The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has offered comic book and movie fans an immense world to enjoy and experience over the last decade. People around the world get to admire these superheroes, see themselves in their shoes, and join their teams. The MCU also allows for people to admire the cars that many of these characters drive.
This article was, unfortunately, written just days after the passing of the great Stan Lee, the man responsible for almost all of the creations we now see and love on screen in the MCU. Culminating in 20 movies thus far, Marvel has created the biggest and most profitable film franchise of all time, and it’s thanks to Stan “The Man” Lee for all of this. We would be remiss not to mention the indelible mark he left on the world as a whole.
With Phase Four of the MCU set to take action in the coming years, let’s go over some of the magnificent vehicles that have been featured in the films thus far—sometimes as much as the characters themselves. We have cars from multiple brands, though one sticks out the most as the company that has managed to place their cars in just about every MCU film. You’ll see what I mean in a minute.
Some of these cars never make it more than a few minutes before being demolished, while others on this list are as much a character as JARVIS or Iron Man’s suits. Here are 25 MCU cars that might have been missed by fans.
25 Audi TTS – Spider-Man: Homecoming
The Audi brand manages to showcase itself in films all across the MCU, including 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. The film featured the all-new 2018 Audi A8 making its public debut, as well as the notorious Audi R8 V10 Spyder, and this Audi TTS Roadster. The TTS also made a brief appearance in 2015’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, but it was more prominent in Spider-Man. The car uses a heavily revised 2.0 TFSI engine, with a power output of 268 horsepower, a 0-62 mph acceleration time of 5.2 seconds, and an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.
24 Audi R8 – Iron Man
The first car belonging to the first superhero in the first MCU film was the Audi R8 belonging to billionaire playboy Tony Stark. Back in 2008, the Tesla Model S was probably just a drawing on some engineer’s board, and Iron Man needed high-tech car to drive. They chose the Audi R8, which had just been unveiled with a new V10 engine, and from then on, Audi had great product placements in many of the MCU films (most notably the Iron Man franchise). In case you want one for yourself, a new Audi R8 will run you $138,700.
23 Audi R8 Spyder – Iron Man 2
Stark’s love for Audi cars continued in 2010’s Iron Man 2, which wasn’t as well received as the first film, but was still a hit nonetheless. It sold almost $624 million of tickets worldwide, making it the 7th highest grossing “summer start” film of all time.
The Audi R8 Spyder is the convertible version of the R8, and starts at $177,100.
The top of this car will fold down at speeds up to 31 mph, which is pretty intense. The 2010 V10 Spyder uses a 5.2-liter engine with 428 horsepower, allowing for a 0-62 mph sprint time of 4.8 seconds, and a top speed of 186 mph.
22 S.H.I.E.L.D. Acura RDX – Thor
In 2011’s Thor, Acura got its foot in the door of the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe. The premium automaker from Japan actually designed tactical variants of its newest cars for use by the agents of the covert organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. The first-gen RDX is powered by a turbocharged, 2.3-liter, straight-four engine rated at 240 horsepower. Even more impressive, the peppy SUV received an almost perfect safety rating from NHTSA in 2014, getting five stars in Overall Safety, Frontal Driver, Frontal Passenger, Side Driver, Side Passenger, and Side Pole Driver. It's a pretty good car for S.H.I.E.L.D. The Acura RDX would make another appearance in 2012’s The Avengers.
21 Acura NSX Roadster Concept – The Avengers
When the Acura NSX Roadster Concept was first unveiled in 2012’s The Avengers, people were in a tizzy. Not to mention that it came at the end of the movie, when Tony Stark gets into the dark red Acura convertible and drove off with Bruce Banner.
But this car didn’t even exist at the time.
It was a concept of the forthcoming Acura NSX, the company’s $157,000 supercar that’s capable of 190 mph and a 3.6-second 0-62 mph sprint time thanks to its 573-horsepower, twin-turbo V6 engine with hybrid supplementation. This car actually wouldn’t come out to the public for four more years, so it was quite spectacular to see in the film.
