Classic American cars are all over the biggest Hollywood movies, but what happened after filming wrapped?
Classic American cars have graced the big screen many a time over the years. With their stylish looks and big personalities, often becoming a beloved character in their own right. Here we take a look at the stories behind some of our favourite movie star cars.
1958 Chevrolet Impala in American Graffiti
One of many cars in George Lucas’ pre-Star Wars coming-of-age comedy-drama, released in 1973. The film is set in Modesto, California in 1962 and follows a group of teenagers and their adventures over a single night.
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The cars of the film were popular with customers and hot rodders, so it’s surprising to learn what happened to them after filming concluded – all went on sale in newspaper ads, yet only the Impala sold, and for only a few hundred dollars.
1968 Ford Mustang GT in Bullitt
Bullit was released in 1968 and starred Steve McQueen as police Lieutenant Frank Bullitt. The film features an iconic car chase between McQueen in the Mustang and a black 1968 Dodge Charger.
After filming wrapped, the Mustang cycled through a few owners – including a stint owned by an actual police detective – before landing with long-time owner Robert Kiernan in New Jersey. For years, Kiernan turned down offers to sell the car, including from Steve McQueen himself.
In 2020, the car finally sold – for a whopping 3.74 million!
1969 Dodge Charger in Dukes of Hazzard
The Dodge Charger has an impressive filmography. As mentioned, it went head-to-head with Steve McQueen and his Mustang in Bullitt, plus made appearances in Blade and The Fast and The Furious. One of its most memorable roles however is as General Lee, in both the 80s TV Show and 2005 movie Dukes of Hazzard.
Approximately 24 Chargers were used in the film, ranging from 1968 to 1970. Many of them were cut up to allow camera access.
1971 Ford Mustang in Gone in 60 Seconds
The 1974 action movie directed, produced, written by and starring H. B. Halicki ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ follows a group of car thieves who must steal 48 cars in 5 days. A 1973 Ford Mustang, code named Eleanor, proves the most difficult.
Eleanor was in fact a pair of 1971 Mustangs, redressed as ’73s as Halicki purchased the two Mustangs in 1971 but couldn’t afford to start filming for another 3 years.
Of the two cars, one was “stunt Eleanor” and the other “beauty Eleanor”. Over 250 hours of work were put into modifications on the stunt car before filming began, while the “beauty Eleanor” was left stock. Ironically, it’s the stunt Eleanor that survives while beauty Eleanor was crushed. Halicki’s widow Denice Shakarian Halicki owns the stunt car.
DeLorean DMC-12 in Back to the Future
The DeLorean Motor Company only produced one car, but that one car ended up being one of the most iconic vehicles in film history – the DeLorean time-machine in the Back to the Future movies.
The special effects department at Universal Studios built three DeLorean’s to be used in the filming of the first film – Cars A, B, and C. A was the “hero” car and as the most detailed and used during production. After filming wrapped, the A Car was displayed as an attraction at Universal Studios, but was eventually removed after being damaged by visitors. It now resides in the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA.
The B car was used primarily for stunts and was really struck by a train during filming, however the rubble was used to rebuild replicas. The C car was used for internal shots, so was cut into sections so that the camera could fit inside. Many of its parts ended up being used on a replica for Universal Japan, who later sold the replica to a private company.
1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in Knight Rider
The Knight Rider franchise introduced us to KITT, an artificial intelligence computer module in the body of a highly advanced robotic automobile. In the original Knight Rider series, which ran from 1982 to 1986, KITT is a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
23 KITT cars were used during the making of the series, with all but one surviving until the end of filming. However, what happened after filming wrapped is a sorry tale – all but 5 of the remaining cars were destroyed. The reason for this is because just after filming of the series began, a train carrying new Pontiacs to dealerships derailed in California. Universal Studios was able to purchase the damaged cars at a low price, but a stipulation of the contract meant the cars could not be sold on for private use and were therefore destroyed once they were no longer needed.
As for the remaining cars, every so often a press release pops up saying one of the original cars used in the series is being sold. Michael Jackson and NSYNC member Joey Fatone were both said to own an original KITT at one point or another. However there have been more auctions of ‘original’ Knight Rider cars than were ever used in the show, so who knows.
Chevy Caprice in just about everything!
What do Groundhog Day, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Matrix Reloaded and Beavis and Butt-Head Do America have in common? They all featured a Chevy Caprice!
The Chevy Caprice was everywhere in the movies and television of the 1980s and 90s, chasing down bad guys as an iconic cop car. It also appeared in Striking Distance starring Bruce Willis, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Se7en and Bad Boys II – and that’s still only scratching the surface.
