Ten Must Watch Car Movies

Rush

Rush immortalises the 1976 championship battle between McLaren’s James Hunt and Ferrari’s Nikki Lauda as they battle through their racing careers, past Lauda’s accident at the Nurburgring. 

Even if you have the slightest interest in F1, Motorsport or Cars in general, this is a great film to watch. Even to look at the period road cars used in the off track scenes.

Fast & Furious 

It’s hard to pick just one film from this quite extensive catalogue, if you can look past the “Family”, the extensive gearchanges, and infinitely long runways. Then the F&F franchise does offer some easy, light and entertaining car movie content. 

Our pick of the bunch is probably 2 Fast 2 Furious, if only for the opening Skyline R34 GTR sequence. But you’ve got 10 films to choose from! Should keep you busy for a while!

Cars

Yes, it's a Disney film. But that means you can either watch it on your own, and admit only to yourself that it's actually quite a good film with a cameo from Jeremy Clarkson as Harv. Or you can settle in with the family (not the Fast & Furious kind) and watch some Disney magic, whilst subtly passing on a car obsession to last a lifetime. 

Vanishing Point

A cross america road trip movie, with Kowalski, that has some quite sad undertones, we learn of Kowalski’s experience throughout his life, war and work. As he attempts to deliver a Supercharged 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T from Denver to San Francisco in just 15 hours. 

Death Proof

Maybe not one to watch with the kids is Tarantino’s Death Proof, where we meet Stuntman Mike and his Chevrolet Nova - We’ll let the trailer do the talking, but given this is a Grindhouse production, make sure there are no sensitive eyes around! 

Ronin

Everyone will tell you that the star of Ronin’s chase scene is an E34 M5, and whilst that is a very special car - especially fitted with its aerodynamic wheel covers. The real sight is watching Robert De Niro hussle a 3.0 V6 Peugeot 406 channelling his inner Tim Harvey at Brands Hatch. 

Gone in 60 Seconds 

Nicholas Cage plays a retired car thief returning to his life of crime for one last time to save the life of his brother, in this remake of the 1970s classic. The film that produced one of the most recreated movie cars of all time, the Shelby Mustang GT500 Eleanor. 

The Italian Job 

You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off! The iconic 1969 movie features Michael Caine, some beautiful classic cars including Mini Cooper S, Fiat Dino Coupe, Jaguar E-Types and more. 

The iconic chase scene around the test track at Fiat’s Turin factory remains one of the greatest pieces of automotive cinema history!

Baby Driver

Another heist movie! This time paired with a brilliant soundtrack and some exuberant driving of a red Subaru Impreza! Baby relies on his music to keep him perfectly in tune with his driving. 

Le Mans ‘66

Depicting Carol Shelby and Ford’s journey to Le Mans victory with the GT40, this movie is a car enthusiast's dream. Another film that is a joy to watch for the cars used in the background of shots, just as much as those seen front and centre!