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While Top Gun: Maverick gives us the chills with the Mach 10 breaching 'Darkstar', the Porsche cars that feature in both Top Gun movies are nothing short of sensational as well. Tom Cruise as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell loves leaving us breathless flying his fighter jets. However, when it comes to the road, apart from Maverick's iconic Kawasaki motorcycles, it is the Porsches, driven by the women of Top Gun, that steal the show.
Updated March 2023: The Top Gun franchise has always given us a surreal movie experience, and most of it comes from Tom Cruise's fighter jet magic. But, on the ground, apart from the Kawasaki motorcycles, two classic Porsche cars on the big screen made every gearhead's eyes sparkle. We have updated this article with more interesting and cool information on the Porsche cars from Top Gun movies.
The one thing about these cars is that everybody loves a Porsche, especially a classic one. In the original 1986 Top Gun movie, Charlie Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis, drives a black Porsche 356 Speedster. But the 2022 Top Gun: Maverick sees Penny Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly, driving a 1973 Porsche 911 S. We love them both. Plus, to us, the Porsches stand out better than the Darkstar, and here's why…
The 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster From Top Gun
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As one of the most desirable and fast cars ever built, the Porsche 356 was the racers’ and open-air motoring enthusiasts’ favorite ride, especially in the US. The astrophysicist Charlie Blackwood drove a stunning 1958 Porsche 356 Convertible in the first Top Gun movie chasing down a miffed Maverick as he flies down the road in his Kawasaki GPz900R. As she swerves and screeches to a stop right in front of him, the love story begins. But it's the Porsche that stayed and got us starry-eyed.
Interestingly, the car used in this classic ’80s movie is a replica and not an original. However, given the fact that these Porsche Speedsters are among the most replicated cars ever, the Top Gun 1958 Porsche Speedster looked as good as the original one.
It came from the house of Intermeccanica, which are the best of 356 replica makers. Most of the replicas are Porsche fiberglass bodies built over VW Beetle platforms, but given some good sound effects, the Top Gun Porsche replica can fool well!
The original Porsche Speedsters are very sought-after classic cars today. A collectible 1958 Porsche 256 Speedster sells for an average of over $340,000.
A 1973 Porsche 911 S In Top Gun: Maverick
In the latest installment of Top Gun, Maverick has aged. Charlie Blackwood is no longer around, not even as a distant memory. And Maverick’s new love interest is an old flame, Penny Benjamin (Connelly), who runs a bar near the Top Gun base and is an admiral’s daughter. There are glimpses of the ’86 movie in the new one. There’s Goose, his wife (Meg Ryan), and their son, of course. There’s the Kawasaki motorcycle, upgraded with the times, and then there is a Porsche.
Benjamin cruises around in her ultra-cool 1973 911 S classic, which comes with an air-cooled, rear-mounted 2.4-liter flat-six engine. From 1967 to 1973, the 911 S made around 190 horsepower, which was fairly respectable at the time. The long, slim front also added extra charm to the car, as did its transmission from the Porsche 908 Type 915 race car. The 911 S was the first engine derivative of Porsche, jetting 160 horsepower at launch from the 2.0-liter flat-six.
Displacement increased to 2.4-liter post-1969, and the horsepower got a jump as well. With tighter handling and lighter curb weight, the 911 S became the choice of many Americans who loved to ride their cars fast and hard, and the Fuchs wheels with the iconic five-spoke design added to the allure of this Porsche. Today it’s a rather desirable classic sports car, and being in a movie only adds to its charm.
The movie car is an authentic one, a loaner from Nick Psyllos, a San Diego resident. It rides on Fuchs wheels, and Jennifer Connelly drives it in the movie, which might add some extra zing to the car’s resale value, given the extreme success. Since it’s a numbers-matching car, it’s quite the movie star in its own right. Psyllos, a longtime Porsche collector, still owns this iconic Porsche. For those wanting to own one, a used 1973 Porsche 911 S sells for an average of $170,000 today.
Why Are Top Gun Porsches More Desirable Than The Darkstar?
Why are we comparing Porsches to a Mach 10+ experimental jet? Well, let’s count the many ways in which the Porsche car trumps the Darkstar.
Firstly, the Porsches are all 'real'. Given some relatively deep pockets and a classic car auction, it’s easy for any of us to get one of the cars in our garage. The Darkstar is an impossibility because it’s not real. Even if it were, it’s a military jet, thus inaccessible to civilians. Plus, while Tom Cruise may be able to fly planes, the majority of us cannot.
The Darkstar is a pipe dream, while the Porsches are a beautiful reality. Again, the Porsches are fun, almost as fun as Cruise’s Kawasaki motorcycles in the movie, and given the sheer success of the franchise, both the 911 S and the 356 Speedster are likely to get pricier at the collector’s mart. So what's not to like about them?
Sources: Porsche, YouTube, Instagram