40 Best Car Movies Of All Time Ranked

Racing movies, road trip movies, cat-and-mouse horror flicks, fast-paced crime films with getaway drivers, post-apocalyptic thrillers where cars are used more as weapons then as transport — there's something unique about car movies, not only in regard to their plots, but also in how they use cars in the first place. A well-constructed chase scene or action scene that relies on automobiles is one that can instantly impress viewers upon initial viewing and can continue to stand out in your memory for years to come. We all remember the most awe-inspiring car chases or car-related stunts we've seen in theaters, and car movies are the perfect vehicles for those moments.

Whatever film immediately comes to mind when you hear the words "car movie," there are plenty of entertaining movies out there that have made clever use of cars in some way. Here are 40 of the most remarkable movies about cars that we would break the speed limit to go see.

Action fans would be hard-pressed to find a better movie starring Jason Statham than the original 2002 "Transporter." The first entry in the "Transporter" series and the first franchise to feature Statham in a leading role, the film follows Frank Martin, a driver-for-hire who will deliver anything to any destination a client has in mind, no questions asked. When breaks his own rules and discovers one of his packages contains a woman being held prisoner, however, Frank is forced to go to war against his own highly dangerous employers.

"The Transporter" isn't exactly a masterpiece, but it does contain some superb action scenes that are sure to get your adrenaline pumping and your heart racing. "Martin doesn't just zip through the perilously winding French streets, he flies," wrote the Los Angeles Times, "launching the character and this enjoyable trifle on an action high it mostly sustains for the next hour." Some might come away less than impressed by the movie's thin plot and subpar dialogue, but the nonstop action will likely be enough to entertain most viewers.

A little-known crime thriller from Italian director Pasquale Festa Campanile, "Hitch-Hike" stars Italian B-movie star Franco Nero as an alcoholic writer and French actress Corinne Cléry as his wife, both of whom are on a road trip in the Californian desert. After stopping to pick up a hitchhiker (David Hess) who turns out to be a sadistic thief, the married couple are taken hostage and told to drive the criminal to Mexico to reunite with his crew.

"Hitch-Hike" likely would have faded into obscurity if it weren't for the movie's palpable suspense, skillful direction, twist ending, and memorable soundtrack from legendary composer Ennio Morricone. Accompanied to Morricone's score, the movie's minimal budget and B-movie approach establishes "Hitch-Hike" as a tense, unexpectedly enjoyable film that owes a lot to the classic noir movies of the '40s and '50s. Since its release in 1977, it's become an underrated cult classic in its own right, a film with a plot you believe is going one way, but swerves in new, unexpected directions throughout.

An underrated gem from British director Stephen Frears, "The Hit" is a road movie that sees a pair of hit men (John Hurt and Tim Roth) abduct a former gangster turned police informant (Terrence Stamp) from his Spanish villa, transporting him back to Paris where his former comrades await his arrival. It's a wonderfully introspective meditation on life and the inevitability of death, one that is equally calming, insightful, grim, hopeful, and darkly comedic. All three principal actors are phenomenal in their roles, bringing contrasting elements of world-weariness to their respective characters' viewpoints.

"The Hit" was a sleeper hit when it was released in 1984, praised for its writing, acting, and direction. "Frears and writer Peter Prince have taken a potentially familiar tale of a gangland betrayal and revenge and made something richly inventive and most entertaining," said Variety. In 2017, filmmaker Wes Anderson listed the movie as the fifth-greatest British film of all time.

There's no shortage of movies about possessed cars, the entire concept having grown into a strange, popular trend by the late 1970s — just look at movies like "The Car," "The Hearse," and "Killdozer!" — but by the 1980s, the entire subgenre had grown a bit stale. That is, until Stephen King and John Carpenter came along, reinvigorating the possessed car movie with their 1983 collaboration "Christine."

