The 9 most iconic movie cars from the past decade

Advertisement

The Tumbler — 'The Dark Knight Rises'

The Tumbler — 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Don't call it a Batmobile unless you want to upset the purists.

The rider preferred by the Caped Crusader in director Christopher Nolan's "Batman" trilogy is called a Tumbler, though that name is rather gentle for a vehicle that packs in multiple cannons and rocket launchers and that can smash through concrete walls.

Advertisement

The Gigahorse — 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

The Gigahorse — 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

Paying perfect homage to the original "Road Warrior" and "Mad Max" films, the Gigahorse from 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road" was a fearsome work of engineering, combining the bodies of two 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Villes and featuring a harpoon gun and a flamethrower.

Advertisement

Dodge Charger — 'Fast & Furious 4'

Dodge Charger — 'Fast & Furious 4'

Without fast cars, there is no "Fast and the Furious" franchise.

In the fourth installment, 2009's "Fast & Furious," there were, fortunately, many fast cars, including a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 426 Hemi, similar to the vehicle driven by the antagonist in arguably the most famous car chase of all time, the breakneck drive through San Francisco in the film "Bullitt."

Chevrolet Chevelle — 'Drive'

Chevrolet Chevelle — 'Drive'

It just wouldn't be right to have a movie called "Drive" with a protagonist named only as "Driver" without an iconic car.

Fortunately, this 2011 Ryan Gosling-led film featured a stunning 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle with a Malibu trim line. (The Malibu as a distinct model would replace the Chevelle later in the 1970s.)

Advertisement

Acura NSX — 'The Avengers'

Acura NSX — 'The Avengers'

The Acura NSX that Robert Downey Jr.'s character Tony Stark drove in the 2012 film "The Avengers" looked fast and futuristic, but it harbored a secret: the car was actually more than 20 years old. The filmmakers used a 1991 Acura with almost the entirety of the body replaced for the film.

Pontiac LeMans — 'Carrie'

Pontiac LeMans — 'Carrie'

The 1971 LeMans Sport Coupe depicted in the 2013 remake of the classic horror film "Carrie" took a pretty solid beating, what with the vengeful protagonist using her superpowers to lift it into the air and smash it into a gas station with her antagonists inside. A decent LeMans from the same year can be yours for about $20,000, though, if you shop around.

Advertisement

Dodge Charger — 'John Wick'

Dodge Charger — 'John Wick'

Perhaps the first car you think of when you picture the first "John Wick" film is the eponymous main character's 1969 Mustang, but it was a 2011 Dodge Charger that actor Keanu Reeves (and his stunt drivers) used during the movie's thrilling car chase sequence. Don't get too attached to the latter-day muscle car, though: It's shot multiple times, rammed, and pushed off a cliff.

Lightning McQueen — 'Cars' series

Lightning McQueen — 'Cars' series

Love or hate the Pixar "Cars" series, there's no denying that the animated protagonist Lightning McQueen is an instantly recognizable icon of the screen. The design of McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, was likely inspired by a Corvette.

Advertisement

Bumblebee — 'Transformers' series

Bumblebee — 'Transformers' series

A yellow Camaro with black stripes when folded down into car form, and a mighty extraterrestrial robotic superhero officially designated B-127 when in Transformer mode, Bumblebee has appeared in more than a half dozen live-action feature films, including the 2018 feature named for the character.