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Which Films Increase Car Prices The Most?

Appearing on the silver screen will often increase the profile of any actor that graces a big-budget Hollywood flick, but what about the various vehicles that make appearances too?

We’ve looked into some high-profile cars from some of our favorite films and franchises, and studied how much their value increased simply by appearing in these movies. CarLeaseSpecialOfficers has assembled excellent data below.

Most Expensive Movie Cars Sold at Auction

Here are the most expensive cars to appear on film that have been sold, with some gargantuan sums of money changing hands.

1. 1968 Ford Gulf GT40 (Le Mans) - £8,114,610 ($11 Million)

Although a version of the Ford GT40 appears in the Fast and Furious franchise, it’s the iconic version from the 1971 film Le Mans.

A big part of the high price tag is due to the fact that it was genuinely built for racing, and took part in real-life events such as the 1968 Le Mans trials.

2. 1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Scaglietti ‘Tour De France’ (The Lovebug) - £4,950,329 ($6.71 Million)

Number two in the list comes from the 1968 film The Love Bug, as Herbie the Volkswagen Beetle eventually become one of the most recognizable cars in cinema history.

Incredibly, that’s not the car that went for the big bucks. This extremely rare Ferrari, only 9 of which were ever made, brought in a huge fee of almost £5million when it was sold in 2012.

3. Ferrari 375MM Berlinetta by Pininfarina (la Fortuna di Essere Donna) - £3,406,331 ($4.62 Million)

While many others on the list are from English language films based in Hollywood, this unique Ferrari was from the Italian comedy whose title translates as ‘Lucky To Be A Woman’.

Released in 1956, its high sale value of almost £3.5million comes from its association with glamorous actress Sophia Lauren and the fact that only seven units were ever built.

**4. Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger) - £3,391,610 ($4.6 Million)**

The Aston Martin DB5 from the James Bond franchise went for almost £3.4million back in 2010 to take its place in the top five.

There were two DB5s used in Goldfinger, one of which was stolen from a Florida airport storage facility in 1997, while the other was refurbished and sold for big money.

5. 1966 Batmobile (Batman) - £3,391,610 ($4.6 Million)

Though Christian Bale’s Lamborghini is a stunning supercar, it’s a classic Batmobile that has brought in one of the highest prices of all time.

1966 was the first full-length Batman film, starring Adam West as Bruce Wayne, with his early version of the Batmobile being sold for a huge £3.39million sum.

Can Being In Franchise Films Increase Movie Car Prices?

In addition to the above list of the most expensive cars on film, we’ve taken a closer look at featured cars in massive fan favourite franchises, such as Bond, Fast and Furious, Marvel, DC, and John Wick.

Aston Martin DB5 - James Bond

Featuring in the latest James Bond film No Time To Die, the aforementioned Aston Martin DB5 has been a staple of the franchise for years, appearing in multiple motion pictures since the 1960s. First released back in 1963, it was introduced as a natural evolution of the DB4.

Making its first appearance in Goldfinger in 1964, it has since shown up as Bond’s trusty vehicle in subsequent films such as Thunderball, Casino Royale, and Skyfall.

It’s often kitted out with all of the latest guns and gadgets, making it 007’s favorite car over the years. Eight replica DB5 stunt cars were used for No Time To Die, bringing a certain level of suaveness and sophistication to a franchise that sometimes relies on big explosions and special effects.

It remains to be seen whether or not the DB5 will appear in future films, with it still unclear who will replace Daniel Craig in the lead role. What is clear though is that Aston Martin’s partnership with the film studio is set to continue.

Back in 1964, the price Aston Martin were charging for a new DB5 saloon was £4,175, but after its many appearances in the Bond franchise, the DB5 has a valuation of a cool £486,000, a bond premium of 11540%. Of course, general inflation has to be taken into account, but appearing in Bond so soon after the car’s general release certainly helped skyrocket its price and reputation.

The scary part is that’s just the price for a standard DB5. If you’re looking for the genuine version from one of the movies, the price skyrockets even further. The DB5 that was the only surviving car from the original Goldfinger film, gadgets and all, sold at auction for an eye-watering £2,912,000 in 2010.

Ford GT40 - Fast and Furious

It goes without saying that the Fast and Furious franchise built its reputation on a superb range of cars that appear throughout the series.

First released back in 1965, the Ford GT40 showed up as one of the DEA-seized cars that the crew was looking to heist in Fast Five.

As well as being a superb supercar, it also turns out that the GT40 also had locations of ten cash houses built into its dashboard, with each holding $10million. This then leads Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to form a team and steal the $100million, as you do…

Even though the car seen in the film is not a genuine GT40 and was actually a replica that was built solely for the movie, it didn’t stop the value from skyrocketing after its starring role in Hollywood.

Back in 1965 when it was first released, Ford valued the GT40 at £12,069, but in 2021 the value stands at an eye-watering £2,800,000 after the appearance in the Fast franchise.

Audi R8 - Iron Man

Carrying on the huge franchises takes us across to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the jewel in the crown of one of Disney’s big superpowers.

Iron Man was the first film that Marvel Studios had produced, and it sent Robert Downey Jr into the stratosphere as one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.

The Audi R8 was chosen as the billionaire philanthropist Tony Stark’s main car in the 2008 titular film, and it helped bring Audi into light as one of the world’s most popular brands.

The R8 went on to be replaced by a later model in the following films, as it was taken over by the Audi R8 Spyder model.

The initial 2008 version, seen in silver and black in the movie, got a nice value boost after being associated with one of Marvel’s main Avengers, as it went from being worth £84,818 to a current value of £122,076.

2006 Lamborghini Murciélago - The Dark Knight

Sticking with the superhero theme but heading across to the DC Universe, Bruce Wayne is of course well known for flashing his cash and playing up to his playboy reputation, so that people don’t look too closely into what he gets up to in his spare time.

It’s often said by fans that Bruce Wayne is actually his mask, and Batman is his true self, with a big part of Bruce’s lifestyle being his range of supercars. The flashier, the better!

His 2006 Lamborghini Murciélago first appears in Batman Begins, with a variation showing up in more dramatic fashion in 2008’s The Dark Knight.

After The Joker threatens the life of a Wayne Enterprises employee, Bruce takes a strong hit from a truck that was intended to smash into a police car.

Although damaged, his Lamborghini is repaired and makes another appearance in The Dark Knight Rises, and is stolen in standard fashion by Catwoman while at Miranda Tate’s Charity Ball.

An interesting piece of the puzzle is that “Murciélago” is the Spanish word for “Bat”, so let’s hope the Gotham Police Department don’t make that connection…

In terms of the value, before showing up in Christopher Nolan’s Batman series the Murciélago was valued at £267,774, increasing to £299,990 after.

1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback - John Wick

One of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, Keanu Reeves had an incredible career resurgence after the initial John Wick film built up a huge cult following straight away, after its release in 2014.

His motor of choice is a Ford Mustang Boss 429, first released in 1969. The car has upwards of 500 horsepower and is a classy yet effective choice for the talented assassin.

In the first movie, the car is stolen by one of the main villains Iosef Tarasov, played by Alfie Allen, in an attempt to sell it as a form of revenge.

No-one gets the upper hand on John Wick for very long though, and he was able to recover the Mustang in the sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2, although it was damaged to a severe extent, meaning it stayed in the repair shop for the rest of the film.

Before appearing in the John Wick franchise, the initial release price of a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback was £3,558, which is now at £125,355 if any fans of the film want to replicate his stunning vehicle. Again, general inflation has occurred but this particular Mustang has skyrocketed in popularity since being associated with Keenu Reeves’ super cool assassin.