5 Iconic Car Paint Jobs From Film and Television

We here at TouchUpDirect have spent a lot of time talking about iconic movie cars. We’ve covered everything from the post-apocalyptic masterpieces driven by Furiosa and Immortan Joe to Thelma and Louise’s iconic Ford Thunderbird to the Dodge Charger driven by Steve McQueen in Bullitt to the…Dodge Charger driven by Vin Diesel in Fast and the Furious. But as a touch up paint company, its time to finally talk about the incredible paint jobs that exist in film and television. We love a distinguished paint job. We love a tacky paint job. We love subtlety. And we love Scooby Doo’s van. Join us as we look at some of our favorite paint jobs from tv and movie history. Before we get into the list, let’s take a look at some of the famous cars that made our honorable mentions list.

Honorable Mentions

Christine (Christine)

Look how beautiful she is with her gleaming Autumn Red coat and white trim. Such a lovely car would never murder a bunch of teenagers in California in increasingly creative, car related ways. Harumph. What a ridiculous notion.

Just kidding. She’s a murder car. We know that.

The sinister red color of the book’s 1958 Plymouth Fury actually caused some difficulty for the director, John Carpenter, when the Columbia Pictures adaptation went into production. Already a hard to find item as only 5,303 1958 Plymouth Furys were made, the 1958 version only came in Buckskin Beige. They found 24, paid handsomely for them and painted them Christine’s iconic color.

The Mirthmobile (Wayne’s World)

Based off of the SNL sketch, 1992’s Wayne’s World was an instant hit. But over the years, a surprising element of that film became quietly iconic: The Mirthmobile. Belonging to Wayne’s co-host, Garth, the Mirthmobile is a powder blue 1976 AMC Pacer with some truly rad orange and red flames painted to look like they’re bursting from the front wheels. This car is perhaps most famous for the legendary scene where Wayne, Garth and their friends sing along to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. The director, Penelope Spheeris, shot the sing-a-long in a way that often showed the car’s bright and colorful exterior as the boys inside joyfully rocked out to Queen. In 2016 and 2022, two Pacers used in Wayne’s World were sold off at auction by Barrett Jackson for $37,400 and $71,500. One can only assume that the people who bought the real car understandably wanted to re-enact that Bohemian Rhapsody scene on a regular basis.

Greased Lightning (Grease)

A set of wheels so cool it has a whole age inappropriate song written about it. Greased Lightning is interesting because it transforms through the film. A 1948 Ford Deluxe convertible, the Greased Lightning is first seen as a rust bucket that needs to be fixed up. As the T-Birds in the garage grumble about As they sing the song, the car becomes a dream version. It’s a gleaming ruby red with white lightning bolts. Truly a car to live up to its theme. But as the song ends, it returns to its disheveled state. As the movie goes on, the car gets fixed up with the candy red shine of the dream giving way to a white car. The white lightning bolt is now silver with a red outline as a nod to the dream car. The real version isn’t as flashy as the dream car but it looks damn good speeding down Thunder Road in a race against the Scorpions.

The Tumbler Batmobile (The Dark Knight Trilogy)

There are a lot of Batmobiles. Most of them are variations of gray and black so how hard could this really be? Very hard as it turns out. We’ve been blessed to have incredible designers creating our Batmobiles, from the sleek and intimidating Tim Burton version to the stealthy black and blue of Batman: The Animated Series. And while the Batman 1966 retro-futuristic Batmobile calls out to us with its glossy black finish and red highlights, we’re gonna have to give the spot to the Tumbler. Matte colors are all the rage and it might have something to do with Batman driving this matte black tank through the streets of Gotham. Created by production designer Nathan Crowley, the idea behind the Tumbler was a cross between a Lamborghini and a tank. Fans were so enamored with the vehicle that they made their own complete with a working flamethrower in the back. A truly unique way to keep the Warner Bros. copyright infringement legal team away.

The Dude’s 1973 Ford Gran Torino (The Big Lebowski)

This may seem like an odd choice for an iconic film paint jobs given that the car’s paint scheme seems to be “rust” but this Gran Torino is actually doing a lot of storytelling work. While the Dude’s car only appears in the film for a few memorable scenes, it tells the audience a great deal about the movie’s main character. While its paint job is described as “green, brown, some rust coloration”, its beat up nature obscures a stone cold classic. With its long hood and bold front grille, this vehicle is a ’70s icon. The Dude has not changed his car in decades, preferring to stick with what he knows in the Gran Torino’s tape deck full of Creedence tapes instead of something more stylish and modern. The car’s broke down exterior reveals its owner’s laid back attitude, as he only does enough to make sure that the car runs and doesn’t mind how it looks. The Gran Torino is also vital to the plot, with the Dude’s set of wheels really going through an ordeal. It gets stolen, crashed, and then set on fire by German Nihilists. Rest in peace, you beautiful rustbucket.

The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

One of the most gorgeous cars to ever grace the silver screen, the forbidden Ferrari belonging to Cameron’s strict father is clad in the company’s Rosso Corsa. This racing red reflects the temptation this car represents to Ferris Bueller and his friends. This Ferrari Spyder is especially alluring because it’s a showpiece that is rarely driven. Because it hasn’t seen much action and is maintained so carefully, the Rosso Corsa paint job is especially glossy and pristine. It’s such a sweet set of wheels that the valets steal the car and take it on their own adventure. Something about this car calls out, begging people to steal it. In reality, you just need to shell out a lot of money to obtain it. One of the replica Ferraris used in the film sold at auction at Bonhams for $313,000.

