As gearheads, we must count ourselves fortunate that there are no shortages of car-themed movie flicks to fuel our passion. Every decade, dating back to the early beginnings of the film industry, served up its own plethora of car movies. The 2000s was no exception and there are many Hollywood movies that showcased a number of really exciting cars.
These cars cut across almost every segment and there was something for everyone; ranging from classic muscle cars to supercars and JDMs. In a few cases, some of the cars were even custom-built for the movies that featured them.
10 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 - Fast And Furious 4, 2009
The Fast and Furious movie franchise is well known for its high-octane action scenes that usually involve the use of some pretty exotic cars. One of such vehicles is the iconic 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, a car that’s often regarded as one of the best Camaro models ever built.
The muscle car drew its power from a 302-cid V8 that was officially rated at 290hp though its real-world output was much higher. Your admiration of this Camaro will no doubt go up several notches as you watch the car being put through its paces in the movie.
9 Ferrari 550 Maranello - Bad Boys II, 2003
Ferrari’s modern lineup is dominated by cars like the 488 Pista, SF90 Stradale, and the timeless LaFerrari. However, if you go just a bit backward in time, you will discover they also had really cool cars like the 550 Maranello featured in the second installment of the Bad Boy movie series.
The sleek 550 Maranello was Ferrari’s response to the Diablo raging bull from the lads at Lamborghini. The car was pushed hard by Detective Mike Lowrey, Will Smith’s character, during a chase scene in the movie. The sleek sports car packs a screaming V12 with 478hp at 7,000rpm, a lot of power back in 2003.
8 Aston Martin Vanquish - Die Another Day, 2002
The James Bond movie franchise is well known for its association with Aston Martin vehicles and this movie, Die Another Day was no different. The 2002 spy movie featured an Aston Martin Vanquish that had a few extra perks we wouldn’t mind getting our hands-on.
First, there was the adaptive camouflage that essentially made the car invisible. Then the tires had spikes that helped with driving on snow and ice. These features were in addition to the usual complement of guns and rockets that James Bond got to play with in the movie; lucky lad.
7 Tumbler - Batman Begins, 2005
This has to be one of the most extreme vehicles ever featured on a movie set. The Tumbler was Batman’s ride of choice as he patrolled Gotham city to enforce law and order. Unsurprisingly, the car was custom-built for the movie and came loaded to the hilt with technology bits and a custom array of gadgets for offense and defense.
In the movie, the car had a 5.7-liter V8 that could propel the 2.5-ton monstrosity to 60mph in 5 seconds. However, there’s also a stealth mode that engages an electric mode to make it harder to detect on enemy-monitoring systems.
6 ‘Eleanor’ Mustang - Gone In 60 Seconds, 2000
Just like the movie itself, Eleanor is a masterful reinterpretation of the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 that featured the original 1974 movie. It was designed specifically for the movie by Steve Stanford and Chip Foose and according to reports, a total of 11 Eleanor Mustangs were built for the movie.
It was the car used by the main actor, Nicolas Cage, to carry out some pretty intense heists during the course of the film. In may 2013, one of the fully-functioning Mustangs from the movie was sold at auction for a cool $1 million.
5 Toyota Supra - The Fast and The Furious, 2001
The first installment of this movie is largely responsible for the cult following that the MK IV Toyota Supra enjoys to this day. Who can forget the epic race scene when Brian O’ Connor’s Supra went up against Dom Toretto’s Charger R/T.
In the movie, the car starts out as a rusted hulk but was eventually transformed into a hardcore racer that even outgunned a Ferrari F355 in a street race. Today, we have the fifth-generation Supra but it’s hard to see how it can achieve anything close to the legendary status enjoyed by the MK IV Supra.
4 Chevrolet Chevelle - Faster, 2010
The classic muscle Chevelle that was used in the movie was meant to portray the iconic Chevelle SS. However, the movie car had the rear of a 1971 or 1972 model, as evidenced by the dual taillights while the front-end belonged to a 1970 Chevelle.
Whatever the case the maybe, it was still seriously cool watching Dwayne Johnson’s huge frame squeezing out every ounce of power from the muscle car. In the real world, the Chevelle SS is powered by a hulking V8 powerplant that generated up to 450hp.
3 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante - The Italian Job, 2003
Aston Martin is known for producing some of the most beautiful cars on the European continent and the DB7 Vantage Volante certainly falls in that category. The sleek sports car is a definite eye-catcher with its elegantly sculptured lines and subtle styling cues.
Under the hood is a 5.9-liter V12 with over 400hp which ensured the car had performance to back its beauty. The Italian Job featured a lot of Mini Cooper footages but Jason Statham still found time to get behind the wheel of the DB7 Vantage volante at the end of the movie.
2 2008 Audi R8 - Iron Man, 2008
The Audi R8 can deceive you with its simplistic styling. Paint one grey and you just might become invisible. However, this unassuming nature is Audi’s trademark and should take nothing away from the performance of the high-performance machine.
Packed within that frame is a naturally aspirated V10 engine that can zip from 0 to 60mph in 4.6 seconds. The car had its debut in the first Iron Man movie and one cool scene featured a close-up of the V10 powerplant while the car was in motion; an obvious ‘advert’ for the brand.
1 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport - Gran Torino, 2008
Interestingly, the movie shares the same name as this classic Ford muscle car from the ‘70s. Gran Torino starred Clint Eastwood and to date, is his second highest-grossing movie with a $270million Box Office gross.
Unsurprisingly, the movie’s central theme revolves around a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport and how it helped Clint Eastwood’s character form a bond with a boy and his family. The 1972 Torino Sport was a redesign of the original model that debuted in 1968 and the model in the movie packed a 351-cid Cleveland Cobra Jet V8 engine that was capable of a decent 300hp.