Top 10 Coolest Vehicles in Pop Culture

Heroes travel near and far to complete their quests and save the day — and they’ve gotta do it in style! From James Bond’s Aston Martin to KITT on Knight Rider, a trusty ride makes sure they’re ready for action.

There’s no way we could pick all of our favorites, so we’ll just have to settle for 10 of the coolest. Let’s race into action and check out the coolest vehicles across pop culture.

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10. The Jetsons’ Flying Car

Saturday morning cartoons had it all: fun, fantasy, and fast cars. Though this car isn’t as fast as the rest, it might be one of the most versatile. At face value, the Flying Car is just a personal flying vehicle. But even in The Jetsons‘ opening sequence, we get to see a number of incredible features. Their Flying Car can split off and create multiple smaller flying vehicles. George Jetson can even fold it up into a suitcase. And, best of all, it has autopilot! What more could you want?

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9. Speed Racer’s Mach 5

Here he comes, here comes, Speed Racer — he’s the coolest on wheels. After all, with seven different-lettered buttons on the steering wheel, the Mach 5 could do almost anything. Pressing A releases powerful “Auto-Jacks” to boost the car and jump. B gives you “Belt Tires” for an all-terrain vehicle. C releases the “Cutting Blade.” D is a “Defensor” and E illuminates with “Evening Eye.” When Speed presses F, he jumps into “Frogger Mode” and can drive underwater. Finally, pressing G releases “Gizmo,” his homing pigeon robot. Mach 5 has got racing down to a T!

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8. Mario’s Go-Kart

The Mario Kart franchise is a multiverse of its own, combining multiple Nintendo properties into one fast-paced racing game. There are countless crafts and excellent attachments that make Mario and friends’ vehicles all the more exciting, but the most recognizable of all is certainly the classic Mario Kart. Let’s a-go!

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7. Bumblebee DLX

It would be hard to mention cool vehicles without diving into the world of Transformers. Out of all the Autobots and Decepticons, there’s absolutely no one cooler than Bumblebee. Transformers are already some of the most interesting vehicles just for being able to shapeshift and blend into the modern world. However, Bumblebee cranks it up a notch. He uses the radio waves to communicate and blasts his communication into the world with style!

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6. ThunderCats ThunderTank

The ThunderTank rolled onto battlefields and right into our hearts. Panthro built the massive vehicle out of the wreckage of the ThunderCats’ space ship. Sure, it had energy weapons mounted on its claws and a multi-blaster on the back. However, maybe the coolest aspect of all is the mouth of the ThunderTank itself. It quite literally has jaws of steel. The power of one bite is staggering!

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5. Millenium Falcon

Star Wars™ certainly features many incredible vehicles — speeder bikes™ used by snowtroopers™ on Endor™, the snowspeeder™ used by Luke Skywalker™ in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back™ to name a few. Yet there’s one vehicle in the galaxy that always stands out in the battle against the Empire, and that’s the Millennium Falcon™. Han Solo’s™ ride has helped multiple heroes on their journey to save the galaxy, getting them out of tricky situations with speed and style.

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4. The DeLorean

Nothing says “cool” quite like Marty McFly and Doc Brown’s DeLorean Time Machine. For one thing, the way the doors open is iconic. Did you know that they’re called gull-wing doors, or falcon doors? Plus, once you get up to speed, you can travel through time. At 88 miles per hour, you’ll be on your way! And just like the Jetsons’ Flying Car, you won’t need roads where you’re going. The wheels turn to face the ground beneath you for the full flying experience.

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3. Mystery Machine

Like, zoinks! Saturday morning cartoons never got more far-out than Scooby Doo and the Mystery Inc. When the Mystery Machine rolled onto the screen, there was no telling what ridiculous hijinks the gang would get themselves into. Still, fans could be sure that we were in for a good time. It would be safe to say that the Mystery Machine started the trend of van-lifing first! How cool is that?

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2. Tron’s Light Cycle

Each generation of Light Cycle brings something new. And, even better, newer Light Cycle models look better and better. There’s no better way to travel on the Grid. Classically, the second-generation Light Cycle was the fastest ever made. It was said to be the Light Cycle of Kevin Flynn, the creator of the Tron system himself. Even though there are multiple generations of Light Cycles that follow, the second-generation still might be our favorite.

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1. Batmobile

Adam West’s Caped Crusader was the first Batman to have a bespoke Batmobile. Since then, every Batmobile has had a new design, coupled with new features and new abilities to match the current hero. One of our favorite Batmobiles is featured in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. Truly, the tactical armor, grapple hook, and hidden motorcycle might be one of the coolest on-screen Batmobiles of all time — and yes, it comes in black. Plus, shout out to the Bat-Pod, an offshoot of the Batmobile that continues a long legacy of crime-fighting cars.

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What’s your favorite pop culture vehicle? Are there other famous rides we should have included on this list? Race into the conversation at Sideshow Social Network or at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!