Milner’s Yellow Ford Coupe (American Graffiti)

As a study of car and racing culture in early ’60s America, George Lucas stocked American Graffiti with a plethora of amazing cars. There’s Steve’s white 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air Impala. The white 1956 Ford Thunderbird driven by the Blonde. Bob Falfa’s black 1955 Chevrolet 150. But perhaps the most iconic is Milner’s bright yellow 1932 Ford Coupe. Played by Paul Le Mat, John Milner is a rebellious drag racer and the car’s exterior reflects the character’s confidence, swagger, and scrappiness. He has a need for speed and you can tell from his heavily modded car. The bright and vibrant yellow is a slapdash job with its guts exposed. It conveys everything his opponents need to know. He’s here to race and he means business.

And now…without further ado:

Our Top 5 Paint Jobs

No. 5 – Doc Brown’s DeLorean (Back To The Future)

In the original Back to the Future script, Marty McFly traveled back in time by climbing into a refrigerator. Producer Steven Spielberg was concerned that children would accidentally get trapped in their fridges trying to replicate the movie so their time machine became a car. But what car could it possibly be? Ford offered them $75,000 dollars to make it a Mustang. Producer Bob Gale, in no uncertain terms, told them that Doc Brown would never drive a Mustang. Their eye fell upon the DMC DeLorean. Its distinctive gull wing doors gave the car a sci-fi air about it. To the people living in 1955, the time machine would look like a spaceship. The DeLorean DMC 12 had a stainless steel paint job but the filmmakers decided that they needed something that would pop more. It was painted silver so it would have an even more sci-fi look that stood out against the wholesome ’50s backdrop.

No. 4 – Bumblebee (Transformers)

This sweet little alien Autobot from the planet Cybertron is called Bumblebee. He has a bee themed paint job. That is surprisingly adorable considering that he is a transforming car robot that has cannons for hands. Bumblebee first appeared in 1984 and has continued appearing on screen for decades after. Originally a Volkswagen Beetle, Bumblebee was upgraded to a Chevrolet Camaro in the 2007 movie. It remained a Camaro until it got its own movie and returned to its Volkswagen form. Throughout all of its iterations, Bumblebee has retained its sunny yellow and black color scheme. The paint job’s bright nature really reflects the sunny and resilient nature that has made Bumblebee a fan favorite.

No. 3 – The Bluesmobile (The Blues Brothers)

Throughout the Blues Brothers, Elwood and Jake Blues commit all sorts of crimes in their road trip quest to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised. They are carried on this mission by the iconic The Bluesmobile. The fact that the Blues Brothers undertake their particular brand of chaos in a decommissioned police car adds to the delightful irreverence of this film. The Bluesmobile still retains its cop car appearance even as it’s engaging in high speed chases and other adventures. The film created an absolute icon by turning a symbol of authority into an agent of chaos.

No. 2 – The Jurassic Park Tour Vehicle (Jurassic Park)

This paint job is the epitome of 90s corporate tackiness and we’re obsessed with it. Introduced in the first movie and made from Ford Explorers, these tour vehicles sport a truly incredible mix of colors. It acts as almost an anti-camouflage, standing out in the park’s lush tropical terrain. The car’s yellow and green blend into each other while red stripes on the hood and roof call to the park’s dinosaur safari theme. Or perhaps the strips are meant to evoke claw marks, a prescient in-universe design choice for InGen to make considering these cars are about to get absolutely wrecked by dinosaurs. Futuristic and practical, these colorful vehicles have become beloved to the fan community with some even building replicas of the vehicle.

No. 1 – The Mystery Machine (Scooby Doo)

We know…the Scooby Doo van over all of these other icons?

Yes.

Here’s why. It is a hippie-mobile that helps to solve crimes. It’s flower power exterior lulls whatever scheming land developer dressed like a ghost into thinking that they’re only dealing with a bunch of teenage layabouts when really they have encountered a crack detective team…and Shaggy. Its sunny, calm colors and floral decals keep things light and bright when the Scooby gang is dealing with vampires who are actually a hotel manager trying to cheat his niece out of her inheritance. This vehicle is so iconic that more than one Scooby Doo fan has made this cartoon dream into a reality. You can find several Mystery Machines roaming around the world. Hopefully they’re just having fun and not solving mysteries.

We’re aware that we’ve missed a few cars. We made some absolutely brutal cuts to this list that caused a bunch of arguments around the office. Luckily, we’ve written about famous movie cars before. So if you want to read more about vehicles like Speed Racer’s Mach 5 or the iconic series of Aston Martin cars driven in the James Bond series, check out some of our older blogs. And if you happen to be one of the new owners of these incredible film cars, we have history helping people restore these pieces of movie history. Be it famous movie cars or your own beloved set of wheels, we’re here to help. We’ve got everything you’ll ever need to keep your vehicle in pristine condition. Need some help with the touch up process? We’re here to help you get the best possible coat for your vehicle. Between our blog posts and the giant library of instructions we’ve created, we’ve got touch up paint walkthroughs for everyone. And if you don’t want to read, check out the many instructional videos on our YouTube page.