Kief Cars » Cars in the Movies

Cars in the Movies: Sunbeam Alpine Series II

Henno Kruger — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:50:58 +0000

In the first James Bond movie, Dr No, released in 1962, James Bond is involved in a car chase in the Jamaican mountains in this sports car. The vehicle driven by James Bond (Sean Connery) is a Sunbeam Alpine Series II. The car was produced from 1960 to 1963. The Sunbeam Alpine Series II had a 1592 cc engine capable of producing 80 bhp. About 19,956 Sunbeam Alpine Series II cars were produced. The Motor Magazine tested a Sunbeam Apline Series II with a hardtop and overdrive. The car recorded a top speed of 98.6 mph (158.7 km/h). The tested car achieved 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 13.6 seconds. The Sunbeam marque was registered by John Marston Co. Ltd of Wolverhampton in England in 1888. Sunbeam first made bicycles, then motorcycles and cars from the late 19th century until about 1936. The company also made 647 aircraft during World War I. A Sunbeam was the first British car ever to win a Grand Prix race. A number of land speed records were also set by Sunbeam. The Sunbeam company went into receivership in 1935 and was purchased by the Rootes Group, which continued to use the Sunbeam marque. Eventually the Rootes Group were bought out Chrysler. Chrysler eventually disbanded the Sunbeam marque in 1976.

This truly is a classic car. Since the Sunbeam company or marque is non-existent collectors who own one of these cars will probably hold onto them for nostalgic or other reasons. You will not find one of these cars advertised in the classifieds. You will probably find some of them in a car museum though.

Cars in the Movies: Plymouth Fury

Henno Kruger — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:26:41 +0000

This truly is a classic car. The Plymouth Fury, 1958 model, was the car used in the horror film, Christine (released in 1983). The film was based on the Stephen King novel of the same title. The Plymouth Fury was made by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation between 1956 and 1978. Actually, 2 other Plymouth models, the Plymouth Belvedere and the Plymouth Savoy were used to portray the evil car in Christene. Only 3,018 1958 Plymouth Fury’s were produced. No Fury models were actually destroyed in Christene. The Plymouth Savoy and Plymouth Belvedere models were dressed up to look like the Plymouth Fury and were destroyed in the making of Christene. In the novel, Stephen King made some factual errors. Christine is referred to as a 4-door, but the Plymouth Fury was only available in a 2-door model until 1959. Stephen King called Christine’s transmission a hydramatic in the novel (made by General Motors transmission). The Chrysler Corporation actually called their transmissions the Torque Flite. Stephen King also refers to the transmission shifter, but all 1958 Chrysler cars were fitted with automatic transmissions and used a push-button drive. The author did refer to the car as a “special order”, so that could explain the inconsistencies.

Many White & Red Plymouth Fury’s were used as stunt cars in Christine. Only 3 cars that were used in the movie remain, all owned by private owners. 1 in Florida, 1 in England and 1 in California. It will be hard to find a car like this in the classifieds, especially in South Africa.

Cars in the Movies: Jaguar XK 120

Henno Kruger — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:19:04 +0000

The Jaguar XK 120 was sports car produced by the British Auto Manufacturer between 1948 and 1954. The car was launched in a roadster form in 1948 at the London Motor Show in the United Kingdom. It was launched as a testbed and show car for the Jaguar XK engine. The classic car caused a sensation and this caused William Lyons to put it into production. Just over 12,000 Jaguar XK 120’s were made. The “120″ in the Jaguar XK 120’s name refers to its top speed of 120 mph (193 km/h). Hollywood actors, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Clark Gable and Lauren Bacall all owned a Jaguar XK 120. The car was also released in a Coupe and Drop Head Coupe shape. A replica of the Jaguar XK 120 was used in the Teen movie, Cruel Intentions in 1999. It saddens me to find out that this was not the original vehicle, but it was still very convincing in the film. The vehicle was actually spray painted black for the movie. Previously the same car was also used in the film Money Talks in 1997. The replica was built by Cinema cars originally.

This is truly one of my favorite classic cars. There are not many of them in circulation now and then, so it will probably cost you an arm and a leg to get behind the steering wheel of a Jaguar XK 120, probably around $75,000 or even more. I guess I’ll have to look for another car in the classifieds instead, since that is way out of my price league. For now, I’m just going to do what I always do, take the bus to work and back.

