zoomvroom Car Culture, Movie Cars, Random, Website Reccomendation, World News

How a Gargantuan Caterpillar Mining Truck is Built

There’s no need for an assembly line with this behemoth. It’s so big that it is literally assembled on-site.

Everything about this mining truck is massive. It’s got 4,000 horsepower, the engine displaces about 6,500 cubic inches, the entire truck weighs more than a million pounds, and it can carry 400 tons. Colossal doesn’t do this thing justice.

Caterpillar shows us just what it takes to build this mammoth machine. It all starts at the plant in Decatur, IL, but the whole thing isn’t assembled until they get out to the job site.

I’ve attached the video. It’s certainly worth about three minutes of your time. Let me know what you think of this cool timelapse video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAVYizVoLww

zoomvroom Car Culture, Movie Cars, Random, World News

The Epic Lamborghini Miura From the Italian Job is Still Alive!

The stunning orange Italian exotic car races through the Italian Alps, the wailing V-12 never failing to disappoint Michael Cane, a cigarette loosely dangling from his mouth.  It disappears into a tunnel, and a ball of flames ensues.  The wreckage of the car is dragged out by heavy machinery by the Italian Mafia. It’s then pushed into a ravine, and a wreath for the driver follows.  It’s one of the most stunning and heartbreaking introduction scenes in cinema for gearheads.

There must have been millions of viewers of The Italian Job (the 1969 original version) who assumed that the creamsicle orange Lamborghini Miura was a write-off.  They are ALL wrong!  I must say that I was never one of them!  I had long suspected that Lamborghini would never permit a brand-new Miura to be wrecked in that fashion.  I was right.  That car disappeared into the tunnel, the cameras stopped, the car came out, and in went the wreckage of an already-wrecked Miura.  Bam smash boom.  The mangled orange wreckage comes out, gets shoved down the ravine.  Done.

The orange Miura powering through the Alps is in pristine condition, and worth well over 1 million Euros.

It’s been described as “the Holy Grail of supercars,” and two British businessmen tracked it down and bought it.  Good boys.

The car’s new co-owner, Iain Tyrrell, was tipped off around Christmas that the car still existed.  As many are, he was skeptical, yet he decided to check it out.  He said in an interview with The Daily Mail, “I was initially sceptical because no one had seen it for 46 years. But my source was a credible one so I started to pursue it.”

The car’s owner invited him to see it, but he had to act like James Bond.  No, there were no crazy bad guys with military-grade toys trying to kill him.  However, he was only given a mere three hours to verify the car as the real thing.  “It was all very James Bond-ish – I had to go to Paris to inspect the car in a secret underground car park,” he said.

Tyrrell explained the confusion surrounding the car:  “The Italian Job Lamborghini is the holy grail of supercars precisely because no one knew what happened to it after the film. I have a life-long passion for these cars but I just assumed this particular vehicle was out of reach.”  Well, not any more.  Lucky man.

The car is essentially brand-new.  It’s been well-maintained by all of it’s previous owners, and very little to nothing on the car was changed, as far as Tyrrell knows.

“There are certain quirks within the interior of the car, such as the trim and the stitching. They are like a fingerprint or a birth mark. They can’t be replaced.”

Tyrrell found out that the filmmaker, Paramount Pictures, bought the car from Lamborghini for the filming of the scene, and then sold it to a car dealer.

The dealer then sold the car to an unidentified buyer, who owned it until 2005, when it changed hands several times before ending up with Norbetto Ferretti, a luxury yacht manufacturer.  What is so interesting about Ferretti is that he is the son of the dealer who originally bought the car from Paramount.  What blows my mind is that every single previous owner of the car had no clue that the car was in such a legendary movie.

Tyrrell and his friend/co-owner, Keith Ashworth, plan to show the car around the world. However, selling it is still a possibility. The value of this car will only rise exponentially.

