OZ Comic-Con names their top vehicles from pop culture

We all have our favourite cars from pop culture and many are detailed in our Carpool Old School series. The OZ Comic-Con team have compiled their list of the best vehicles from pop culture to celebrate the return of Oz Comic-Con to Melbourne on June 8th and 9th.

Oz Comic-Con launched in Australia in 2012 to replicate the successful North American Comic-Con and has cemented itself with Aussie pop culture fans who love everything about film, television, comics, manga, cosplay and more ever since.

You may agree or disagree with which vehicles made the list, but what we can all agree on is that they’re all personalities and stars in their own right.

1955 Lincoln Futura (1960's Batmobile)

An icon of the Batman empire, the 1955 Lincoln Futura rose to prominence in the 1960s TV series starting Adam West. Groovy man. The car had cost the production team $1 from Ford because it couldn’t be registered on the road and they spent two weeks and $15,000 creating a car they wanted to become more than an accessory but a character in its own right. And it sure did. One of the examples of this Batmobile was sold in January 2013 for $4.2 million. Holy Bouncy Boiler Plate Batman!

Read more: Old School: 15 interesting facts about the Batmobile

The DeLorean DMC-12 is best known as the time machine from Back to the Future but there was every possibility it might not have been. In earlier versions of the script, Doc and Marty travelled using a laser device and at one stage a time machine device attached to a fridge! The DeLorean was very much the right car at the right time and with its futuristic look (for the the 1980s at least) and unique gullwing doors, a fridge it certainly was not. There were reports that Ford had offered the production team a Ford Mustang to use for the film but this was declined. In an interview years later, screenwriter Bob Gale said, “Does Doc Brown look like the kind of guy who would drive a Ford Mustang? I’m sorry, no.” And boy was he right.

Read more: Old School: The story of John Delorean

K.I.T.T. which stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand is the smart and helpful co-star in the David Hasselhoff series of the 1980s, Knight Rider. The car originally went by the name T.A.T.T. which stood for Trans Am Two Thousand and in hindsight, they made the right choice to change it up.

When actor William Daniels, the voice of K.I.T.T. began working on the Knight Rider series, the character he was to voice had been created to have more of a robotic and synthesized voice. Daniels decided to change it up and morph the character's voice into something more real and human which allowed K.I.T.T. to have more natural charm.

"There's no reason for increased volume. I'm scanning your interrogatives quite satisfactorily. I am the voice of Knight Industry 2000's Micro processor, K.I.T.T. for easy reference, KITT if you prefer."

Detectives David Starsky and Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson worked to keep the fictional streets of Bay City, California, safe in the crime drama Starsky & Hutch. Starsky’s red with white stripe Ford Gran Torino became one of the most recognised cars in America during the show’s run. Back in 2014, a car claiming to be one of the originals used in the show sold for $40,000 USD.

There were seven Gran Torinos used throughout the series, with a plaque reading “20th Century Fox Film Studios,” and a nine-digit identification number on its firewall. Also the passenger sun visor was signed by the show’s stars. A car collector's dream.

Although the first Pursuit Special car shown in the film Mad Max was a 1972 HQ Holden Monaro, the one which has become the most well known is the the heavily modified Ford Falcon XB GT.

Built on a car originally assembled the Ford factory in 1973, the main mods to the car are the black paint scheme, spoilers, wheel arch flares, and front bumper. Also, eight individual side exhaust pipes were added (only two of them actually worked). The impressive supercharger sitting out of the top of the bonnet was also nonfunctional but hey, they look very authentic and iconic.

Read more: Cars of Mad Max

The 'Metallicar' is the nickname fans of the show Supernatural have given the 1967 Chevrolet Impala which has become a starting character in its own right. It's been through a lot during its almost 14 seasons on the show with the Winchester brothers which include being crashed, run down by a semi-trailer, and Dean taking a crowbar to the bonnet.

To make all those thrilling moments happen, there are actually nine 1967 Chevrolet Impalas on hand to use. The main Impala used in the everyday filming is referred to as Hero 1 Impala. With its 502 Big Block 550-horsepower engine and factory fitted air-con, it’s the most comfortable version of them all. Alexander Calvert who plays Jack, the Nephilim from the show will be present at this year's Oz Comi-Con event.

Oz Comic-Con Melbourne - ozcomiccon.com
WHEN: Saturday June 8th– Sunday June 9th
WHERE: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

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