Most Iconic and Memorable Cars from the 1980s and 1990s Movie Era

Well known for it is appearance in the movies ‘Eleanor' and ‘Gone in sixty seconds', the Ford Shelby GT500 is an iconic classic car. This car does not make it to the list of classic cars solely on its appearance in movies but also owing to its timeless design. The Shelby GT500 was a 2-door purebred American muscle car. Created by famous racing enthusiast Caroll Shelby, the car was powered by a massive 7L V8 engine. The car managed to produce 355 BHP of power and 570 Nm of torque. A special version of the car- the Shelby GT500 Super Snake had an engine derived from the Le Mans winning ford GT40 Mk II. This engine managed to develop 425 BHP of power and 650Nm of torque. In comparison with the other mustangs of its time, the car had stiffer front suspension setup and disc brakes under the skin and other aesthetic upgrades like racing stripes, side scoops and modified lights and rear wing.

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1981 DMC DeLorean

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Known to most of us as the DeLorean time machine with flux capacitor, the 1981 DMC DeLorean was the first and only car produced by DMC. The car had futuristic looks and had rather rare body panels made out of stainless steel. Yes, you guessed it right, the DeLorean did not have any body paint. Instead, the stainless-steel panels had a bare brushed finish. The car was powered by a 2.85L V6 PRV engine which produced a meagre 130 BHP of power. DeLorean was available in 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission options. Sold from 1981 to 1983, the DeLorean didn't sell that high numbers. With a total of almost 9000 units sold back in the days, there are about 6500 cars surviving today.

Mercedes W123

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The W123 as we enthusiasts refer to now was the E-Class of the 1980s. The car was available in a variety of body types including the typical 4-door sedan, 2 door saloon and coupe as well as a 5 door estate version. The W123 has appeared in many movies from the 1980s as well as from the 1990s. As opposed to the above cases where the cars gained their fame because of the movies, the W123 appeared in the movies and series due to its fame as a successful car. Since the car was available in a variety of body types, Mercedes also offered a plethora of engines throughout the entire range. The most iconic engine options in the W123 line up were the 2.3L M102 inline-4 engine which could produce over 200 BHP of power and the 3L inline-5 diesel engine which was known more for its reliability other than the 227 BHP of power and 250Nm of torque.

Hindustan Motors Contessa

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Based majorly on the Vauxhall Victor FE series car, Contessa was the only muscle car ever manufactured in India. Due to its mighty road presence, the Contessa easily managed to get featured in a lot of Bollywood movies from the 1980s and 1990s. The HM Contessa was a true muscle car with its front engine and rear wheel drive drivetrain. The Contessa was a mixture of the Vauxhall design and Isuzu engines. The 1.8L petrol engine produced a meagre 85 BHP of power while the diesel variant used the same 2L turbo diesel which was present in the company's Ambassador sedan.