12 of the best car movies of all time

Cars make movies. Movies make cars. The two go together as well as just about anything. We can’t imagine a time that car movies go out of fashion. At lease, we hope not.

But what is a ‘car movie’? Well, it can be just about anything you want it to be – as long as cars are at the heart of it, then by our book, it’s a car movie.

Hopefully that’s got you thinking about some of your favourite car movies. Perhaps it was a silver screen icon that inspired you to go out and buy your classic car? If so, we hope you don’t drive your classic like they do in the movies… as a classic car insurance provider, you can’t blame us for wincing a bit every time a car gets into a scrape on the big screen! Some beautiful cars have gone up in flames or over a cliff over the years.

Right, let’s get down to it. This isn’t an exhaustive list of the best car movies by any means – it’s just some of our favourites here at Lancaster Insurance.

Drive (2011)

We’ll start with something of a modern masterpiece. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive centres on Ryan Gosling’s character – simply known as ‘Driver’ – who is a skilled Hollywood stuntman moonlighting as a getaway driver for the bad guys.

Though he appears inexpressive initially, Driver shows himself to have a heart in his interactions with his neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos). However, things take a turn when Irene's husband gets out of jail and he asks Driver to be the getaway driver in a million-dollar heist. To avoid spoiling it, let’s just say that not everything goes to plan.

The scenes with Driver in his 1973 Chevy Malibu undoubtedly steal the show, propelled along by an awesome 1980s soundtrack.

The Italian Job (1969)

What springs to mind when you think of the classic British film, The Italian Job? Michael Caine – of course. The Swinging Sixties – absolutely. And classic cars. More classic cars than you can shake a stick at!

Unsurprisingly, then, the film (which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019) is a big hit with classic car enthusiasts. Regularly voted one of the greatest car-centric films ever made, some of the greatest performance cars of the time are on show in the film.

If you’ve not seen the movie for a while, here’s a quick reminder of the storyline. Charlie Crocker (played by Caine) devises a plan to steal $4 billion of gold by hiding it in three Mini Coopers. Crocker and his band of hapless cockney crooks make their getaway through the Italian city of Turin.

Fun fact: despite cars being a central feature of the film, Caine didn’t know how to drive at the time of filming…

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

We wanted to include the odd unexpected movie in our list – and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby certainly ticks that box.

Set in the world of NASCAR, we think it’s one of Will Ferrell’s best movies. This hilarious racing spoof follows the rise and fall and rise of a self-satisfied champion racer, his complicated friendship with best pal and fellow racer John C. Reilly, and his rivalry with a French racer played by Sacha Baron Cohen bidding for Ricky’s crown.

Ricky, with the help of his ruthless father, must find a way of reclaiming glory on the race track. The movie is a lot of fun from start to finish and has plenty of quotable lines in it, too.

Locke (2013)

Can you call Locke a car movie? Well, the entire film is set in a car so why not. Again, it’s our attempt to keep this list fairly current – we could have easily filled it with movies from 20 or 30 years ago but we wanted to introduce our readers to a few films they might not have seen yet.

Starring the always watchable Tom Hardy – and directed by Steven Knight – Locke shows the unravelling life of its central character. After leaving work as a construction manager, Ivan Locke (Hardy) gets into his car and races down the M6 towards London. As he drives, we see him make and receive a series of phone calls that reveal a surprising secret.

Made with a budget of only $2 million, it’s an impressive feat of film making and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout – even though the main character never leaves his car seat.

Baby Driver (2017)

Another modern film about a getaway driver, Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is just about as fun as cinema gets, in our opinion. There’s no messing around – the film gets straight into the action and gives you a good idea of what to expect from the rest of the film.

In the opening scene we see the film’s protagonist, Baby, played by Ansel Elgort, waiting playfully in his red 2006 Subaru WRX – with his iPod headphones in – outside a bank as his three accomplices carry out a heist. What follows is one of the best and most inventive opening car chase sequences of all time – you can hold us to that!

If you’ve seen any of Wright’s previous work (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, etc.) you’ll know he has a unique style, and he brings out his whole repertoire here.

Just like Drive (2011), music plays a big part in the movie, and you’re sure to come away from it looking for the soundtrack on Spotify.

Fast Five (2011)

How could you compile a list of the best car movies of all time and not include a film from the Fast and the Furious franchise? It’s not possible. Yes, some of the 13 movies in the franchise are somewhat ludicrous concoctions, but there are some gems in there, too.

Our favourite of the series is the fifth movie – Fast Five – where the producers decided to go all Bond. Described as an “international fantasia of increasingly fantastical set pieces, each one more ludicrous than the last”, there was no reason why the film should hold together – but it did.

