We continue our trawl around the 50 greatest imaginary cars. You may not agree and, if that’s so, let us know. Whether you do or not, read on, there’s bound to be something you didn’t know about our next five picks…
The Top 50 So Far…
- 50 The Delorean DMC 12 from Back to the Future
- 49 KITT (Pontiac Firebird Trans Am) from Knight Rider
- 48 Herbie, the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle
- 47 The Mean Machine 00 from Whacky Races
- 46 The Batmobile
- 45 The General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard
- 44 Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters
- 43 Mad Max’s Pursuit Special
- 42 Scarface’s 1963 Cadillac
- 41 Bumblebee, the Chevrolet Camaro, from Transformers
- 40 The 1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine
- 39 The Mystery Machine (Scooby Doo)
- 38 The Audi RSQ in I, Robot
- 37 1977 AMC Pacer from Wayne’s World
- 36 1979 Ford Country Squire LTD from American Vacation
- 35 Hong Kong Phooey’s Phooeymobile
- 34 The 1932 Deuce Coupe in American Graffiti
- 33 Racer X’s Shooting Star
- 32 Jackie Chan’s Subaru GL in Cannonball Run
- 31 Magnum’s Ferrari 308 GTB
- 30 Out Run’s Ferrari Testorossa
- 29 The Spider Mobile
- 28 The Trans Am from Smokey & The Bandit
- 27 Blade Runner’s Spinner
- 26 The Boulder Mobile from Whacky Races
25 – 1950 Mercury from The Cobra
This Sly Stallone vehicle, where he plays an LA cop hunting down members of a neo-fascist organisation, was an absolute flop: on Rotten Tomatoes, only 13% of critics gave the film a positive review. It was also nominated for six(!) Razzie Awards (Worst Film, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and New Star (both for Brian Thompson) and Screenplay). It may have been kicked all over the place but the nitrous injection 1950 Mercury was an absolute star. After 19 years apart, in March 2011, Sly Stallone and the his Cobra were re-united, the Rocky actor tracked down the car and re-bought it for a reported $250,000.
24 – The Fantasticar from Fantastic Four
First appearing in the third edition of The Fantastic Four, The Fantasticar has had three incarnations, each more fantastic than the last! Mk. I was oval shaped and could split into multiple sections and piloted by other members of the Fantastic Four. It was stored in the Baxter Building and a top floor and (in Issue 12) replaced by Mk. II. The second version had a transparent bulletproof windshield, it was quicker and could fly further – over 3,000 miles. In the 2007 film, the car got a further redesign making it sleeker and sexier. It was also able to fly from New York to Russia and controlled by a mobile device.
23 – The Shaggin’ Waggin from Dumb & Dumber
The greatest shaggy dog story ever told – Harry and Lloyd’s 1984 Ford Econoline is the last word in babe magnetism. If the original Ford Econoline was a thing of rare beauty, the 1984 model was plain to the point of anonymity. Passenger vans could hold up to 15 passengers, but it needed only two for Dumb and Dumber. The best line from the film?
Lloyd: What do you mean you don’t bet? Wussy! Wussy!
Harry: I never have and I never will.
Lloyd: Yeah, right. I bet you twenty bucks I can get you gambling before the end of the day.
Harry: No way.
Lloyd: I give you three to one odds.
Harry: No.
Lloyd: Five to one?
Harry: No.
Lloyd Ten to one?
Harry: You’re on.
Lloyd and Harry both shake hands and smile.
Lloyd: I’m gonna get you.
Harry: Nuh-uh.
Lloyd: I don’t know how, but I’m gonna get you.
Harry: Nuh-uh.
22 – The Graduate Alfa Romeo Spider Deutto
Due to its long tail, the beautiful Series 1 Spider, featured in The Graduate, is sometimes known as Osso di Seppia – Italian for cuttlefish bone. Clearly, it’s a design classic. It remained in production for almost thirty years and never looked better than when then gliding across American highways, Dustin Hoffman with the steering wheel in hand and a whole lot on his mind.
21 – James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5
Many driver’s perfect car, the DB5 was released in 1963 and called a DB as homage to David Brown, the head of Aston Martin between 1947 and 1972. The DB5 first appeared with Bond behind the wheel in Goldfinger – subsequently appearing in Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale. However, it never looked prettier than when making its debut. In 2010, the Goldfinger DB5, complete with gadgets, was sold for $4.1m. It had a three-way revolving number plate which read: GOLD FINGER, JB007 or BMT216A.
Did You Know – in the novel, GoldenEye, Fleming wrote that Bond bought the DB5 out of his own pocket?
