Here are 14 of the best self-driving cars from TV and film

Arguably the original autonomous car, Knight Industries Two Thousand – better known as KITT – was a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Cousin to the Camaro, crime-fighting KITT piloted the 5.0-litre V8 under the bonnet all by itself using artificial intelligence, science... and of course, some technical tinkering from female professors – such was culture of the day.

(Image - Universal Studios, Glen A. Larson)

The Knight Automated Roving Robot, KARR was the prototype to Knight Rider's KITT. Referred to as its evil twin, where KITT (the goodie) was programmed to protect life, KARR (the baddie) was programmed for self-preservation. Inexplicably indestructible despite falling off a cliff, the CPU from KARR never really died, providing quite the cliffhanger to the popular series.

(Image - Universal Studios, Glen A. Larson)

1963 movie The Love Bug plays on the cutesy appeal of the 1963 VW Beetle. "Herbie" can drive itself, negating the need for the driver for his races. But because it's so loveable, it makes friends with humans and beats the baddies (literally) anyway... mildly ironic when VW is looking for its autonomous driving software to be 'accident-free'.

(Image - Walt Disney Productions, Dir: Robert Stevenson)

Shapeshifting from 1976 black Chevy Nova into a 2004 red ‘Vette C5 and a whole host of other models, Super Hybrid is the car that doesn’t ‘run on fuel [but] blood’ instead. Sounds stinky and yes, you did just read 'car' and 'shapeshifting' in the same sentence. This freakily possessed motor feasts on anyone that tries to drive it. Probably doesn't help your deep-seated concerns about AI.

(Image - Kevin DeWalt, Oliver Hengst, Tim Kwok, Dir: Eric Valette)

Longstanding member on the list of murderous cars, the 1958 Plymouth Fury depicted in the corny horror favourite Christine is another demonically possessed motor. Less science – though plenty of violence – Christine's demented ways possess her driver, too. Which is as outlandish and nonsensical as it sounds.

(Image - Delphi Premier Productions, Polar Film, Dir: John Carpenter)

Fortunately, the robot taxi depicted in the 1990 movie Total Recall brings us back to the land of science and computer coding. Johnny Cab is arguably a more accurate vibe of taxis in the future. The humanoid quipping sarcastically to Arnie might have a better sense of humour than today's ChatGPT-based robots, though.

(Image - Carolco Pictures, Dir: Paul Verhoeven)

The 1990 movie Demolition Man depicted the year 2032 and featured a number of GM concept models. Sandra Bullock's police dept-issued Ultralite not only drives itself, but also enables on-the-road video-calling. As wild as this would have seemed in the early '90s, it turns out these movie creatives were surprisingly visionary.

(Image - Silver Pictures, Dir: Marco Brambilla)

The 2004 Audi RSQ was an historic concept created specifically for a whole nine minutes in the Will Smith movie, I, Robot. As he would expect to be in 2035, Smith reads through documents behind the wheel of his fancy German motor until he takes over control, weaves through the approaching robot army and saves the day (but of course). We salute the use of computational limitations.

(Image - Davis Entertainment, Laurence Mark Productions, Overbrook Films, Mediasteam IV, Dir: Alex Proyas)

The best bit about the horror genre is its ability to take the mickey out of itself. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the 1986 flop Maximum Overdrive, when a comet crosses Earth making machines sentient, including this M274 Mule military 4x4. Rebelling against their masters, lots of driverless vehicles, deaths and plot holes ensue. But, like Fast X, it's enormous fun, so there's that.

(Image - De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Dir: Stephen King)

Moving away from demonic possession and computer science wizardry to actual wizardry, the 1962 flying Ford Anglia in the first Harry Potter film is a wonderful literary device that gets the pre-teen scholars around the small issue of driving without licences or insurance. Magic.

(Image - Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films, 1492 Pictures, Dir: Chris Columbus)

In the Keaton-Nicholson-Basinger classic that is 1989's Batman, the tricked-out self-driving hot rod was an amalgamation of Chevy Caprice, Buick Riviera and other scraps powered by a C6 ‘Vette engine. It was built in the UK for director Tim Burton and inspired decades of driverless Bat-led creations.

(Image - Warner Bros.,The Guber-Peters Company, Polygram Pictures, Dir: Tim Burton)

Self-driving Ford Explorers as featured in the original Jurassic Park didn't need drivers, relying on electrified tracks. Less futuristic than some on this list, but still a measure of autonomy and much like the pods found on campuses and at airports these days. Not great for trying to make a hasty getaway from human-munching dinosaurs, mind.

(Image - Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Dir: Steven Spielberg)

James Bond movies are always a reliable resource for fancy gadgetry and hot cars. In Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan merrily remote controls his BMW 7 Series before [spoiler alert] crashing it into a shop window. Guess you can do that when you don't fear injury. Technically not a self-driving car, but it at least looks like it is.

(Image - Eon Productions, United Artists, Dir: Roger Spottiswoode)