When you’re a kid, owning a toy of your favorite cartoon car is awesome. Whether it’s the Mystery Machine or the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, the Party Wagon from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—every kid loves zooming around in their favorite show’s car. But when you reach adulthood, if you have managed to keep that spark of childhood wonder, then you might be tempted to do what these fine folks have done, and build your own, grown-up version of your favorite cartoon car.

Many of these cars are nostalgic for their owners. When they eventually made money enough to have or build what they want, what do they do? They go back to their childhood, to simpler times and happy memories of Saturday morning cartoons and their favorite animated shows on the television and the silver screen. For many animated programs, the cars and vehicles really carry the show: The Jetsons introduced us to flying cars, which is a dream we’re still chasing. Wacky Races wouldn’t have existed without a bunch of zany, over-the-top vehicles belonging to the owners. And just look at the Cars franchise: a whole $10-billion worldwide phenomenon (through the three films, spin-offs, and merchandising).

So there is some serious money in these animated shows and animated cars. Many of the creators of these lovely beauties put them up in museums dedicated to their favorite cartoons. Others drive them on the road and give passers-by some lightness in their day and a reason to smile. Whatever the reason for building these real-life replicas of cartoon vehicles, we appreciate it.

Here are 13 of the best real-life replica cars from cartoons.

13 Ecto-1 (The Real Ghostbusters)

The Ecto-1 from the animated show The Real Ghostbusters greatly resembled the movie version, but since it was in a cartoon, it could add a lot of extra features. During the first two seasons of the show (which ran from 1986 to 1991 and had 140 episodes), Ray usually worked on the Ecto-1 (just like in the first film), and in one particular episode he refers to the car as one of the family.

In season 3 Winston became the Caretaker of the Ecto-1. Since it’s such an iconic car, there have been many fans that have restored ’59 Cadillacs to create Ecto-1 replicas. One fan spent upwards of £150,000 to have his own real live Ghostbuster mobile.

12 The Magic School Bus (The Magic School Bus)

The Magic School Bus was a Saturday morning animated children’s TV show that aired from 1994 to 1997, through four seasons and 52 episodes. It was based on the book series of the same name and received critical acclaim for its use of celebrity talent and combining entertainment with education.

It was “among the highest-rated PBS shows for school-age children,” according to Broadcasting & Cable.

On September 29, 2017, Netflix revived the show and released The Magic School Bus Rides Again. Here we see a real Magic School Bus, complete with the faces of the kids from the show in the windows.

11 Mickey’s Jalopy (Mickey Mouse Universe)

Mickey Mouse’s car, also called Mickey’s Jalopy, is a land vehicle that frequently appears in numerous Disney and Mickey Mouse shows. Mickey has numerous cars (including a race car), though this small red car is seen most often. Mickey can be seen driving it in the Disney shorts featuring him, sometimes with paint variations.

In the short that the car was based on, it breaks down and Mickey is forced to buy a new one. Eventually he realizes he loved the car too much and goes back for it. According to enthusiasts, people believe the car he drives is a late-1930s Chevrolet Master Roadster, based on its looks and the fact that it became available a few years after Steamboat Willie was released.

10 Donald Duck’s 313 Car (Mickey Mouse Universe)

Donald Duck’s car is known as the 313 due to its license plate number. It originated in the 1937 short Don Donald. In the short, Donald trades his burro for the car and takes his girlfriend, Donna Duck (precursor to Daisy Duck) for a drive through the desert. The car eventually breaks down and malfunctions, ruining their afternoon.

The car, a 1934 Belchfire Runabout, was introduced in the Donald Duck newspaper comic on July 1, 1938. They went all in with this car’s story, going so far as to say that Donald built the car from parts of different cars.

In one panel of a 1949 comic, an astute dog assesses the car as having “1920 Mixwell engine! ’22 Dodge body! ’23 Paclac axles! Wheels off a lawn mower! But it runs!”

9 The Mean Machine (Wacky Races)

Wacky Races was an animated TV series from Hanna-Barbera about a group of eleven different cars that raced against each other on various rallies, with each driver hoping to win the title of “World’s Wackiest Racer.” There were 24 regular characters, which was unusual for the time. There were a total of 34 races in all, and the series ran on CBS from September 14, 1968 to January 4, 1969.

The Mean Machine, driven by Dick Dastardly, is perhaps the most iconic car from the show. It’s a purple, rocket-powered car that is the number 00 car. It has numerous concealed weapons and the ability to fly, and is the fastest car in the races. The car contained more gadgets than all of James Bond’s cars put together, probably, but even so, Dick Dastardly never won a single Wacky Race.

8 Mater (Cars)

Sir Tow Mater, or simply Mater, is one of the main characters in the Cars franchise. He is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy and is inspired by a 1956-57 International Harvester tow truck, which are really quite rare nowadays. He is Lightning McQueen’s best friend and sidekick (more on that in a moment), and Holley Shiftwell’s boyfriend.

