What are the top motoring movies of all time?

Sunday World

03-07-2025

As Brad Pitt's new F1 film hits cinemas, Daragh Keany picks his favourite motoring movies from over the years
As Brad Pitt speeds onto our cinema screens for the highly-anticipated new F1 movie it got us wondering where it will sit in the rankings for the best motor movies of all time.
Some of the early reviews would suggest it is worthy of a podium finish and is certainly better than some others that are out there. Let us never speak about Speed Racer again, deal?
Here are the best big screen car movies in no particular order. The only criteria I applied is that they had to be set on a race trach and they had to be good.
Matt Damon in Le Mans 66
Le Mans '66, also known as Ford v Ferrari (2019) This is a classic car movie dressed as a modern-day blockbuster and tells the story of Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles's (Christian Bale) early '60s attempts to build an American race car that could beat Ferrari at the 24-hour race at Le Mans.
Bale gives one of his best performances as a mouthy, brilliant, no-bullshit engineer and driver, and Tracy Letts's turn as Henry Ford II alternates breathtakingly between macho bluster and weak-kneed awe, but the real stars of the show are the cars, often shot from the inside to create an incredibly immersive work.
Cruise in Days of Thunder
Days of Thunder (1990) Tom Cruise is no stranger to high-speed thrill seeking, having driven the Infiniti Red Bull Racing show car back in 2011, but his first major experience behind the wheel of a race car was in his 1990 film Days of Thunder.
The American star played Cole Trickle, a young racing driver looking for success in NASCAR. Movie critics now describe it regularly as 'Top Gun on wheels'.
Hemsworth and Bruhl in Rush
Rush (2013) Ron Howard's biopic about the '70s rivalry between Formula One racers Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) and James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) is over the top in every way. And I am here for it.
As their rivalry and friendship develops the high-octane film takes viewers on a crazy journey that perfectly captures the danger (and allure) of racing.
Ferrell and Reilly in Talladega Nights
Talladega Nights (2006) Don't come at me because it's a comedy. One of Will Ferrell's biggest and best movies was this hilarious racing spoof, which followed the rise and fall and rise of a smug NASCAR champion racer, his complicated friendship with best pal and fellow racer John C. Reilly, and his rivalry with a pompous Frenchman played by Sacha Baron Cohen.
Senna documentary
Senna (2010) Successful, charismatic and with a career that ended in tragedy, Ayrton Senna's story was always going to be perfect for the silver screen. The beautifully-shot documentary depicts the career of the three-time Formula One World Champion from his early days at the karting track to his untimely death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The film won multiple awards including two BAFTAs and currently has an impressive 92percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Grand Prix
Grand Prix (1966) One of the first, and still one of the best motor racing films around today, Grand Prix tells the story of American driver Pete Aron, who becomes romantically involved with an ex-team-mate's wife. However, it's the racing scenes that really make this movie great.
Cars were fitted with some of the earliest onboard cameras to capture some incredible racing footage from Monaco, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. It also features cameos from F1 legends such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Jack Brabham and Graham Hill.
Last American Hero
The Last American Hero (1973) In Lamont Johnson's screen adaptation, Junior Johnson becomes Junior Jackson, a moonshine-running NASCAR pro played by a very young Jeff Bridges, hot off his career-making turn in The Last Picture Show (1971).
An underappreciated Hollywood gem, The Last American Hero says more about the culture of the Deep South as it does about NASCAR racing. Gary Busey, Ned Beatty and Ed Lauter headline a top-notch supporting cast of character players too.
Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari in Ferrari
Ferrari (2023) Michael Mann's biopic about Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) is less about cars and more about racing and one's self-destructive drive to be the best.
Enzo juggles life with his long-suffering wife (Penelope Cruz) and the woman with whom he's started another family (Shailene Woodley) and totally unhinged, deafening, and breathtaking racing sequences on the other end.