These TV and movie cars are now on display in Los Angeles

Used three times in a little-known series called Back to the Future, the plot of which sounds extraordinary and unlikely to have caught anyone’s attention barring a few dedicated science fiction enthusiasts from the Eighties. Certainly not a film likely to contain any noteworthy dialogue. This model on display at the Petersen was the only V6-engined (in)famous supercar used in all three of the BTTF pictures.

One of just three surviving Torinos left that saw service in the original TV series from the late 1970s. Indeed, it’s called Car #1, which, reading between the lines, suggests it was the first Gran Torino used. Actors Glaser and Soul signed the headrests, along with other crew members.

Yet more niche Eighties moviemaking on display here, this time about a team of parapsychologists fighting ghosts in New York. Yeah, us neither. This one was used in the 2021 reboot Ghostbusters: Afterlife as well.

Used in Will Smith’s final sojourn as time-travelling ‘Agent J’, these monocycles actually have motorbike seats and handlebars within, well, a giant wheel. Simple, really.

Built over a Ducati in a film that itself builds upon two superlative entries (and one less superlative one), it’s the Moto-Terminator. The Ducati’s original engine and tyres remain, here forming the basis for the terrifying shell. Apparently, because the handlebars had to be cut to accommodate guns, stuntmen found it difficult to manoeuvre.

One of the best superheroes gets one of the prettiest coupes. You’ll no doubt remember the chase sequence the LC is deployed in. 

Spielberg returned to the big screen in 2018 to deliver this spectacular, nostalgia-heavy movie about a virtual reality simulation called OASIS. No details on the car, but it’s used in the film by the heroes to escape the baddies.

Well, if you’re going to hunt down supernatural beings, might as well do it in a big Chevy. This Impala served in all 15 seasons of the series, and one episode, we’re reliably informed, was told entirely from the perspective of the car.

Hmm, another strange entry here. This contraption housed a Chevy V8 on a ’67 Impala frame, packed inside a bodyshape that utilised Rolls-Royce jets and turbine blades pinched from a Harrier fighter jet. Two were built for the film, and three to help market it. This is one of those three. ‘Batman’, huh. Wonder what happened to that franchise.