The mystery of the other car is still unsolved.  The smashed-up Miura pushed over the hillside vanished without a trace after it tumbled down the mountainside.

Tyrrell said, “When the production team went back to salvage the remains of the crashed car the next day it had gone. The whole car had disappeared and had obviously been stolen.”  Who knows what happened to the wreckage of it?Lamborghini-Miura

Lambo Miura

zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, Movie Cars, Random

The Top Car-Killing Movies!

Just about everybody knows that breaking stuff is fun.  When directors get gigantic budgets and a car chase to shoot, sometimes they go overboard.  These movies destroyed the most cars – the numbers are crazy!

  • Ronin (1998):  Yes, Ronin was a good movie.  One of the many cool parts about it?  Director John Frankenheimer was a former amateur racer.  He enlisted former French Formula 1 driver Jean-Pierre Jarier and 300 OTHER stunt drivers to film the insane chase through Paris.  The result?  An epic eight-minute chase sequence that deserves a spot in the car chase hall of fame.  Oh, and they destroyed a mere 80 cars.  That’s nothing compared to other movies on this list!  Watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaNBrYLvFg
  • Bullitt (1968):  Yes, it is riddled with some funny errors – the 1968 Dodge Charger loses five hubcaps from four wheels over the course of the chase!  However, it is still one of the greatest car chases ever produced.  People are still making their own versions of it almost fifty years later.  The iconic Highland Green big-block Mustang fastback reached speeds well over 100 mph on the hilly streets of San Francisco, sometimes even with the legendary Steve McQueen behind the wheel!  More than 80 cars were destroyed during the filming of the movie.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNvc9n1ikI
  • Gone in 60 Seconds (1974):  Director, producer, stunt driver, and star of the original Gone in 60 Seconds H.B. Halicki was given a tiny $150,000 budget, but the movie has now grossed more than $40 million.  He drove the original “Eleanor” – the tastefully customized 1973 Mustang (to this day, one of the best-looking Mustangs ever) throughout the chase scene.  Somebody else from the crew would drive the car throughout the rest of the movie (cameraman, actor, etc.).  Many of the bystanders were members of the public – there was no money for extras.  Some of the crashes were completely unscripted, which makes the movie that much better.  When Halicki clipped another car at 100 mph and spun into a lamppost, he ended up in the hospital.  The crash ended up in the film.  Gone in 60 Seconds destroyed 93 cars.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMz3g1x75pU
  • The Blues Brothers (1980 and 2000):  The 1980 version of the film held the record for the most cars violently destroyed until the 2000 remake, which smashed the record (pun intended) by a whopping ONE car!  For the 1980 film, 60 used police cars were bought for $400 apiece, fitted with reinforced frames.  Almost all of the cars were unusable by the end of filming.  The 1980 version destroyed 103 cars.  The 2000 version decimated 104 cars.  This is the 1980 version:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMagP52BWG8 and this is the 2000 version:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDEFL2fLGIE
  • G.I. Joe (2009):  Yes, it is an awful film by every account.  It also happened to briefly hold the record for most cars destroyed in a movie (112 cars).  It beat The Blues Brothers (2000) by eight cars.  Maybe blowing up stuff isn’t as exciting as we all thought it was as kids.  That being said, enjoy the gratuitous automotive destruction at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0GBhbu-0aQ
  • A Good Day to Die Hard (2013):  Sometimes, it’s best to leave the best alone.  Some movies don’t need a sequel, let alone four.  Die Hard is one of said movies.  Sadly, 25 years after Bruce Willis “killed” Alan Rickman (the guy who played Snape in the Harry Potter movies, kids), we are talking about the fifth and worst Die Hard yet.  Willis and the cast somehow destroyed 132 cars and badly damaged an incredible 518 cars PAST their 132 dead brethren.  That being said, the car chase is good.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWNie0rdXlI
  • The Junkman (1982):  Have you ever heard of The Junkman?  I hadn’t either until now.  It’s the crashiest film you’ve never heard of.  Directed by H.B. Alicki, the crash-hungry director of Gone in 60 Seconds, it reportedly killed more than 150 cars.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIh_IbxIrr8
  • Fast Five (2011):  All in all, over 1000 cars have been destroyed since the first Fast & Furious.  That’s more than one a minute in total film time.  260 cars were destroyed in Fast Five.  However, Fast & Furious 6 used about 400 cars, with few surviving.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-4zZBGfF98
  • Matrix Reloaded (2003):  Somehow, the folks behind Matrix Reloaded managed to kill 300 cars loaned to them by GM.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSPAPeO17Zk
  • Transformers 3 (2011):  By definition, every one of the 532 cars destroyed were ready for the junkyard – they were all donated to director Michael Bay because of flood damage.  They needed to be scrapped by law anyways – why not destroy them violently? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSPAPeO17Zk