Related Link:
Jaguar – Official Website

Cars in the Movies: Ford Mustang Mach 1

Henno Kruger — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:34:16 +0000

This car was the performance model of the Ford Mustang, manufactured by the American auto manufacturer between 1969 and 1978. James Bond (then played by Sean Connery) drove the Ford Mustang Mach 1 in the movie Diamonds are Forever which was released in 1971. The Ford Mustang truly is a classic car sought after worldwide by collectors and vintage car enthusiasts. The Ford Mustang was originally released by Ford to compete with the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird (both manufactured by General Motors).

I have quite an admiration for American muscle cars. Theres nothing like rolling down the freeway with a powerful roaring engine under the hood. Due to its popularity amongst enthusiasts, one can probably find plenty of them advertising their vehicles or parts for them in classifieds publications around the globe.

Cars in the movies: Lamborghini Diablo

Henno Kruger — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:05:50 +0000

The Lamborghini Diablo has been used in various movies and TV series. This sports car has been used in Dumb and Dumber in 1994, Bedazzled in 2000, RPM in 1998, Boiler Room in 2000, Bait in 2000, Thursday in 1998, First Wives Club in 1996, to name just a few. Only 2,884 Lamborghini Diablo’s were produced between 1990 and 2001. The car was the successor released for the Lamborghini Countach. The car was succeeded by the Lamborghini Murcielago. The Lamborghini Diablo was released in 2 body styles, a 2 door coupe and 2 door roadster. This sports car was released with 2 different engines, a 5.7 litre V12 and a 6.0 litre V12. I must admit that this has always been one of my favorite sports cars. I’ll never be able to afford a car like this though, but a boy can dream. Maybe I’ll pick up a car like this in the classifieds one day, who knows. It will still cost more than an arm and a leg though.

Related Link:
Lamborghini – Official Website

Cars in the Movies: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

Henno Kruger — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:57:56 +0000

Aston Martin is not a very huge brand in my home country, South Africa. One can find other sports cars here though. I’m not a big fan of British auto manufacturers, but this car is far superior to previous models out of Britain. James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) drove the Aston Martin Vanquish in the movie, Die Another Day. This car was designed by Ian Callum and was manufactured by Aston Martin between 2001 and 2007. The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is capable of doing 315 km/h. The car was based on a 1998 GT Concept car called the Project Vantage which was first introduced in 1998 at the North American Auto International Auto Show and had its debut with a V12 engine. A production model was introduced in the year 2000 by Aston Martin and production started on the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in 2001. From it’s introduction it was considered as Aston Martin’s flagship vehicle. This car was the successor to the Aston Martin Virage / V8 Vantage. It’s highly unlikely that one would find a bunch of these vehicles advertised in the classifieds. The Aston Martin Vanquish definately is, in my opinion, a very high quality vehicle and one of the most stylish ones ever produced.

Related Link:
Aston Martin – Official Website.

Cars in the Movies: Audi R8

Henno Kruger — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:09:18 +0000

The Audi R8 is a sports car with a longitudinally mounted mid-engine and uses the trademark “Quattro” four wheel drive. The Audi R8 is based on the Audi Le Mans Quattro Concept car which was presented at the International Geneva Auto Show in Switzerland and the International Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany in 2003. The car is also derived from the Lamborghini Gallardo. The Audi R8 was officially released in September 2006 at the Paris Auto Show. By the end of 2008 almost 10,000 units had been built. The Audi R8 was exquisitively designed, developed and manufactured by Quattro GMBH, a private sibsiduary of Audi. Audi upgraded its plant in Neckarsulm, Germany for €28 million where 70 workers fit 5,000 unique parts by hand. The plant is capable of producing 9-15 cars per day. 95 lasers inspect the entire car in 5 seconds to ensure that over 220 measurements are within 0.1 mm of the programmed plans. If you ever watched the movie Iron Man and wondered which car Tony Stark (Robert Downey Junior) drives in the movie, this is the car.

This car is priced between R1.4 million and R2 million ($175,000 – $250,000) in my country, South Africa. This is completely out of my price range. I suppose I’ll look around in the classifieds for a cheaper 2nd hand car. For now I’ll continue dreaming about owning a car like this one day, or maybe I should just buy a car bed instead.