20 Audi R8 e-tron – Iron Man 3
Continuing in the tradition of Tony Stark driving Audis (for the most part), 2013’s Iron Man 3 featured the new, high-tech Audi R8 e-tron as the billionaire’s car of choice. It is a hybrid concept car that was unveiled in 2012 by Audi as a plug-in version similar to the Audi A3 Sportback. It’s still in the concept phases, though it failed when released to Europe in 2014 because of its 1-million-euro price tag, which is about 6 times the price of a regular Audi R8. Still, Audi claims the concept car could have up to 1,000 horsepower when released in 2022. Less than 100 of the original R8 e-trons were built after the 2015 Geneva Motor Show unveiling.
19 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America is the most steadfast hero of the entire Avengers, so it makes sense that Marvel partnered with the most quintessential car company of them all: Chevrolet. Ironically, however, they put a character from Russia behind the wheel. The newly designed C7 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray made an appearance in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, though it was driven by Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff. The C7 came out the same year as the film, so it was quite a treat for viewers of the movie who were also car fans. The 2014 package used an LT1 6.2-liter V8 engine with 455 horsepower and a top speed of 195 mph.
18 Audi A3 Cabriolet – The Avengers: Age of Ultron
There are a couple Audis that hit the big screens when The Avengers: Age of Ultron came out in 2015. The film was an utter box office smash, bringing in $1.405 billion, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide.
The Audi A3 Cabriolet would be featured in the film, as well as in Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd.
Audi had an exclusive auto-brand promotion deal with the film, which meant that only Audi had its cars highlighted in the huge film. The Audi A3 Cabriolet starts at $45,070, and runs on a 2.0-liter, turbocharged straight-four engine.
17 Triumph Spitfire – Ant-Man
Marvel’s Ant-Man (2015) didn’t feature many cars, but it did have one notable car: Hank Pym’s Triumph Spitfire. This little roadster was driven by a small hero who made only a brief appearance. It was driven by Michael Douglas’ character, and is either a 1977 or 1978 1500 model. The Spitfire was built between 1962 and 1980, and this would have been from the last generation of the car. It was quite a popular UK sports car during its heyday, and was eventually released in Canada and the United States in 1973. It’s always cool to see vintage cars in Marvel films, because it’s quite a rare occurrence.
16 Ford Econoline – Ant-Man
Personality goes a long way with superheroes, and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man has a surplus of it. This 1972 Ford Econoline adds to his personality in a great way. While the other cars on this list are no doubt prettier, rarer, quicker, more expensive, and probably in better shape (except for some of Tony Stark’s rides), few had the personality of this van, once owned by Scott Lang’s former cellmate, Luis. It is used to transport children to birthday parties, to run digital interference during capers, and it has just as much character as the movie’s cast. It’s not as stylish as Hank Pym’s Triumph Spitfire, but it’s still a sweet ride, with a horn that plays La Cucaracha.
15 Audi R8 V10 Plus – Captain America: Civil War
The 2016 release Captain America: Civil War was a well-received film in the MCU that pitted the team of Captain America versus the team of Iron Man. One part of the film that had no dispute was which car company would be featured prominently in the film: Audi all the way.
In the film, it came as no surprise that Tony Stark drove an orange Audi R8, this time of the V10 Plus variety.
This car was unveiled in 2015, and when tested by Car and Driver, it could reach 0 to 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds, had a power rating of 610 horsepower, and had the most powerful engine ever put in an Audi at that point: the naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10.
14 Ford Flathead 32 Roadster – Iron Man/Iron Man 2
Tony Stark’s garage has some hidden gems in it that we get to see on multiple occasions. In the first Iron Man, Tony can be found working on his old Ford Flathead 32 Roadster hot rod in his workshop, after a night out with Christine Everhart. He fixes the car’s engine and then asks JARVIS for help in fixing it, in which JARVIS shows Tony a comical scenario of how the engine explodes. This car is actually owned by Iron Man’s director, Jon Favreau. He might have regretted his decision to use the car in the film when the production team decided to disassemble parts of the engine, thus making Tony’s restoration project look authentic.
13 Bugatti Veyron SS – Iron Man 3
The Bugatti Veyron SS, or Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sports 2010 World Record Edition, is one of the most famous supercars around, and it can be found in Tony Stark’s garage, along with his other nice cars. It can be seen in Iron Man 3 in his garage. The $1.5-million car was sadly destroyed, along with Tony’s white Audi R8 e-tron during an attack on Tony’s malibu mansion by the Mandarin’s forces. The Bugatti Veyron SS became the world’s fastest open-top production sports car in the world, with a top speed of 267.856 mph, though it’s electronically limited to 258 mph in production models.