Well, that’s my list!  I hope that you enjoyed it, as well as the chase scenes.  I recommend you watch this song while listening to “Rockin’ Down the Highway” by the Doobie Brothers.  It seems fitting.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drg50H3nNAk

zoomvroom Field Trips, Humor, Movie Cars, World News

Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6X6 to Appear in Upcoming Jurassic Park Movie

When Mercedes-Benz turned the off-roading world upside-down when it released a civilian version of it’s six-wheeled G-Wagen that it builds for the Australian military, lovers of specialized military hardware clinked glasses with those wealthy enough to afford it.  Not surprisingly, the rest of us mere mortals able to buy a G-Wagen had to settle for the four-wheeled G63.  How depressing.

Anyhow, the G63 AMG 6X6 will be making an appearance in Jurassic Park 4.  That doesn’t seem all too surprising, considering that Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been in the Jurassic Park movies since the second movie.  This has been confirmed by the Jurassic Park 4 Committee Facebook account.

A picture of the G63 6X6 was shown veiled by a white tarp and strapped to a pallet, en route to Hawaii.  Not much else is known about the G63 6X6 being in the movie, but I’m sure that it’s going to be awesome!  I mean, how can you go wrong with six wheels?  Well, I guess if they need to have something that’s heavier-duty, they can always go for an AM General 5-ton troop carrier!

The one thing that I’m absolutely sure that they need is a teenager as a stunt driver…They don’t need to look far!

 

zoomvroom Car Culture, Movie Cars

The Top Movie/TV Show Cars

Many movies have cars that we love.  Famous cars with famous actors – it goes together.  Le Mans had a Porsche 917 and a Ferrari 512LM with Steve McQueen doing all of the driving in the 917.  It also had a Porsche 911 Carrera S that went for $1.75 Million dollars at auction last year.  The Ronin remake had Robert De Niro, a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9, a BMW M5, and a nitrous-huffing Audi S8.  Vanishing Point had Barry Newman, a 440-powered Dodge Challenger R/T Magnum, and a Jaguar E-Type V12 Convertible.  Well, you get the idea.

While I know that last weekend was Oscars weekend, I still thought that the cars from famous movies deserve a proper recognition.  Enjoy my list.  I have also attached videos of the cars in the movies that they were in.  I hope you enjoy the list and the videos!

