There are some film moments that are so impactful, they seem etched into our psyche. And more often than you’d realise, those big moments — the ones that make your heart race, that make you laugh or that inspire you — centre around a car. Think Cher Horowitz blowing through a stop sign in her Jeep Wrangler, Thelma and Louise and their final act of rebellion in that Ford Thunderbird or even the steamy Renault Coup de Ville scene from the Titanic.
A car is so much more than perfunctory. It’s a source of freedom, transformation and escapism. With this in mind (and with strong collaboration from our resident car enthusiast Stacey) we’ve rounded up our list of the most iconic car moments in film. From vintage racing scenes to comedic classic, these are the vehicles too iconic to ever forget.
1. Porsche 928 from Risky Business
Will any of us ever forget the moment this car nearly rolls off that dock? But just as Joel manages to save it, the dock collapses and the car ends up descending into the lake. Anxiety inducing.
2. 1956 Jaguar XK 140 Roadster in Cruel Intentions
The day I saw Annette Hargrove (aka Reese Witherspoon) driving away in that vintage Jaguar to the tune of Bittersweet Symphony, my brain chemistry was irrevocably changed forever.
3. Aston Martin’s DB5 in No Time to Die
Of course there are so many incredible car moments from the James Bond franchise but only one could come out on top. It was tempting to throw Pierce Brosnan driving his Aston Martin V12 Vanquish through a melting ice castle to save Jinx (aka Halle Berry). But we couldn’t go past Daniel Craig zooming through the winding and fraught streets of the City of Caves, Matera in his silver DB5.
4. The pink Honda S2000 from 2 Fast 2 Furious
We couldn’t possibly have a list like this without including Devon Aoki and her Barbie-pink Honda.
5. The Shelby Mustang GT500 in Gone in 60 Seconds
The mid 90s to early 2000s was objectively the prime era of Nicolas Cage films -—and Gone in 60 Seconds is a kitschy stand-out. The moment where Cage drives up the car carrier truck and flies over the traffic. Epic.
6. That 1912 Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville from Titanic
IYKYK.
7. The red 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX from Baby Driver
There are more than a handful of big car moments in this film, but we can’t go past the opening car chase in the red Subaru. The first four minutes of that movie are electric.
8. 1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ from Clueless
“I like totally paused.”
Arguably, this car should have a starring credit. It’s the car that made an entire generation of teens desperate to get their license at the first opportunity.
9. 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu from Pulp Fiction
It’s one of the most iconic scenes from one of the most iconic film — Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega in the red Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu. Both on the way to the retro diner and home after Mia’s near overdose.
10. Stella’s Mini Cooper 2003 from The Italian Job
The moment Charlize Theron stepped out of that red Mini Cooper in The Italian Job remake …. It certainly reignited the love for this classic car.
11. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
This movie. This car. What more can we say?
12. 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu from Drive
Another classic Chevrolet making the list. Considering the whole movie is about the life of a getaway driver, this car is front and centre during the opening parts the film and features in a rather epic car chase.
13. 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible in Thelma and Louise
This incredibly powerful story of female liberation ends with one of the most influential and moving moments in all of cinema history. After Thelma and Louise realise they’re completely surrounded by the police after a multi-day chase, both women choose to drive into the Grand Canyon together, killing themselves in one final act of rebellion against a system that both harmed and failed them. The film ends on a freeze frame of their Ford Thunderbird right before they plunge into the depths below.
14. The Cadillac Escalade car chase in The Matrix Reloaded
The entire car chase scene with the twins in the Matrix Reloaded is one of the best pieces of action cinema of all time. But in particular, the moment that Morpheus aka Laurence Fishburne takes out a Cadillac with a katana is truly epic.
15. 2002 Lexus SC 430 from the original Mean Girls
Is it possible to forget the moment Regina George pulls up outside school and yells “get in loser, we’re going shopping”? That sleek Lexus convertible truly was the ultimate hot-girl car.
16. 1940 Buick Phaeton from Casablanca
You cannot think of the movie Casablanca without immediately picturing Humphrey Bogart’s Buick. It’s truly an emblem of cinema history.
17. 1999 Audi TT Roadster in Mission: Impossible 2
It’s not exactly a cinematic masterpiece but, regardless, the opening car chase from Mission Impossible 2 is one for the petrol heads, where we see Thandie Newton in an Audi TT take on Tom Cruise in a Porsche.
18. 1989 Lotus Esprit SE from Pretty Woman
It wasn’t the most conventional meet-cute in cinematic history, but the moment Julia Roberts stepped into Richard Gere’s “borrowed” Lotus and said, “I bet this baby corners like it’s on rails,” the films’s charm began to peek through. A classic.
19. The borrowed Jaguar XJ-S from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
In an effort to impress at their coming high school reunion, Romy and Michele borrow a snazzy red Jaguar which becomes central to their plan to pose as “business women”. This is an immediate must-watch if you have not already seen it.
20. Kat Stratford’s Dodge Dart from 10 Things I Hate About You
And finally, the moment that Kat Stratford backed her uncrushable 1963 Dodge in Joey’s brand new shiny Camaro was cinema gold. “Whoops.”
Images: film still are courtesy of IMDB and the film productions companies.
