instantly burn tickets given to it to ashes and features a whole lot of equipment on the roof of which functions are unknown, but it looks serious.

3. Herbie

This 1963 Volkswagen Beetle is far from your ordinary car: it has a mind of his own, is capable of driving himself and falling in love (with a new Beetle, about 40 years his junior), and is a serious contender in auto racing competitions. Herbie was born in the movie the Love Bug, but featured in many more series and movies.

2. KITT

Physically embodied as a modified 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, this car from Knight Riders was essentially an advanced supercomputer on wheels. Its features are too much to tell, but most notable about this car is its easy to bruise ego and very sensitive personality. Other special features are its Turbo Boost, the ability to drive itself and its 'molecular bonded shell' body armour that protected the car against virtually anything.

1. DeLorean Time Machine

Everybody must have seen this ride before. The DeLorean DMC-12 built to be a time traveling device by Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future film series. This 1981 car is way ahead of its time, not only because of its ability to defy the boundaries of time, but also because it is purely electrical (though it does need a nuclear reaction produced by plutonium stolen from a group of Libyan terrorists to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity needed).

Did we miss any?

On Sunday to add to this list is the new Darth Vader's ride, designed by Ryan Friedlinghaus and his West Coast Customs team. True Star Wars fan Ryan couldn't be more excited to take on this challenge: he channels his inner Jedi to come up with a car that will not disappoint you. Watch Inside West Coast Customs Sunday at 9pm. Only on Velocity.

Photo Credit: KITT: Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Delorean: Victor Malafronte/Getty Images; Aston Martin: Kevin Parry/WireImage/Getty Image; Herbie: John Heller/WireImage/Getty Images; Bumblebee: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Christine: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; General Lee:Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Ectomobile: Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Barris Batmobile: Todd Williamson/FilmMagic/Getty Images; A-Team Van: Ian Gavan/Getty Images)

Comments

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Posted by: ads dating | 04/09/2013 at 05:12 AM

It isn’t surprising that the Delorean wins the top spot for the most iconic movie cars. It was clearly the centerpiece of the film, and the movie wouldn't be successful without it. But don't get me wrong, the concept of the movie also played a big part in making it successful. The futuristic body frame of the Delorean and the possibility to travel through time make a perfect combination for a science-fiction movie. 88 mph!

Posted by: Junior Perrera | 05/30/2012 at 02:28 PM

Nice to see all top cars in movie on the one place. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Semi Trucks | 05/10/2012 at 06:38 AM

That's not the Bond car either. The bond car was silver, not green. It's not even a DB 5. It looks like a DB 2? Was someone tasked to find pics on the net and didn't bother doing proper research? Why not a pic of the Time Machine Delorean and not just a stock DMC 12? And a Pontiac Ecto-1? I mean really? It's like having somone who doesn't know the difference between a Ford and a Chevy post the pics. Heck, I can find a full pic of the Batmobile together with George Barris. If the list is of famous cars, not only show the cars, but show the correct cars.

Posted by: Mel | 04/21/2012 at 09:53 AM

I've seen these cars in the movies it was featured on. I am happy to remember the cars, and the movies too.

Posted by: Crystal Clear Headlights | 04/16/2012 at 10:31 PM