  1. 1968 Dodge Charger “Bullitt”:  While it’s a shame that I haven’t seen Bullitt yet (one of these days!), I’ve seen the epic car chase scene on YouTube countless times.  I know.  It’s not the same.  The 1968 Dodge Charger from Bullitt is undeniably one of the most iconic cars ever to be used in a movie.  Anybody, I repeat, ANYBODY, can watch the chase scene and then see a 1968 Charger in real life, and say, “I saw a car that looks similar to that one in Bullitt!”  The two cars that really defined the words “muscle car” tore up the streets of San Francisco for real (no CGI, just a couple of sped-up shots).  Both the Ford Mustang GT with the 390 cubic-inch V8 and the Dodge Charger R/T with the 440 cubic-inch V8 needed some modifications for the chase scene.  Ex race-car builder Max Balchowsky modified both cars for film use.  The Highland Green Mustang needed a TON of mods for the chase scene.  The Charger, however, only needed heavy-duty shocks and springs to cope with the jumps.  Both cars used prototype Firestone tires, but it’s possible to see different width tires multiple times on the Charger.  According to Balchowsky, the Charger with it’s big 375-horsepower 440 cubic-inch V8 outgunned the 325-horse 390 cubic-inch V8 Mustang (pun not intended) so much that it required the stunt driver to slow down the car so that McQueen’s ‘Stang could keep up.  Score for Mopar!  While (spoiler alert!) one of the cars met a fiery demise at the end of the movie and was subsequently scrapped, some say that the other Charger is still around…somewhere.  I’d sure like to think so!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lbs_nYW3-o
  2. 1955 Chevrolet 150 “American Graffiti”:  Arguably one of the most iconic cars for hot rodding, let alone movies, the 1955 Chevrolet 150 from American Graffiti remains the benchmark for modified ’55 Chevy’s.  Three 1955 Chevrolet 150’s were used for the filming of the movie.  Two of said cars were used in 1971’s Two Lane Blacktop.  Transportation supervisor Henry Travers picked the two cars up from the Universal Studios lot and painted them black.  One car was a fiberglass shell, and it was used to film exterior shots and the actors inside the car.  The other car, the stunt car, was used for the climatic drag race crash.  Travers, who drove the car stunt Chevy for the Paradise Road finale couldn’t roll the car as directed by George Lucas – the car had to be heaved onto it’s roof by the crew.  A third, non-running 1955 Chevy was picked up, spray-painted black, and a fake B-pillar was welded on to resemble to other two cars.  It was burned to film the crash’s aftermath.  The burn car was returned to the junkyard – it would have been impossible to get the car in running condition!  Only the main camera car remains today.  It has traded hands a few times and some dubious modifications have been made to it.  In 2012, it was sold privately to a private buyer who plans to restore the car to it’s original American Graffiti appearance.  Prior to the deal, the buyer apparently barely avoided acquiring his own burn car, built by George Barris.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOgqUHk-zDY
  3. 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 “Ronin”:  While the chase scene from Bullitt deserves lots of ink, the multiple chase scenes from the 1998 remake of Ronin make the leaping American stallions chase scene look about as exciting as a segway tour of Los Angeles.  John Frankenheimer, the same speed junkie who directed the 1966 movie Grand Prix, directed Ronin.  He hired a gaggle of stunt drivers, including F1 champion Jean-Pierre Jarier and sports car champion Jean-Claude Lagniez, and let them loose throwing muscular German sedans around Paris, Monaco, and parts of Souther France at opposite lock drift angles and mind-blowing speeds – on closed-off public roads.  An Audi S8 and BMW rightfully grab a lot of attention in the movie, with Frankenheimer cleverly using right-hand-drive cars with fake left-side steering wheels so that the actors including Robert De Niro and Natascha McElhone could “drive” while one of the Frenchmen terrified them just a couple of feet away.  Not to be outdone are the guys from Mercedes-Benz who sent a 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9, arguably the first German muscle car.  Robert De Niro “drives” for a while, while French actor Jean Reno actually drove.  The absolute mayhem begins with a Rockford pulled off in the Benz, and then De Niro and Reno chase down the bad boys who happen to be driving a Peugeot 406.  The Peugeot and and Benz hurtle through the French countryside at speeds well over 100 mph, and then De Niro stands up in the sunroof and blows the 406 to smithereens.  Post-explosion, the 450SEL 6.9 hurtles into the seaside village of Villefranche-sur-Mer, an outskirt of Monaco, where a good half of the movie was filmed, where it hurtles through tiny city streets trashing market stalls and cafe tables in search of whatever is locked inside of that mysterious locked case everybody wants.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMaG5WAmHvY
