Iconic cars from the screen: whatever happened to them?

There are so many memorable cars from movies and TV. You can even name the film or series by the car alone in some cases. But what happens to these automobiles when the shoot ends or the series gets canceled? Here is the answer to these select few classics from the screen. 

Featured in seven of the James Bond movies, the beautiful 1964 Aston Martin DB5 made its first appearance in the movie 'Goldfinger'. It was driven by Sean Connery and a part of cinema history with the ejector seat and other gadgets.  This DB5 sold for an amazing $4.6 million in October 2010. Car collector Harry Yeaggy was the buyer, and he still owns the famous car to this day.

'Back To The Future' and the DeLorean DMC-12 became classics after the release of the first film. In 2016, Universal Studios permanently loaned the car to the Petersen Automotive Museum where it has been ever since. Interestingly, this was the only DeLorean used in the film whereas many movies feature various models of the same cars for different scenes.

Three 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulances were used for the filming of this memorable 80’s movie. One is currently with the studios and is in the latest 'Ghostbuster' film. Another can be seen on display outside Sony Studios and the last one was reportedly seen in a prop lot in need of serious attention.

Who doesn’t remember the 1982 Pontiac Trans Am named KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand): the talking and slightly sarcastic car, shatterproof with artificial intelligence. Nowadays, a few of the remaining cars are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a man named Joe. You can actually find an episode of Jay Leno's Garage with Huth and his famous Trans Am.

The car with a life of its own from the 1983 horror flick 'Christine', based on a novel written by Stephen King. More than 20 Plymouths were used in the movie including the Fury, Belvederes, and Savoys which shared similar characteristics and were all painted with the same interiors. Bill Gibson owns the original '57 Fury and has since he was 19 years old. He spent his entire savings on buying the car and giving it a detailed restoration.

The Batmobile (1966) began life as a Ford concept car called the Lincoln Futura, built over a decade earlier in 1955. The Futura found its way to Hollywood, where it appeared in the 1959 film ‘It Started With a Kiss’. Auto customizer George Barris bought the movie prop for $1 and converted the Futura to the recognizable (and drivable) Batmobile for use in the TV show and later the film. In January 2013 it was sold to American businessman Rick Champagne at an Arizona auction for $4.6-million.

The lovable car that we all know as Herbie was of course the 1963 Volkswagen Beetle. Disney itself says via the D23 Fan Club that 21 were used, but only 3 actually remain today. One of the remaining cars sustained serious damage, but was restored and currently sits at the AACA Museum.

The legendary 1968 Ford Mustang GT: driven by the one and only Steve McQueen in 'Bullitt', is one of the most iconic cars of all time. In the early 1970s, the car was purchased for $6,000 by the Kiernan family who used the car until it was broken, and then it was stashed in a Kentucky barn on a friend's farm.

It wasn't until decades later, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), that the original '68 Bullitt was presented to everyone's surprise. It appeared alongside the new 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt Anniversary Edition during the new model's launch, and it was sold at the Mecum auction in 2023 for $3.74 million: the most expensive Mustang to ever be sold at auction.

Interestingly, the identity of the car was never disclosed in the movie, but this was a 1974 Dodge Monaco 44o Magnum in 'The Blues Brothers'. A total of 60 cars were used in the movie, but sadly most were destroyed. Occasionally, one has been sighted but nothing official has ever been confirmed regarding any remaining cars from the film.

The car was bought by an unknown person in Ohio in 1988. It was then shipped to the United Kingdom after the Cars of the Stars Motors Museum bought the classic car. After that, it then found its way to Florida among the Dezer Car Collection. The most recent sale was back in January 2015 when a Texas collector bought it at a private auction.

Multiple 'Dodge Chargers' were used for the show. The first, LEE 1, was rigged with a 383-cubic-inch V8 engine and a full roll cage. Two others, called LEE 2 and LEE 3, were also used for the close-up shots. The first Charger, LEE 1, was sold at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2012 where professional golfer Bubba Watson bought it up for $110,000.

Unfortunately, there were no surviving cars out of the 12 original Firebirds used for movie production. However, there was one bought by Universal Pictures that may not have actually been involved in the set but was used as a promotional piece for the film. The vintage Firebird Trans Am went up for auction at Barrett-Jackson and was purchased for an amazing $550,000 by a car collector named John Staluppi.

The standard Esprit (with an actual interior and engine) used for the driving scenes was sold at auction in 2008 for £111,500 to a private collector. But the car we all know and love was actually a custom-made submarine that simply resembled a Lotus Esprit. Powered by four electric motors, operated by two divers, and having zero wheels, this 'car' shouldn’t qualify for this list but...

In September 2013, billionaire Elon Musk bought the prop for £550,000 at a London auction. He vowed to turn the car into a fully functioning submarine car powered by a Tesla Motors electric drive train, no matter the cost.

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