Hollywood churned out car movies long before The Fast and the Furious debuted on the silver screen 23 years ago.
In some of these movies, there’s no doubt that the cars are the real stars, as the plot and acting tend to be on the weaker side. In other films, the cars were carefully selected to fit the movie, but they’re not the main focal point.
We’ve listed 13 movies every gearhead should watch, but this list is nowhere near exhaustive.
Ford v Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari tricked Henry Ford II into thinking he could buy the Italian carmaker just so that Fiat would give him a better deal. Ford swore revenge and wanted to beat the Italians at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He hired Carroll Shelby, who joined forces with Ken Miles to develop the iconic GT40.
Ford v Ferrari is packed with cool classic cars, glorious engine sounds, and edge-of-your-seat racing. Definitely a must-see if you’re into cars.
The California Kid
The California Kid is a 1974 TV movie starring Martin Sheen in the lead role. In it, he drives a ‘34 Ford three-window coupe hot rod, complete with hood louvers and a flame paint job, looking for the man responsible for his younger brother’s death.
The hot rod appears in practically every scene and is driven rather enthusiastically at some points. The movie is also available on YouTube, so there’s no need for streaming subscriptions.
Smokey and the Bandit
In 1977, only Star Wars beat Smokey and the Bandit at the box office, making it the second-highest-grossing movie that year. The cars used in the movie are 1976 models modified to look like they’re from 1977, as Pontiac didn’t actually have any 1977 Trans Ams available. Only four cars were used for the entire production; three were destroyed during filming, and one was used as a hero/promo car.
The Malaise Era was still in full effect, so while the Pontiac Trans Am looked mean and powerful, its 6.6-liter V8 engine was severely underpowered and only produced a paltry 200hp. Donating a handful of cars was a clever move by Pontiac, as the sales figures shot up over the following years.
The Fast and the Furious
If you want to watch mind-numbing action movies with cringy one-liners, the entire F&F franchise certainly has a lot to offer, but if you just want to see some cool cars, stick with the first movie from 2001. It’s become something of a cult classic, and it helped popularize Japanese cars and the import tuner scene back in the early 2000s.
With modified cars such as the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mazda RX-7, R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R, Honda S2000, and a Toyota Supra, it’s got everything a JDM enthusiast could want. Those who prefer classic American muscle can drool over Dom’s Charger as it wheelies down the road in the final race against Brian’s Supra.
Ronin
Ronin is a spy movie, and its legendary chase scenes set the bar high for anyone wanting to shoot a high-speed pursuit today, as there’s no CGI or any fakery here, just pure driving skills.
There are some iconic vehicles in the movie, such as the Audi S8 and E34 BMW M5, and the actors look terrified because they were actually in the cars during the choreographed chase scenes.
The Italian Job
In the original Italian Job from 1969, Charlie Croker, played by Michael Caine, and his crew plan to steal a gold shipment in Turin. Since Italian streets are so narrow, they decided to use the iconic Mini Cooper as their getaway car. The movie has several now-iconic cars, and the intro scene with the Lambo Miura is a must-see for any gearhead.
In 2003, there was a remake of the movie with Mark Wahlberg in the role of Charlie Croker. Once again, the crew decided to use Mini Coopers, but now it was the new Mini and most of the movie was set in LA, not Italy.
Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder takes us on an adrenaline-pumping ride into the world of NASCAR racing. Tom Cruise stars as Cole Trickle, which is one of the most NASCAR-sounding driver’s names we’ve ever heard.
There’s only one correct way to watch Days of Thunder: fire up your biggest TV, turn the volume up to 11, and hang on for dear life through the high-octane-fueled racing sequences with realistic crash scenes.
Bullitt
Bullitt is one of the most iconic Steve McQueen movies and features one of the greatest chase scenes ever — It’s a must-watch. McQueen’s character, Frank Bullitt, gets into his 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback and chases after the bad guys driving another legendary car — the ‘68 Dodge Charger R/T.
In real life, the Mustang McQueen drove in the movie disappeared over four decades ago, and no one knew where it was until it reappeared in 2018. Apparently, the 390 cu-in V8-powered ‘Stang just sat in someone’s garage all that time. At least Ford built Bullitt versions of later Mustangs as a tribute to the original.
Vanishing Point
The original Vanishing Point from 1971 is a cult classic, and the entire movie is practically just a long chase scene. There’s also a remake from 1997, and it’s virtually identical, but this time, Viggo Mortensen stars as Kowalski — the white Dodge Challenger was still the real star, though.
Vanishing Point inspired several songs and albums, and Audio Slave’s Show Me How to Live music video was basically a short version of the movie. Even Tarantino referenced it in Death Proof when a group of women takes a white Challenger for a spin and runs into Stuntman Mike.
Two-Lane Blacktop
Two-Lane Blacktop is an American road movie from 1971 featuring two street racers, the Driver and the Mechanic. They spend all their time on the road, racing people in their modified 1955 Chevrolet 150 to make money. In New Mexico, the duo encounters another driver and agrees to race across the country to Washington, D.C.
The movie was released to mostly positive reviews and has since become a cult film. Even Brock Yates, the organizer of the Cannonball Run, said Two-Lane Blacktop served as an inspiration for the race.
Gone in 60 Seconds
There’s no doubt that the Gone in 60 Seconds remake from 2000, starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie, had the coolest Eleanor Mustang. However, H.B. Halicki’s original movie from 1974 has the better car chase.
It was written, directed, produced by, and starring H. B. Halicki. He even did his own stunts. There’s not much of a plot, most of the cast weren’t really actors, and it was clearly made on a budget. That’s all forgiven as the 40-minute car chase begins, though. It’s the longest car chase in film history and goes through five towns as the main character, Maindrian Pace, attempts to lose the police.
American Graffiti
American Graffiti, released in 1973, was directed by George Lucas, and it was the first time he worked with Harrison Ford. The movie perfectly captures the golden era of early 1960s car culture and features some excellent classic cars, such as the iconic ’32 Ford Deuce Coupe and a ’58 Chevy Impala.
Viewers are immersed in the automotive lifestyle that entails cruising around, drag racing, drive-ins, and rock ‘n’ roll. To this day, American Graffiti is the 53rd highest-grossing movie in the United States when adjusted for inflation.
The Transporter
Jason Statham shot to superstardom thanks to Luc Besson’s The Transporter franchise. There are three movies, and none of them offer a particularly compelling story or good acting.
However, if you’re into adrenaline-fueled car chases featuring fast European sedans, and well-choreographed fight scenes, all three Transporter movies are worth watching.
