Star Cars - Where Are They Now

    Did you ever wonder what happened to all those cars from famous films and TV series? As a kid, i was fascinated by em'. Sittin' in front of the tele like an enthusiastic kid would do in my early years. Now, i wonder what happened to all those batmobiles,  or where Mr.Bean ‘s car?

Batmobile

    Sometimes upstaging their human counterparts, cars have starred in films since the very beginning of cinema history. And like actors some have gone on to a peaceful retirement while others have had their careers cut short as a result of fast living..

    The Batmobile is one vehicle that has become as well known as its co-stars. Evolving from the comic through the various films and, as pictured here, the 1960s TV series.

 

The old skool Bat Mobile

Holly Nitrous Batman! =P

    The Batmobile has appeared in several forms. The originals from the films ‘Batman’ (1989), ‘Batman Returns’ (1992) and ‘Batman Forever’ (1995) are on display in the Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick. This car was driven by Michael Keaton in ‘Batman’ and ‘Batman Returns’

Ass with Wings

    For 2005′s ‘Batman Begins’ and 2008′s ‘The Dark Knight’ the Batmobile underwent yet another makeover as Christian Bale fought the evils of Gotham City.

Bad Ass Bat Mobile

KITT

    Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick is also the retirement home for a1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, that its owners claim starred as the crime fighting ‘K.I.T.T’ (Knight Industries Two Thousand) of the hit 1980s series ‘Knight Rider’. The vehicle was apparently purchased directly from David Hasselhoff. I still remember the the theme song from the series.

The Iconic "Knight Rider"

Mr Bean’s Mini

    The British Leyland Mini 1000 owned by the ‘child in a grown man’s body’ (as Rowan Atkinson has described his character) was central to many of the storylines in the 1990s TV series. The two original minis used managed to escape destruction by tanks (caused by Bean’s careless parking in one episode) and other perils to find more peaceful homes in the Cars of the Stars Museum in Cumbria and the National Motor Museum in Hampshire.

Original Mini Coopers from ‘The Italian Job’

    The three iconic Mini Coopers from ‘The Italian Job’ (1969) played starring roles and became the stuff of legend with their jaw-dropping stunts – which apparently the cars needed little modification to perform.

The Italian Job - 1969

The Italian Job - 2003

James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5

    The cars in these classic films are almost as revered as Bond himself. The Aston Martin DB5 is arguably the quintessential ‘Bondmobile’, featuring in ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Thunderball’ amongst others. The car (which is in perfect working condition – including gadgets) has been owned by American radio DJ Jerry Lee since 1969 and was auctioned on October 27 for £2.6 million.

Ecto-1’ or ‘The Ectomobile’ from The Ghostbusters

    The humble 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance, converted into ‘Ecto-1’ by Universal Studios in order to transport the Ghostbusters, has been imitated and replicated all over the world – it can even be ‘liked’ on Facebook!

    Three cars played the Ectomobile in the films (one of these was leased for filming and only purchased later) and their whereabouts are now uncertain. It has been speculated that the Ecto-1 that was put up for sale on eBay (biddings closed at $45,100 – short of the minimum bid – and it went unsold) was a replica not an original, and that the actual cars are sitting at Universal studios having undergone renovation. A ‘faithful recreation’ of Ecto-1 is due to be auctioned at Historics at Brooklands in London and is estimated to sell for between £60,000 and £70,000.

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