Based on King's novel of the same name, "Christine" begins when an awkward high school teenager (Keith Gordon) buys a vintage 1958 Plymouth Fury that he plans on rebuilding. The more time the teen spends working on the car, the more his personality changes and becomes more sinister— the car seemingly corrupting him and turning him into its own personal demonic vessel.

A creative partnership between King and Carpenter — both of whom were considered masters of horror operating at the top of their game in the early '80s — was bound to wield some entertaining results. Critics like Roger Ebert lauded the movie for its throwback approach and ability to give the Plymouth Fury such a distinct life of its own.

"By the end of the movie, Christine has developed such a formidable personality that we are actually taking sides during its duel with a bulldozer," said Ebert. "This is the kind of movie where you walk out with a silly grin, get in your car, and lay rubber halfway down the Eisenhower."

A beloved classic from the 1970s, "Smokey and the Bandit" is the story about two bootleggers (Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed) transporting hundreds of cases of Coors beer from Texas to Georgia, accompanied by a runaway bride (Sally Fields) and pursued by her hard-headed lawman father (Jackie Gleason). The seminal performance of Reynolds in particular as "the Bandit" is easily among the late actor's most iconic roles — a confident, wiley, charming daredevil who becomes more and more of a folk hero as his exploits are detailed over CB Radio.

Released in 1977, "Smokey and the Bandit" was a smash hit at the box office, grossing over $126 million on a budget of $4.3 million and becoming the second highest-earning movie of the year, trailing only "Star Wars." Critics liked it too, with the Hollywood Reporter singling out legendary stuntman/director Hal Needham, who "makes the most of the action and progresses the film with a perfect light-hearted touch."

1971's "Le Mans" feels like a cross between "Rush" and "Ford v Ferrari." Steve McQueen stars as an American racer participating in France's "24 Hours of Le Mans," an endurance test that sees some of the world's best drivers race for 24 hours straight. McQueen's character competes with a German archrival on the course while developing romantic feelings for the widowed wife of a former racing rival.

Uniquely, "Le Mans" utilizes actual documentary footage taken from the Le Mans' 1970 race the year prior. This aspect of the film helped set it apart when it came to official reviews, with most critics praising the racing footage. Variety called it a "successful attempt to escape the pot-boiler of prior films on the same subject" which it achieved by "establish[ing] a documentary mood."

The movie has also been hailed as containing one of McQueen's greatest performances as the effortlessly cool, racing-obsessed Porsche driver at the heart of the film. "'Le Mans' needs to be rediscovered so that it can be hopefully embraced as one of star Steve McQueen's finest hours," wrote Slant Magazine.

A masterpiece of the comedic heist genre, the original "Italian Job" is also one of the most successful British cult classics there is. The plot sees Michael Caine as a confident Cockney professional thief who recruits a ragtag group of fellow criminals to steal a large cache of gold in Turin.

"The Italian Job" does a great job of blending humor with some genuinely thrilling scenes (not to mention the infamous and very literal cliffhanger ending). Containing an all-star cast of world-renowned talent for its day — Caine, Noël Coward, Benny Hill — the film earned critical acclaim upon its release in 1969, eventually landing on the British Film Institute's list of the Top 100 British films, and almost definitely influencing later ensemble-heavy heist movies like "Ocean's 11" and the "Fast & Furious" series. The Telegraph's Robert Colvile probably summed it up best: "Is there a film — certainly a British film — that delivers a greater infusion of pure joy than 'The Italian Job'?"

A universally praised film from Iran, 2015's "Taxi" is a docufiction film that stars its director, Jafar Panahi, as a shared taxi driver in Tehran. For an hour and twenty minutes, Panahi has a mixture of scripted and unscripted conversations with family members, friends, and complete strangers he encounters on the job, many of whom share their distinct views on the Iranian government and life in general.

"Taxi" is a charming slice-of-life film that offers a very introspective look at Iran and its citizens, made all the more poignant given the fact that Panahi himself has been banned from making films for 20 years by the government due to "making propaganda against the regime." In spite of the ban, Panahi has created some of his best and most popular films since the verdict came down.