Hats off to director Justin Lin, who is credited for turning the franchise from a box-office also-ran into a cinema smash. While staying loyal to the light-hearted, cartoonish tone of the films, he added a much-needed bit of cool and swagger.

Our favourite car from the Fast Five? Probably the gorgeous blue and white 1965 Ford GT40, even though it’s not on screen for long!

Duel (1971)

Steven Spielberg’s feature-length directorial debut is a TV movie, but as you’d expect from the now renowned director, it could’ve easily graced the big screen.

Dennis Weaver plays the mild-mannered David Mann who in his Plymouth Valiant finds himself stuck behind a gas tanker. As he attempts to go pass the vehicle, the driver for no discernible reason takes offence. The gas tanker continually passes David and then slows down in an increasingly scary game of cat and mouse.

It’s all mind games and the story is seen from David's perspective, with commentary as he thinks to himself. It’s exciting as hell, building tension and terror as it goes along.

Holy Motors (2012)

It might be stretching it a little to call Leos Carax’s masterpiece a car movie with the protagonist Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) riding through Paris in a limo, inhabiting wildly different characters along the way. But we wanted to include it anyway as it’s so mind blowing, it needs to be seen to be believed.

Attempting to describe what Holy Motors is about is nigh on impossible. Here’s Vulture’s attempt at it: “What in God’s name is this? A religious allegory? A metaphor about acting and/or filmmaking? A meditation on the constantly shifting nature of the modern world? A vision of a soul adrift?”

You’ll not see another film like it. Isn’t that enough?

Collateral (2004)

Michael Mann’s thriller is another one that grabs you from the off. After a long day, LA taxi driver Max (Jamie Foxx) is about to call it a night when sharp-suited Vincent makes him a proposition: $600 for five stops. How can he turn that down? However, he soon regrets his choice when Vincent turns out to be a heartless hitman and each one of those stops involves a murder. Inevitably, the pair are hunted by the police and the FBI and Max is left wondering if he’ll make it out alive.

There aren’t any flashy cars to be found, but Los Angeles cityscapes have never looked more beautiful amid all the action.

Repo Man (1984)

Alex Cox’s cult classic centres on Los Angeles slacker and punk rocker Otto (Emilio Estevez) who, after losing his jobs, winds up at a car repossession agency working for the eccentric Bud (Harry Dean Stanton).

Otto isn’t exactly overjoyed about landing the gig, but grows to love the fast-paced job. His life changes when he learns of a Chevy Malibu that has been given a $20,000 price tag – not to mention something otherworldly in the trunk – and he decides to go in pursuit of it.

The film doesn’t follow any known formula and is all the better for it – it’s this punk ethos which gives the movie its cult following.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road is an exhausting watch, barely coming up for air over its two-hour runtime. Though its post-apocalyptic plot is simple on the surface – road warrior Max (Tom Hardy) and the fierce driver Furiosa (Charlize Theron) must race across the desert to escape baddie Immortan Joe and his fleet of kamikaze War Boys – there is so much going on here.

Creator of the Mad Max series George Miller takes the helm again and ramps everything up for a truly gruelling journey. It was pretty tortuous to film, too, as Theron described to the New York Times:

“Like anything that has some worth to it, it comes with complicated feelings,” Theron said. “I feel a mixture of extreme joy that we achieved what we did, and I also get a little bit of a hole in my stomach. There’s a level of ‘the body remembers’ trauma related to the shooting of this film that’s still there for me.”

For fans of the first films, Max (Hardy) still drives the black 1974 XB Ford Falcon Coupe!

Taxi Driver (1976)

Last, and by no means least, we have Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece about insomniac Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) who takes a job as a New York cab driver who becomes obsessed with saving the world.

What else needs to be said about the movie that hasn’t already been said over the years? How about this fun fact: Jodie Foster was just 12 years old at the time of filming, which made things complicated when it came to shooting the more explicit scenes as a prostitute. So, her 19-year-old sister Connie Foster, was hired as a body double.

Protect your investment with classic car insurance

As you can see, the team at Lancaster is passionate about cars – particularly classic motors – and we want to help preserve them for the future.

Did you know that Lancaster Insurance is the broker of choice for owners of 96,000 classic and retro vehicles in the UK?

Benefits of classic car insurance through us can include:

• Up to 25% classic car club member discounts
• Salvage retention
• 90 days EU cover
• Static show cover
• Cover for historic rallies
• Limited mileage discounts

Catch the team at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC and come and say hello. We love welcoming new owners into the classic car community and sharing our knowledge of these great classic motors.

If you’re wondering how much your pride and joy is worth, we can arrange a two-year agreed valuation for your classic. Just ask the team for more details.

Get a quote for classic car insurance today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.