The character had a breakout role in Cars Toons: Mater’s Tall Tales, and in other media related to the franchise. There are quite a few real-life renditions of Mater, surprisingly, though this one might be one of the best and most adherent to the original.

7 Lightning McQueen (Cars)

Wrapping up the real-life cars from Cars, we have the main character, Lightning McQueen. Typically referred to by his surname, McQueen, he is an anthropomorphic stock car who shows up in all the movies.

He’s actually not named after actor and race driver Steve McQueen, but after Pixar animator Glenn McQueen, who we lost in 2002.

His design is inspired by a “more curvaceous Le Mans endurance racer… with some Lola and some Ford GT40,” according to a 2006 article in the Los Angeles Times titled “ ‘Cars’ Decoded.” In 2017, a life-size model of the character made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.

6 The Party Wagon (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the most popular cartoon franchises from the late-80s to mid-90s. The first cartoon ran from 1987 to 1996, had 10 seasons and 193 episodes, and spawned numerous other shows, video games, and live action flicks. The show centers around the four anthropomorphic turtles named after Italian Renaissance artists, and their sensei, Splinter.

They also had an awesome party wagon that they loved to cruise around in and eat pizza, chase bad guys, and do other shenanigans in. It was a super popular toy, too, until Rusty Robinson brought the toy to life in a life-size recreation of the car. It’s on display at Rusty’s TV and Movie Car Museum in Jackson, Tennessee.

5 Bumblebee (The Transformers)

With the help of the modern Michael Bay films, Transformers has exploded beyond its wildest expectations, becoming a global phenomenon. The original cartoon, The Transformers (and the 20 or so spin-offs from the series) first aired from 1984 to 1987, through four seasons, for 98 episodes.

One of the main characters is Bumblebee, a small, yellow (with black stripes) Autobot that is greatly inspired by several generations of Chevrolet muscle cars.

The original car was based off the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle, though modern takes have him as a highly-customized Camaro, including this one pictured above. Fun fact: during the filming of Transformers 3, a modified Chevy Camaro Bumblebee crashed into a cop that blew through a scene going the wrong way.

4 Optimus Prime (The Transformers)

Optimus Prime, also known as Convoy in Japan, is the leader of the Autobots, and probably the most recognizable and familiar character in the Transformers universe. He is a strong, moral character, exhibiting excellent leadership and decision-making skills, and is the voice of reason for all the other, more zany Autobots.

The first generation Optimus Prime transforms into a Freightliner FL86 cab over semi truck, while other models include Dodge Ram SRT-10, Nissan GT-R, a dump truck, a Lamborghini Diablo, and other truck styles.

Many real-life truckers have transformed their semis into the iconic character, including this one pictured above, which we think is the most spot-on and realistic.

3 The Mystery Machine (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!)

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You was a show produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS, airing from 1969 to 1970, through three seasons and 41 episodes. It spawned numerous spin-offs, and is regularly considered one of the best cartoon shows out there. And the car that carries the gang, The Mystery Machine, is one of the most iconic vehicles in cartoon history. Fred is the owner, though he’s lent it to Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, Scrappy-Doo, and even Daphne.

Unsurprisingly, this is probably the most commonly recreated car from any cartoon, though not everyone gets it right. All it really takes is a Ford Econoline and some paint (or a VW or Corvair Van, or Chevy G10 when the engine is in the rear like it is in some of the cartoon’s episodes).

2 Mach 5 (Speed Racer)

We had to choose a car that not only looks incredibly awesome in real life, but the show it’s featured in is also completely reliant on the car. Without the Mach 5, there would be no Speed Racer. In the anime, the car was designed and created by Pops Racer, and it features some special devices.

In the original 1967 series, the Mach Five was a white racing car with an “M” written on the hood (which doesn’t stand for Mach 5, but for “Mifune,” Speed’s last name).

In the 1993 remake, the car was completely redone. This real life Mach 5 is possibly the only street-legal version in existence. It’s based on a C4 Corvette chassis. The look of this thing is not only authentic, but quite incredible to see.

1 2 Wycked (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)

In the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force, “2 Wycked” is character Carl Brutananadilewski’s car. It’s his prized Dodge Stealth ES and comes equipped with several attachments, including a supercharger. Thanks to the Aqua Teens (usually Master Shake), the car is frequently destroyed, vandalized, or stolen throughout the show, much to Carl’s dismay.

According to an interview, this is the actual car of Matt Maiellaro, the creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It was created on the show using Photoshop paint tools. This real life model was being given away in a competition by Adult Swim, back in 2015, though we don’t know where it ended up.

Sources: complex.com, nydailynews.com, jalopnik.com, geektyrant.com