For motoring enthusiasts, cars and movies are inextricably linked and it's fair to say that the choice of films featuring vehicles is extensive. From VW Beetles with a mind of their own, to an anonymous truck driver with a serious (and as it turned out, fatal) case of road rage, the car is very often the star.
Our team came up with a list of their favourite car films to create Lockton's Top Ten. They're in no particular order and we've added a few lines explaining why we like them so much.
Smokey And The Bandit
Burt Reynolds was at arguably the height of his fame in 1977 and his escapades at the wheel of his Pontiac Firebird Trans Am ably supported by Jerry Read and Sally Field still make great viewing over 40 years later. Whilst the film's automotive star was surely the black Trans Am with the gold eagle, for us it's Jackie Gleason as Sherriff Buford T. Justice and his mostly unrepeatable one liners that steal the movie.
Gone in 60 Seconds
Featuring an implausibly long jump during its closing scenes, this was a remake of the 1974 original which also starred a Ford Mustang. Our car too is known just as “Eleanor” – in the 2000 film, a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 Fastback was the hero and 12 cars were built specifically by legendary hot rod supremo Chip Foose.
Nicolas Cage undertook much of the driving seen in the movie himself, having received training at the legendary Bondurant Race School.
The Italian Job
“I only told you to blow the bloody doors off!” Made when Britain was at the end of the Swinging Sixties and starring the Mini Cooper with support from that orange Lamborghini Miura, a fake Aston Martin being tipped off a cliff and stuffed full of clichés, this is one of the all-time car movie greats.
The audacity of the robbery was only shadowed by the apparent incompetence of the Turin police to apprehend the culprits. If you don't find yourself spotting every 60's (and earlier) vehicle during both the chase and traffic chaos scenes, we'd be surprised.
A remake in 2003 was surprisingly good too, but the original remains for us the best.
Fast and Furious
Technically we've cheated here as this is a series of 8 films (more if you count the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw film of 2019) but where else can you find a mixture of American muscle cars, Japanese sports cars and European classic and exotics in a single series of movies?
It's hard to believe that it all started almost 20 years ago with a relatively unknown cast and starring tuned Japanese sports cars with nitrous oxide, loud stereos and of course neon lights underneath.
If we had to list all the cars featured in the movies, this would be the longest article in history – safe to say that there are enough to satisfy the most diehard petrolhead.
The Transporter
Jason Statham has quickly established himself as a genuine Hollywood A-List member but who'd have thought that Audi's flagship saloon could overshadow him?
To avoid accusations of further cheating, we're going to focus on the third and final movie which featured the Audi A8 extensively and, most importantly, an audacious stunt involving landing said Audi on the roof of a moving train. This was after Jason had survived the bad guys by driving into a lake and using air from the tyres to stay alive – naturally.
Ronin
Another Hollywood megastar being overshadowed by an Audi A8. Not to mention a Citroen XM, Peugeot 406 and 605, BMW M5 and a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9.
This time it's Robert De Niro's turn. The movie features three chase sequences – 2 in Paris and the central scenes set on the coastal roads of the French Riviera.
The use of relatively ordinary cars serves to make the chase sequences work superbly and the first chase sequence in Paris features the A8 escaping the bad guys in scenes reminiscent of the 1976 movie C'était un rendez-vous.
Rush
One of the most eagerly anticipated car movies of the last decade and it didn't disappoint. Rush featured both real and replica cars from arguably the most glamorous era of Formula One and turned locations including Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire into 1970's vintage race tracks.
It could be argued that the Cosworth DFV was the real star of the movie but for us the sheer attention to detail, coupled with remarkable performances from the lead actors which captured brilliantly the character of 2 of the most colourful and controversial drivers ever to grace the sport.
No Mans Land
Not an obvious choice and that's why it's here.
An undercover cop infiltrates a ring of Porsche thieves – that's all you need to know and the movie includes several excellent chase sequences, notably a silver 911 Turbo being pursued by the bad guys although we'd question whether a Lincoln Continental would actually see which way one of the fastest cars of the day went.
The Gumball Rally
Said to be the inspiration for the hugely successful Cannonball Run movies, this is the original and features lesser known stars but arguably better movie cars.
The lead roles are filled by an AC Cobra and Ferrari 356 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder with supporting roles from a variety of American and European sports cars. Cliché-ridden but none the worse for it.
Ford v Ferrari
Everyone knows the story behind the Ford GT40, right?
When you finish watching this brilliant movie, you may rethink some of that. Whilst the central plot revolves around Ferrari's rebuttal of Ford and their subsequent vow to smash the scarlet cars, the human side of the story is superb and at the end rather poignant.
Any movie featuring as its central stars the GT40 and Shelby-built Cobras is a winner in our book.
This should and could easily be a Top 20 or even 50 – we've not included The Cannonball Run, most of the Bond movies, Le Mans, Need for Speed, The Driver, Baby Driver, Grand Prix, Senna, the list really does go on. We shouldn't forget TV either – from The A Team to The Professionals and Knight Rider to The Sweeney and including The Dukes of Hazzard along the way (and the equally excellent – in car terms anyway – movie remake) – the sheer volume of motoring related movie and popular TV content is staggering.
What are your favourites?