  4. 1980 Lamborghini Countach “The Cannonball Run”:  If you can, keep your eyes ON the car, not IN the car!  It sounds easy, but Tara Buckman and Adrienne Barbeau are inside.  When Hal Needham and Brock Yates (arguably one of the most iconic auto journalists ever) thought up the plot for The Cannonball Run, a highly fictionalized version of the illegal cross-country Cannonball Run races of the 1970s, they knew that only one car could keep a teenager’s eyes off of Buckman and Barbeau – a 1980 Lamborghini Countach.  The entire opening sequence of the movie focuses entirely on the Countach.  The V12 shrieks up and down through the gearbox, and the two ladies stopping just long enough paint an “X” across a 55 mph speed limit sign before the car screams off onto the American prairie highway again.  The car taunts a police cruiser by coming up extremely close in the rear view mirror, pulling alongside, and then disappearing into the horizon.  No wonder this movie, which Yates himself calls “a pretty lousy picture!” grossed more than $72 million dollars – in the U.S. alone!  Of course, Burt Reynolds and Victor Prinzim are the official stars of the movie with their fake ambulance, but don’t tell that to any teenage boy who saw the movie in the 1980’s.  After filming, the car was used by Hawaiian Tropic as a promotional vehicle for 28 years.  Then, a private collector in Florida bought the car in 2009, and restored the car to factory condition.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh9L6LrpmTQ
  5. 1970 Porsche 911S “Le Mans”:  Most of Le Mans focuses on a frenzy of screaming prototypes, howling sports cars, furious air wrenches, and cheering crowds of adoring fans.  Not for the opening sequence, though.  Before reaching the Le Mans circuit, McQueen’s character, troubled racer Michael Delaney, gently pushes his 911S across the French countryside and a quiet village.  Soon, he will strap into a howling Porsche 917 for 24 hours of 240+ mph battle against a Ferrari 512LM.  But, for now, it’s just the man and his steed.  The Slate Gray 911S stands out in it’s timeless, understated elegance.  Kind of like McQueen himself.  It’s no wonder that he took the machine back with him to California to join his rapidly growing sports car and motorcycle collection.  Since he owned a nearly identical 1969 model, the 1970 911S was soon sold to a Los Angeles-based attorney who kept the car hidden away for the better part of 30 years.  The car changed hands two more times before going up for auction at RM Auctions Monterey, where it fetched a tidy $1.375 Million dollars, the most EVER paid for a 911 at auction.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JlyQsWXrqA
  6. 1966 Jaguar XKE V12 Convertible “Vanishing Point”:  Most people my age today probably wouldn’t understand the tagline from Vanishing Point: “Tighten your seatbelt.  You never had a trip like this before.”  But in 1971, the phrase fell on plenty of knowing ears and cars.  Enter Barry Newman as Kowalski, Congressional Medal of Honor Winner, ex-cop, ex-istentialist, as well as ex-race-driver.  His mission is the stuff of any Hollywood movie legend, or any car buff’s legend – drive the car from Denver to San Francisco in record time.  Hollywood being Hollywood, Kowalski encounters everything from rattlesnakes to sun-hardened old-timers, pre-“Bette Davis Eyes” Kim Carnes music, and deranged religious prophets.  But, his most memorable meeting was against a goggles-wearing, giggling desert rat hell-bent on some hoonage in his Jaguar XK-E V12 Convertible.  Said Jag driver literally begs for it – he even bangs his car into the Challenger to get Kowalski’s attention.  Since this is Hollywood, Kowalski takes the bait.  Big time.  It’s wire rims against mag wheels, Dover Sole versus Alaska Salmon, tea cakes versus beefcake.  A one-lane bridge looms ahead.  Kowalski gives the big 440 full throttle, fender swipes the Jag, and the Jag flies off the road in a splendid, um, horrifying fashion.  After several barrel rolls and a gigantic drop, the Jag ends up on it’s side in a mud-caked riverbed.  Since the driver of the Jag was a stunt driver, he’s OK.  Kowalski gives him a quick check, and is back on his way.  I can’t say the same for the Jag – it ended up as a total write-off.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBTup5WH0a0