12 Shelby Cobra – Iron Man
The 1967 Shelby Cobra is another famous car that was one of Tony Stark’s cars in the original Iron Man. We see it parked in his garage alongside some of his other special vehicles.
The car pictured is not actually a Shelby, but a Factory Five replica, however.
The Cobra can be seen in his garage when he is test piloting his Mark II armor. However, when Tony tries to land his suit on his roof, he crashes through it and falls on top of the Shelby Cobra, destroying it completely. What a shame to see such a beauty squashed, though Tony didn’t seem too crestfallen over the incident, another of the perks of being a fictional billionaire.
11 Tesla Roadster – Iron Man
In the first Iron Man film, the production crew gave a nod to one of the inspirations behind the film version of Tony Stark, Elon Musk. In his expansive garage, we see a convertible Tesla Roadster (newly released in 2008). Filming of the garage took place in hangars once belonging to Hughes Aircraft Company, founded by a figure very similar to Stark, Howard Robard Hughes Jr. Today, Elon Musk’s SpaceX headquarters lays just 10 miles from the hangar. Having found inspiration from a tour of the SpaceX headquarters, Robert Downey Jr. asked the director to place a Tesla Roadster in Tony’s workshop. This revolutionary car wasn’t available to the public at the time.
10 Saleen S7 – Iron Man
The Saleen S7 was one of the most famous supercars during the early 2000s. This high-performance supercar first appeared in 2004’s Bruce Almighty before appearing in 2008’s Iron Man as yet another miraculous vehicle in Tony’s garage.
Tony bought the Saleen S7 before the events of the film, and parked it in his Malibu garage.
It can be seen when Tony is fixing his 1932 Ford Flathead, and later when he asks Pepper Potts to replace the Arc Reactor in his chest with a new one. The Saleen S7 had a top speed of 220 mph, and could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds.
9 Rolls-Royce Phantom – Iron Man 2
The Rolls-Royce Phantom is another famed car that Tony Stark owns, though this one wasn’t seen in his garage. It was actually the transportation vehicle driven by Happy Hogan for Tony and Pepper Potts. Unfortunately, this $417,000 car was sliced in half by Ivan Vanko’s electrical whips. The car’s right back door was destroyed after Tony tried to go in and ask Pepper for his briefcase. When Ivan Vanko recovered, he then sliced the left side of the car diagonally in half, completely destroying it. This added to the $5.8-million reported toll that the Iron Man films had on cars alone.
8 1953 Ghia Cadillac – Iron Man 2
This special old vehicle was owned by Tony Stark and shown in the second Iron Man film. It was part of his collection and could be seen parked beside the 1949 Mercury Coupe in the film. In the 1950s, you could buy a chassis from a carmaker and have a custom body grafted on top of it. Ghia and Cadillac collaborated to produce this unique car. The Italian coachbuilder designed a body similar to a classic Alfa Romeo, and the rarity of the car (only two were made) puts the Ghia’s value at over $1.5 million. The car in Iron Man 2 could be a replica or it could be the real thing, but either way it’s another example of the kind of vehicle a superhero billionaire might own.
7 1978 Wolf WR Ford Replica – Iron Man 2
This is an old F1 racing car from the Ford Motor Company. It was one of Tony Stark’s vehicles and part of his extensive collection. The car was used to race in the Monaco Grand Prix.
The car is powered by a V8 Chevrolet engine, and it was one of the cars destroyed by Whiplash (Ivan Vanko) when he sliced it up with his electrical whips.
Leading up to that, Stark is driving the car in the race—leave it to him to join the likes of Formula One legends. Just like many of Tony’s armored suits, the car meets a destructive end, but perhaps he’ll replace it in the future in another installment of the successful franchise.
6 Mercury 8 Coupe – Iron Man 2
This classic car from the 1940s is, no surprise, part of Tony Stark’s garage. It was parked alongside the 1953 Ghia Cadillac in the garage in Iron Man 2. This car seems more at home in the garage of a mob boss than it does Tony Stark's, but who cares? This stark (get it?) matte black Mercury narrowly missed destruction when a super suit malfunctioned (the one that crushed his Cobra). This was the first car produced by the Mercury brand. The 8 Coupe was produced from 1939 to 1951, and had some successful years of sales. Mercury claimed that the new vehicle made 150,000 owners change cars.