Cars in the Movies: Chevrolet Camaro (5th Generation)

Henno Kruger — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:05:27 +0000

This car is best-known for being featured as Bumblebee in both Transformers movies. The 5th generation Chevrolet Camaro is dirived from the 2006 Chevrolet Camaro Concept and 2007 Camaro Convertible Concept. Production was approved in August 2006 but has only started in March of 2009 and the car is marked as a 2010 model. When the car was used in the first Transformers movie in 2007 it was still in concept phase. A modified fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro was used in the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2009. As far as I know this car will not be released in South Africa by Chevrolet. It would probably cost a ton to import a car like this to my home country. I will probably find it easier to buy a 2nd hand Chevrolet Camaro in the classifieds, otherwise I’d simply have to go on living without ever owning one.

Related Link:
Chevrolet – Official Website

Cars in the Movies: DeLorean DMC-12

Henno Kruger — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:36:18 +0000

A modified version of the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car was the car used to travel back and forward in time in the 3 Back to Future movies in 1980s. This original car was manufactured in Northern Ireland by the DeLorean Motor Company in 1981-1982. The first prototype of the DeLorean DMC-12 appeared in 1976, but production of this car only started in 1981. The DeLorean DMC-12 is commonly referred to as the DeLorean since it was the only model ever produced by the company. About 9,000 vehicles were built before the company stopped production in late 1982. About 6,500 DeLorean DMC-12 vehicles are believed to be in existence today. The DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt in late 1982 shortly after the company founder, John DeLorean, was arrested on drug trafficking charges. The company stock was bought up by the DeLorean Motor Company of Texas in 1997 and production of an updated vehicle has begun. The company announced in 2007 that the DeLorean DMC-12 would be going back into limited production (20 cars a year). These cars are to be built with 80% old parts and an updated Stage 2 engine. Optional extras like GPS will also be available.

Since this car is now back in limited production I strongly think that one would not find DeLorean DMC-12 advertisments in the local classifieds paper. You could probably pick this up from a collector, but the price tag would be nasty. Sometimes it’s cool to be in retro mode, but it’s not cool spending a fortune on something retro if you could get something new for the same amount of money. I would suggest buying a die-cast model of the DeLorean DMC-12 to satisfy your retro craving instead, that would be less pricey.

Related Link:
DeLorean Motor Company – Official Website

Cars in the Movies: Ferrari 575 M Maranello

Henno Kruger — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:27:09 +0000

This was the Ferrari model driven by Will Smith in Bad Boys 2. The Ferrari 575 M Maranello was produced by the Italian car maker between 2002 – 2006. This model was an update for the Ferrari 550 Maranello. This sports car boasts a 5.7 litre V12 engine and is capable of reaching 327 km/h (203 mph). The car can reach 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds. In my opinion, this is probably not a car for the faint-hearted.

This definately is one of my favorite Ferrari’s. This is thanks to the car chase scene in Bad Boys 2. I can imagine that there’s probably nothing on earth like putting pedal to the metal in the driver’s seat of a Ferrari 575 M Maranello.

Related Links:
Ferrari – Official Website

Cars in the Movies – Aston Martin DB5

Henno Kruger — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:13:42 +0000

The Aston Martin DB5 is loved by both movie buffs and lovers of vintage cars. The Aston Martin DB5 was the first and most recognized James Bond car. This car was first featured in Goldfinger in 1964. This truly is a classic car and successor of the Aston Martin DB4. Ian Fleming originally placed James Bond in an Aston Martin DB Mark III in his novel. The DB5 was Aston Martin’s newest model when the film was being made. The car used in the film was an original DB5 prototype and another standard car was used for stunts. 2 more modified cars were built for publicity tours after the film’s release. In January 2006, one of those cars was auctioned off in the US for over $2 million. A Tennessee museum owner bought the same car from it’s original owner in 1970 for £5,000. The other car is located in the Louwman Collection Museum in the Netherlands, this car was mainly used to promote Goldfinger. This truly classic sports car was produced by Aston Martin between 1963 and 1965. This collectible is a rare commodity nowadays, so there isn’t really a chance of find a car like this in the classifieds. The Aston Martin DB5 was also used in Casino Royale, Thunderball, GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Just over 1000 units were produced by Aston Martin. Being a big James Bond fan, this is still one of my favorite sports cars. The classic look really appeals to me.

Related Links:
Aston Martin – Official Website.