  7. 1963 Apollo 3500 GT Thorndyke Special “The Love Bug”:  When was the last time you saw The Love Bug?  It’s a cute movie, and the support vehicles are, well, spectacular.  In any given racing scene, cute little Herbie the Love Bug is surrounded by all sorts of cars you’d expect to see at a period SCCA road race, from Triumph TR6’s to Shelby Cobra’s to MG TC’s.  The most memorable supporting vehicle is the black and yellow car driven by that crook Peter Thorndyke in the final El Dorado race.  Thorndyke drives everything from a Jaguar E-Type to a Ferrari 250GT (a replica car that long ago disappeared) Tour de France on his way to campaigning the Thorndyke Special.  The Thorndyke Special is, for all of it’s Italian looks, is an Apollo 3500GT.  It may have Italian styling, but it was made in Oakland California.  The Apollo cars started life in Italy, where the bodies and chassis’ were made by Intermeccanica.  They would then be shipped to Oakland, where the engines and transmissions would be installed.  Most of the engines were 350 cubic-inch Buick V8’s mated to either a Muncie M-22 “Rock Crusher” transmission or a Buick three-speed automatic.  42 cars were built between 1962 and 1964, when the company ran out of money and closed.  Max Balchowsky specifically modified two cars for the movie with their well-known paint scheme.  At least one car still exists today, with the restoration in Toronto, Canada started many years ago.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCmUQo2r33g
  8. 1969 Lamborghini Muira “The Italian Job (1969)”:  For us car lovers, the opening scene of the 1969 The Italian Job starring legendary British actor Michael Caine is beautiful and haunting.  An orange 1969 Lamborghini Muira P400 is making its way through the beautiful Swiss Alps with the actor Rossano Brazzi behind the wheel, cigarette dangling like they are in commercials.  He’s wearing driving gloves, a perfect suit, and designer sunglasses.  Matt Monro crooning “On Days Like These” accompanies the scream of the 3.9-liter V12 of the Muira.  What could go wrong?  Everything, as the Muira enters the tunnel at high speed, and comes out crumpled in the bucket of an earth mover at the other end.  A roadblock set up by the bad guys takes the blame.  And, the once-raging Muira is dropped over 100 feet into a river.  Was the orange Lambo actually destroyed?  Yes and no.  Two Muira’s were used for the scene.  The running and driving one was not wrecked, as it was a press car for Lamborghini; that honor goes to a crash-damaged frame of a Muira with new bodywork and no engine.  Rumor has it that when the crew came down to the river the next morning, not a single piece of the wrecked Muira was to be found.  Creepy.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQIRbV_noi8
  9. 1964.5 Ford Mustang GT Convertible “Goldfinger”:  While the Aston Martin DB5 seems to get all of the credit (rightfully so – it’s AWESOME!), the first Ford Mustang ever in a movie co-starred with the Brit.  Tilly Masterson’s gold 1964.5 Ford Mustang GT Convertible was a preproduction model, and was run off of a Swiss mountain after Bond’s tire slicing hubcap sticks out.  Ford REALLY wanted the Mustang to be part of Goldfinger, and had originally specified for a fastback to be used in the film.  Unfortunately, the fastback Mustang would start production too late in 1964 for filming purposes.  Ultimately, the Goldfinger Mustang fastback was built with special gold metallic paint, and it featured a roof panel with 007-inspired switches.  It was used as a promotional vehicle for both Bond and Ford for many years, and it still survives in private ownership.  As for the Mustang GT Convertible used in the film, it is believed but unknown by either Ford or anybody that it was sold after the film and repainted and currently with somebody.  Who that somebody is beats Ford and everybody else.  I’d sure like to know.  Other Ford vehicles were used in Goldfinger:  A 1957 Ford Thunderbird was used by Secret Service agents, a 1964 Lincoln Continental was driven to the junkyard and crushed by Oddjob, Goldfinger’s lethal assistant, and a 1964 Ford Ranchero was used for Oddjob to drive away from the junkyard with the crushed Continental in the bed.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLuNstLjP1c
  10. 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 “Gone in 60 Seconds”:  The menacing-looking 1967 silver-grey Ford Mustang GT500 from the 2005 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds is a 1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback.  It has body panels and GT500 badges to make it look like a GT500.  It had a hopped-up 390 cubic-inch V8 made up to perform and sound like the 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 found in the GT500.  Three cars were made for filming, and one was scrapped.  The other two survive in private ownership.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMv-X0tG2KQ
zoomvroom Car Culture, Movie Cars, World News

