Nothing feels as good as spending a night at the movies. And if you’re a car enthusiast like us, a movie that involves cars. Some years ago, a genius found a way to merge the two by coming up with the drive-in movie theater, but that’s almost obsolete now.
Successful movies usually kickstart a domino effect: they make the actors, producers, and anyone associated with the movie famous. Even inanimate objects aren’t left out, some products become hugely popular just because they appeared in a movie. For example, the MKIV Toyota Supra became very popular after it appeared in the Fast and Furious movie franchise.
Many cars featured in popular movies always go on to become highly valuable. Collectors often pay insane amounts of money to own them. Let’s look at 3 cars that sold for a very high sum.
1. 1968 Ford Gulf GT40: $11 Million
Without question, there were many awesome cars that featured in the iconic 1971 movie Le Mans. But the Ford GT40 really stands out from the crowd. The most interesting thing about it is that it was both a subject car in the movie and also a camera car. It filmed some of the epic racing scenes in the Steve McQueen film.
But those aren’t its only accomplishments. Besides appearing in the movie, the car participated in real racing events such as the Le Mans trials (1968). Its achievements also include wins at Spa and Monza. It’s a lightweight car that was specially built for racing–together with 2 other cars–but it’s one of the only 2 left.
The car surpassed the previous record of US $10.34 million which was paid for a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Coupe in 2011.
2. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder
In 2008, a 1961 California Spyder made history when it was sold for US$10,894,900. It was previously owned by famous actor James Coburn. The actor purchased the car when he and Steve McQueen were in Brussels to film the blockbuster movie, The Great Escape.
The rare Nero Black V12 Spyder caused a bidding war before it was bought by Chris Evans–a media personality. It was the first car in the world to fetch more than US$10 million at auction. In 2016, the car sold for $17,160,000 at a Gooding & Company auction. The car appeared in the 1963 Academy Award-winning Film Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
3. 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
The movie Red Line 7000 was released in 1965 and featured the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. James Caan drove it in his first lead role, enhancing its appeal. The car sold for a whopping $7.69 million in 2009 at auction. Interestingly, this was way more than the movie’s actual budget, which was a mere $1.35 million.
If you own a movie car, or a lookalike, high-quality automotive images can help you get the best deal when you’re selling it. You never know it, it could be worth millions of dollars.
Featured image: RM Auctions.