1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine
The cult-classic horror film, released in 1983, was based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name in which one young man’s beloved car, Christine, turns out to be demonically possessed…
If you’ve read our October 2022 issue, you’ve already met Jordan Warren’s scary-good homage to Christine. But what happened to the original Christine herself? Well, as it turns out there were 24 Christines used while filming the movie. However, there was only one genuine Fury in the mix – most of them were actually ’57 and ’58 Savoys and Belvederes. The Fury was raffled off after filming and passed through a couple of owners before landing in the Rochester Auto Museum in New York.
1962 Cadillac Sedan DeVille in Green Book
The movie Green Book was inspired by the real-life story of Don Shirley, an African American pianist. In 1962, Shirley hired Tony Vallelonga as his personal driver for his show tour, and despite their differences, the men became close. The car Vallelonga was driving was a 1962 Cadillac DeVille.
During filming, three DeVilles were used – two for moving shots and one for static scenes.
1976 AMC Pacer in Wayne’s World
One of the most memorable scenes from the 1992 comedy Wayne’s World is the Bohemian Rhapsody lip-sync where we see Wayne driving the Mirthmobile, a blue 1976 AMC Pacer with mismatched wheels and flame paint, as he and his friends singing along to the classic Queen song. The Mirthmobile also returned for the sequel.
The original Pacer, restored to its movie condition, mismatched wheels and all, was auctioned by Barrett-Jackson in 2022 and fetched $71,500. Party on!
1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor in Ghostbusters
The Ectomobile from Ghostbusters needs little introduction. But how did it come to be?
Ecto-1 is a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor. Cadillac built the chassis, engine and most mechanical components, but the body and interior were completed by Miller-Meteor, a coachbuilder who built limos, hearses, ambulances and other professional vehicles. Only 25 were ever produced, with two converted into Ecto-1’s, one for the first movie and one for the sequel.
Sony Pictures still owns the original Ecto-1, which they restored for the release of the Ghostbusters video game in 2009. It now sits in front of Sony Picture’s Ghost Corp building in California.
1967 Pontiac GTO in the xXx franchise
The first film in the xXx franchise was released in 2002, starring Vin Diesel as super spy Xander Cage. Cage drives a purple 1967 Pontiac GTO, complete with flamethrowers and rocket launchers.
For a time, you could even rent the real car from the movie through Turo – though the flamethrowers and rocket launchers weren’t functioning! It’s no longer available to rent, but if you see a lookalike on the roads around Lancashire, it’s not Cage, it’s Ian McDonald in his Classic American May 2022 cover car.
1974 Dodge Monaco in The Blues Brothers
The 1980 The Blues Brothers follows Jake and his blood brother Elwood as they set out to raise money to save the orphanage where they were raised. Jake drives the Bluesmobile, a decommissioned police car. Co-writer Dan Aykroyd said he specifically chose the Monaco because he considered it the hottest car used by police in the 1970s.
There were 13 cars used as the Bluesmobile in the film, all genuine former police cars. Each served a different purpose – some were formatted for speed, jumps, maneuvers, and one specifically designed to fall apart. Over 60 old police cars were purchased for the chase scenes. The film held the record for most cars destroyed in one film until 1998, when it was beaten by it’s own sequel. One example used in the film is on display at Volo Auto Sales and Museum in Illinois.
1966 Ford Thunderbird in Thelma and Louise
Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon star in this 1991 cult classic, and few would argue that the third star is the 1966 Ford Thunderbird in which Thelma and Louise flee the law.
Davis and Sarandon reunited in 2021 for the film’s 30th anniversary, and the Thunderbird didn’t miss the celebration either – the original vehicle from the film was on loan from the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA. Sarandon told reporters at the event that director Ridley Scott had a whole host of Thunderbirds he used when shooting the film, used for different purposes, from glamour shots to being thrown off the cliff in that dramatic ending. After filming wrapped, Sarandon said Scott gave all but one of the cars to his son. “Shouldn’t we have gotten cars?” she joked.
1950/51 Ford in Thunder Road
The 1958 cult classic Thunder Road is a black and white crime drama about moonshiners in the 1950s. Many American cars feature throughout the films run, including a 1949 Oldsmobile 88 and 1957 Ford Fairlane 500, but it’s in the 1950/51 Ford which features in the film’s opening car chase. The Ford is referred to as a ’50 in the dialogue, but is in fact a modified ’51.
It’s said that several of the cars used in the film, including the Ford, were in fact real moonshine cars, purchased from North Carolina moonshiners for the movie, and that the Ford appears in the movie as it was purchased from the moonshiner, minus a re-paint.
Which cars have we missed?
