Everyone loves a good villain. And there’s nothing like a character paired with the perfect movie car. Here are six of the scariest villain cars (and one villain truck) from all of cinema history!
Six – The Jaguars of James Bond
Ever since Sean Connery showed up in a handsome silver DB5 in 1964 Goldfinger, the connection between James Bond and Aston Martin seemed hollow. Other British automakers certainly courted 007, and Roger Moore even took a submersible Lotus Espirit for a spin. But when Jaguar/Land Rover approached Eon Productions about product placement during the final films, they stopped short of providing the villains’ cars.
Memorable products of this partnership include the Jaguar XKR racing car that backer Zao drove in 2002. Die another day and the mid-engine C-X75 supercar that Dave Bautista’s Mr. Hincks uses to relentlessly chase 007 around Rome. These cars make the list not so much because they’re perfect villain cars (although they are), but more because they prove that the perfect foil for Bond is the Aston Martin. Jaguar even played up its role as a villain car with its ‘It’s OK to be bad’ ad.
Love James Bond? You can see every car that James Bond drives No time to die.
Five – 1970 Chevy Nova: Proof of death
To Quentin Tarantino Proof of death is a tribute to some of the greatest car movies of all time – and the stuntmen who made them possible. Never mind that the antagonist (Kurt Russell’s Stunt Mike) is a psychopath who uses his cars to kill people. One of the most memorable cars in the film is the 1970 Chevrolet Nova. It sports a duck hood ornament from Convoy and identical license plates to Steve McQueen’s Mustang in Bullitt.
Tarantino had his crew build two identical Novas to film two shots of the car’s final crash. But when his real-life stuntman (Buddy Hooker) manages to pull off a one-shot, Tarantino sells him the spare car for $500. Hooker gave the car to his son, Kanan, and the two repaired it together.
Four – 1st generation Dodge Charger: Bullitt and Vanishing point
We’re used to seeing the 1st-gen Dodge Charger as a hero car (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Fast and the Furious). But let’s be honest, it’s an anti-hero car at best. Perhaps that’s why two of the Dodge Charger’s most iconic roles were as the bad guys’ car.
In 1968’s Bullitt, Steve McQueen used his Mustang to chase bad guys in a black 1st generation Dodge Charger through San Francisco. 1971 Vanishing point is another iconic car chase film featuring a Mopar car, a supercharged 1971 Challenger. And in the 1997 remake of the film, the bad guys chase Kowalksi’s 1971 Dodge Challenger with—you guessed it—a black first-generation Dodge Charger. You can see Bullitt chase in the video above.
Three – 4th Generation Lincoln Continental: The Gangster Car of Goldfinger to The matrix
The fourth generation Lincoln Continental, with its slab design and rear-hinged doors, is one of the most iconic cars ever made. Not only is it popular with classic car fans, but it has become the quintessential mobster car in movies.
Ford Motor Company actually partnered with Eon Productions for many of the Connery-era Bond films. As a result, many of the Bond girls drove Mustangs and many of the villains drove Lincolns. In 1964 Goldfinger, Auric Goldfinger’s small army of mob henchmen runs a fleet of Lincoln Continentals. The car’s reputation as an anti-hero lives on, making it the perfect car for The Matrix and an obvious choice for 2012’s retired criminal Dax Shepard. Hit and run.
Two – Panther De Ville: 101 Dalmatians
Cruella de Vil’s long-nosed luxury car isn’t particularly fast or dangerous. The only impressive thing about it is its size. But no car has captured the personality of a villain better than Curella de Ville’s.
The car from the 1961 cartoon 101 Dalmations was a highly exaggerated version of the 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante – according to Motorious. The action films (1996, 1997 and 2021) featured Glenn Close and later Emma Stone as the villain. But all of those movies featured custom-built Panther De Ville cars.
One – 1958 Plymouth Fury: Christine
Number one spot just has to go to the car that it was the villain. 1983 Christine (based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name) follows teenager Arnie Cunningham who buys a 1958 Plymouth Fury and sets out to restore his beloved classic car. But the story takes an evil turn as his best friend slowly discovers that “Christine” is possessed by the devil and has evil plans of her own.
There were so few Plymouth Furys produced in 1958 that the film’s director had to canvass all of Southern California to come up with the 24 needed for the stunt. Many were actually renamed Plymouth Belvederes.
Bonus – 1955 Peterbilt 281: Duel
The Duel The Peterbilt isn’t a car, but it sure is a villain. Duel (1971) is a Steven Spielberg film based on a short story. It features David Mann, a soft-spoken salesman who is driving his Plymouth Valiant between towns when a Peterbilt 281 semi-truck starts chasing him across the desert and tries to run him over. As Mann tries to figure out who’s driving the huge truck and why he’s being chased, he must run for his life.
Then see what Jason Mamoa’s Fast and Furious villain is up to in this summer’s Fast X.