Competing at film festivals across the globe, "Taxi" took home numerous top prizes in the industry, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. The 2015 Berlin jury president, Darren Aronofsky, called the movie "a love letter to cinema," going on to say that Panahi's film was "filled with love for his art, his community, his country and his audience."

The only Hollywood noir film directed by a woman (Ida Lupino), 1953's "The Hitch-Hiker" follows two men driving to Mexico for a fishing trip who pick up a hitchhiker along the way. Back on the road, the hitchhiker soon reveals himself to be a dangerous psychopath, taking the two men hostage and forcing them to drive back to Los Angeles, where he openly plans on killing them.

Based on the murders of Billy Cook — a serial killer active in the early '50s who murdered six people and kidnapped several more while hitchhiking across the United States — "The Hitch-Hiker" is a precursor to thriller films like the similarly-named "Hitch-Hike." The original, however, remains an achievement in itself, a noir film that is as suspenseful as it is claustrophobic, making brilliant use of its limited setting.

Positively reviewed when it was released, "The Hitch-Hiker" has since gone on to earn a highly respected reputation in the film industry, selected by the National Film Registry for preservation in 1998 for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." In 2012, Time Out called it "Taut, tough, and entirely without macho-glorification, it's a gem, with first-class performances from its three protagonists, deftly characterized without resort to cliché."

"Tucker: The Man and His Dream" is one of the many collaborations between close friends Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, this time with Coppola directing and Lucas producing. In 1988, their creative partnership resulted in a loose biographical film centered around Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges), an enthusiastic entrepreneur new to the automobile industry who goes head-to-head against business titans like Ford and General Motors.

Historically, Tucker ended up losing his corporate battle against these industry giants, but his innovation in automobile design resulted in commonplace advancements in safety features, like the inclusion of seatbelts, padded dashboards, and centered headlights. "Tucker: The Man and His Dreams" is a story about underdogs — about trying to pursue your dreams and, while not necessarily succeeding, still accomplishing something significant in spite of failure.

The movie was praised for its whimsical stylization and feel-good message, as well the performances of the actors involved. Co-star Martin Landau won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated in that same category at the 61st Academy Awards. According to the Chicago Reader, "Francis Coppola's stylish and heartfelt tribute to the innovative automobile designer Preston Thomas Tucker turns out to be one of his most personal and successful movies."

The final film of Jean-Luc Godard's peak years, "Weekend" is a satirical, absurdist dark comedy that lampoons both capitalism and French politics of the day. Released in 1967, the movie details the surreal journeys of a young affluent French couple driving through the countryside, encountering a wide array of colorful characters and violent car accidents along the way. "Weekend" critiques modern society's increasingly materialistic view of cars as a means of social ascension — the nicer the car, the more important, rich, and upstanding the owner believes themselves to be. Like most of Godard's 1960s films, it was a widespread success and was seen as one of the final highlights of French New Wave.

"Year after year, Jean-Luc Godard has been chipping away at the language of cinema. Now, in 'Weekend,' he has just about got down to the bare bones," said Roger Ebert. "This is his best film, and his most inventive. It is almost pure movie."

Legendary Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami is something of a hallowed figure in the international film community, and watching any one of his many fantastic movies, it's easy to see why. A film about a man driving his truck around, looking for someone to bury him discreetly under a cherry tree, may sound pretentious to some, but in Kiarostami's very capable hands, "Taste of Cherry" manages to resonate with nearly every audience member.

A minimalist movie by every stretch of the word, "Taste of Cherry" is an engaging character study that explores life as fully and richly as possible, complete with meditations on the positive side of living and the sometimes excruciating pain that can sometimes manifests itself in everyday life. Critics were enthusiastic when it was released in 1997, with the film co-winning the Cannes Festival's Palme d'Or along with the Japanese film "The Eel." Entertainment Weekly called it "outstanding," saying "Taste of Cherry" is "so grounded in the real emotional scope of ordinary people that the magnitude of the subject is answered in the most mysteriously matter-of-fact way."