Want to Own a Star Car From Two Very Famous Movies?

For those car aficionados among you, and/or movie fans, you know that some cars that made appearances in movies, have an almost cult-like status nowadays.  For example, the Audi S8 from Ronin, the Jeep or Ford Explorer from Jurassic Park, the Aston Martin DB5 from Thunderball and Goldfinger, the #46 City Chevrolet Lumina from Days of Thunder, the 2003 Mini Coopers from The Italian Job, the 2008 Audi R8 from Iron Man, the 1970 Porsche 911S from Le Mans, the 1970 Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point.  The list could go on for a few paragraphs, but, okay, I’ll stop now and get to the point.  All of the cars mentioned above have people who literally kiss the ground these cars drove over.  I’m not kidding.  But, two very iconic cars are going up for sale.

The submersible Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me went up for sale, and was bought for $966,560 at an RM Auctions auction block.  Here’s the interesting history of the car after the movie:  After the movie was over, the filming company put the car under wraps, and shoved into a storage unit in Long Island for about 10 years.  When the storage contract expired, the filming company decided to put it up for “blind sale.”  At a public auction, a local couple paid a small fee for the car, not knowing that they would soon own one of the most iconic cars in history.  The couple ran the VIN of the car, hired a private automotive detective, and positively identified the car.  It was occasionally shown, but it was mostly kept under wraps.  The couple had the car restored by the same company that originally built it, and it can still function as a submarine.

The replica Ferrari 250 GT Spyder from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off also went up for auction.  It sold for a steep price of $230,000.  Three cars were built for the movie, but one was wrecked (no spoiler alert here), and the other knocked off about half of the engine block in the joyride scene with the valets.  Its last owner was Neil Glassmoyer, one of the men who built the car.  It is powered by a Ford 427 V8 that makes somewhere around 500 horsepower, and it is probably a hoot to drive, as it only weighs 2,650 pounds.  While it’s not an actual Ferrari, it is faster than any Ferrari of the 1980s, and more iconic than any.  It was lovingly restored in 1997 by Glassmoyer and his son to Concours-levels of restoration.

Here are some pictures of a stock Esprit and the movie car:  

Here are some pictures of the Ferrari replica from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and a stock Ferrari 250 GT:

I’ve also been kind enough to include the iconic movie cars mentioned in the first paragraph.

Ronin Audi S8:

Jurassic Park Jeep and Ford Explorer:

Thunderball and Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5:

Days of Thunder #46 City Chevrolet Lumina:

The Italian Job 2003 Mini Coopers:

Iron Man 2008 Audi R8:

Le Mans 1970 Porsche 911S:

Vanishing Point 1970 Dodge Challenger:

And, just for the heck of it, the 1970 Porsche 917 from Le Mans, which is now owned by Jerry Seinfeld:

Note to my faithful, car-obsessed readers:  I will do a post soon on famous movie cars, complete with a brief description of each car, and pictures of them.  Stay tuned.