Star Cars - Where Are They Now?

Did you ever wonder what happened to all those cars from famous films and TV series? What happened to all those batmobiles, or where is Mr Bean's car? Have you ever wondered if the van from Only Fools and Horses is still alive? Now, below you will know all about your favorite Star Cars…

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 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’

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.

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

Thelma and Louise’s Ford Thunderbird

Five blue 1966 Ford Thunderbird cars were used in the making of the Oscar-winning classic ‘Thelma and Louise’ (1991), starring as the vehicle for the iconic road-trip. One of these cars sold in 2008 for $65,000 at an auction in Italy…

‘Greased Lightning’

In the film ‘Grease’ (1978), a battered 1948 Ford Deluxe becomes ‘Greased Lightning’ after a makeover from the T-birds, and Danny Zuko (John Travolta) later drives it to victory in a race against rival gang the Scorpions. One, apparently the only ‘Grease’ car available in Europe, is available for hire from ‘American Dreams’ vehicle hire and was recently used in the TV show ‘Everybody Dance’

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

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 – in which apparently the cars needed little modification to perform

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 has 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.

The Trotters’ Reliant Regal van, Only Fools and Horses

The comical three-wheeled yellow van used by the Trotters in the popular TV series (originally broadcast between1981 to 1991) has practically become a symbol of British eccentricity in itself. One of the vans used in the series was auctioned in the UK in 2007 for £44,000 and another (the main van used in the series, which has been hired back to the BBC on occasion) is on display at the Cars of the Stars Museum in Keswick.

Source : http://www.carsodd.com