The "Fast & Furious" franchise took some time finding its voice, with the first four installments being relatively grounded, mildly entertaining movies about local street racers. "Fast Five" changed all that, steering the series towards the high-octane action franchise we know and love today, one that looks and feels a lot like "Mission: Impossible" or a James Bond film. Series protagonists Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), his former rival Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), and a crew of street racers travel to South America with plans to steal $100 million from a notorious Brazilian drug lord, all the while being pursued by a dedicated American law enforcement agent (Dwayne Johnson) trying to bring them to justice.

"Fast Five's" radical new direction helped establish "Fast & Furious" as a distinct, entertaining franchise among worldwide audiences, garnering mostly positive reviews for its action and humor and securing $626 million at the box office. "The only time you won't be watching the screen," said the New York Times, "is when your eyes have squeezed shut because you're laughing so hard." 

Every movie from the early days of Pixar is pretty much unbeatable when it comes to delivering entertaining animated films perfect for younger audience members (or audience members who are young at heart). "Cars" is one example of this, set in a unique universe populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars. Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is a promising and arrogant rookie racecar competing for the top prize in the world of professional racing. When he winds up sentenced to community service in a small desert town, however Lightning learns a few lessons about humility, as well as discovering there's more to life than simply winning.

As is the case with nearly all Pixar movies, "Cars" was a huge critical and financial success, earning $462 million. It also competed at the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, winning in that same category at the 64th Golden Globes. Time called it an "instant classic" that "straddl[es] the realms of Pixar styling and old Disney heart."

Often imitated but never duplicated, "Duel" has served as the primary inspiration for so many films on this list, from poorly-attempted ripoffs like "The Car" to modern horror films like "Joy Ride." Though made for TV originally, it's commonly considered Steven Spielberg's debut film, a story about a hapless everyman driver (Dennis Weaver) terrorized on the roadways by a hulking, fume-spewing tanker truck chasing him across the Mojave. In any other director's hands, "Duel" may have fallen flat, but Spielberg's talent propels the movie from a forgettable "ABC Movie of the Week" into a cult hit that showcases his undeniable directorial talent as he builds and maintains the movie's suspense from the opening credits to the climactic final showdown between man and machine.

Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Movie Made for TV and placed on Bravo's list of "The 100 Scariest Movie Moments," the film has become a classic among Spielberg aficionados, frequently seen as his being among his most underrated movies. "'Duel' took advantage of the very narrowness of its premise, building excitement from the most minimal ingredients and the simplest of situations," said the New York Times.

Edgar Wright's take on the heist genre, "Baby Driver" is a love letter to numerous car-related films that Wright looked to for inspiration. The eponymous Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a young, music-loving getaway driver trying to leave his life of crime behind and start fresh with the girl he's fallen in love with (Lily James), only to be pulled back in for one last job that seems to be his most perilous heist yet.

While a first-rate comedy heist movie, "Baby Driver" looks and feels like something more. As is the case with all of Wright's movies, dozens and easter eggs and references to past films Wright holds near and dear are hidden throughout. Even more impressive, however, is how meticulously chosen many of the songs that appear on the soundtrack are, each scene carefully edited to mirror the beat and tempo of the music.

Grossing nearly $227 million on a budget of $34 million, "Baby Driver" is the most financially successful movie in Wright's directorial career so far, and also among his most popular films. "An awe-inspiring piece of filmmaking ... that plays out as a musical through the lens of an action thriller. Sweet, funny and utterly original — you won't see a film like it this year," Empire promised.

A French surrealist film in the style of Terry Gilliam and Jodorowsky, "Holy Motors" offers arguably the strangest car-related journey on this entire list. In it, a wealthy, dedicated actor (Denis Lavant) journeys through Paris, stopping at different apartments and playing drastically different roles and character types with each new building he enters. Nearly every scene ends with some sort of heartfelt message or endearing lesson which the actor will seemingly take to heart, only for him to exit and commit himself to an entirely new performance instead.

"Holy Motors" isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea, but it's still a distinctly unique movie that provides some emotional lessons about life in the form of its absurd storyline. In 2012, it competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and received rave reviews. The Guardian wrote, "'Holy Motors' is weird and wonderful, rich and strange – barking mad, in fact. It is wayward, kaleidoscopic, black comic and bizarre; there is in it a batsqueak of genius, dishevelment and derangement; it is captivating and compelling."

Max (Jamie Foxx) is a hardworking cab driver Los Angeles working the night shift, who plans on one day owning his own limouisine business. Struggling to find the financial means to make his dream a reality, Max accepts a job driving a mysterious client (Tom Cruise) around town, realizing all too late that the client is a hit man on a killing spree across L.A.

An acting tour de force from Foxx and Cruise, "Collateral" is a fascinating study of motivation, analyzing how far someone is willing to go to achieve their dreams — even if it means entering into a Faustian bargain with a sociopathic hit man. "'Collateral is the best kind of genre filmmaking: It plays by the rules, obeys the traditions and is both familiar and fresh at once," proclaimed The Washington Post.

Praised for director Michael Mann's direction and for the two leading actors' performances, "Collateral" was named one of the best films of 2004 by the National Board Review, with Foxx nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Academy Awards.

No list detailing the best car movies is complete without mentioning George Miller's "Mad Max 2," or as it's known in the United States, "The Road Warrior," one of the all-time classic examples of a post-apocalyptic film and perhaps the most well-known movie to ever come from the Land Down Under. Mel Gibson's hard-edged ex-lawman Max Rockatansky traverses the desert wastelands of Australia following a nuclear war, outrunning vicious bikers in his supercharged V-8 Pursuit Special.

Translating the archetypical Western storyline — a silent, deadly stranger comes to town and protects settlers from a roaming band of marauders — into its disastrous futuristic setting, "The Road Warrior" pioneered the post-apocalypse genre, influencing practically every game or movie with a wasteland setting that was released afterwards. A cult film with a massive following of dedicated fans, it's been voted the greatest action movie of all time in a readers' poll by Rolling Stone, and has remarkably high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.

"Never has a film's vision of the post-nuclear-holocaust world seemed quite as desolate and as brutal, or as action-packed and sometimes as funny said The New York Times, which also called it "an extravagant film fantasy that looks like a sadomasochistic comic book come to life."

Narrowly beating out "The Road Warrior" for the best "Mad Max" entry, "Mad Max: Fury Road" is a high-speed joy ride that shattered expectations when first released in 2015. Topping an undisputed classic like its predecessor wasn't going to be easy, but "Fury Road" proved everyone wrong, one-upping George Miller's original post-apocalyptic extravaganza in every way possible.

A soft reboot of the "Mad Max" franchise, Tom Hardy slips on the iconic shredded leather jacket of series protagonist Max Rockatansky, joining forces with a group of women fleeing a tyrannical warlord on an epic chase through the desert. Looking back at the finished film — a cinematic achievement in editing, action, stunt coordination, practical effects, costume design, and storytelling — it's easy to see why "Fury Road" was so revolutionary, an adventure movie that featured women in prominent starring roles and contained some of the most impressive stunts ever captured on film.

At the 88th Academy Awards, "Fury Road" was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, and ended up winning the most awards at the ceremony, including Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Production Design. Already it's considered the greatest action movies of all time by Rolling Stone and one of the best sequels ever made by Time, Saturday Evening Post, and Empire. It's also been named one of the best films of the 2010s by publications like Time Out and RogerEbert.com. And now, "Mad Max: Fury Road" can call itself the best car movie in cinematic history.