Destroyed cars: Movie victims
Not long ago I reviewed the most famous movie cars. And while preparing the material, I suddenly realized that apart from being the fast and eye-catching means of transport for the protagonists, the cars were mercilessly destroyed… For the sake of a spectacular shot. In order for us to understand what a huge budget has been invested in this blockbuster, so that we tell our friends about a Lamborghini that was smashed… After all, the easiest way to surprise the viewer is to smash the maximum number of cars into smithereens.
Directors love to shoot expensive supercars, crazy chases, all kinds of stunts and expensive special effects. Because we love it, and a movie with a lot of crashed cars becomes a hit. But, as I naively imagined, broken, crumpled cars are computer graphics, or, in extreme cases, replicas of expensive cars. But it turned out that the budgets of some movies allow real supercars to be smashed. It’s enough to say that a whole car transporter truck with cars was smashed in the Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation. A lot of real expensive supercars have died irrevocably. Yes, not all of them are broken by the will of the director, their drivers often lost control. I felt sorry for these magnificent creations of human hands. So I came up with an idea to remember the broken automobile heroes, the real movie victims. Movies are listed in the order of their release, starting from the older to more recent.
Matrix Reloaded (2003) – Over 300 cars destroyed
Filmed in 2003, this fantastic action movie is interesting not only for its computer special effects, but also for the fact that many real cars were crashed during the filming. More than 300 cars were irrevocably destroyed. To film the movie, the Wachowski tandem ordered to construct ‘from scratch’ an entire highway, on which hundreds of cars could drive. Multi-day shooting of the famous chase cost a lot of money. Thus, the movie budget exceeded $150 million.
007. Quantum of Solace (2008) – The Aston Martin DBS drowned
The next ‘James Bond’ movie ‘Quantum of Solace’ with Daniel Craig was remembered not only for great acting, many chases and stunts, but also for the fact that during the filming, Bond’s favorite car, Aston Martin DBS, was destroyed. The driver of the supercar lost control on the wet road and flew off the track straight into Lake Garda (Italy). The driver escaped with minor injuries, and the crumpled car was taken out of the water with a truck crane. The cost of the Aston Martin DBS in the US is $161,000.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010) – The Ferrari F430 Spider damaged
This is a mediocre fantasy movie starring Nicolas Cage. But we are not discussing its quality here. The movie features a Ferrari F430 Spider, which is driven by one of the characters. During the filming of an episode in Times Square in New York, the stunt driver lost control of an almost 500-horsepower car and drove onto the sidewalk at high speed. The Ferrari demolished a lamppost and a newsstand, injuring two people who were taken to the hospital (escaped with minor bruises). The cost of the Ferrari F430 Spider in the US is $190,000.
Transformers 3 (2011) - 532 cars smashed, including the Chevrolet Camaro SS
In the movie, the yellow Camaro collided with a Chevrolet Tahoe Police SUV on a Washington street, but that police vehicle was not supposed to be there! It was not originally planned to crash the Camaro at all. A tragic accident happened: a real policeman, who was in a hurry to answer the call, drove through a fenced-in set. The policeman was sent to the hospital with injuries, and the Camaro was irretrievably damaged. The cost of the Chevrolet Camaro SS in the US is $56,350.
All other cars, allegedly broken in the movie, are actually copies, either cheaper replicas of supercars, or cars drowned during the flood, which would have been destroyed anyway. In fact, this movie holds the record for the number of completely destroyed and wrecked cars: 532 cars! The movie total budget was $195 million.
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) - 518 cars damaged, including a Lamborghini Aventador
518 cars were badly or partially damaged when filming another movie starring Bruce Willis. By the way, 132 of these cars were completely wrecked and destroyed. According to the movie director, John Moore, all this cost the creators about $11 million. Several G-Class Mercedes cars were not included in the estimate, which the company provided for filming for free. It is known that John Moore himself is a big fan of beautiful cars, so it was definitely hard for him to watch how stuntmen crash good cars. But the saddest thing is that by the merest accident, during one of the chases, a real Lamborghini Aventador was crashed! The director was furious. And not only because they destroyed the real Lambo, but also because no one filmed the ‘murder’ of the Italian supercar! The cost of the car in the United States is $445,000. A Good Day to Die Hard is the 5th part in the Die Hard film series.
Mission Impossible 5 (2015) - Ten BMW M3s crashed
Moreover, all the BMW M3 models belonged to the latest generation. A photo of a car transporter truck with broken BMW M3s was taken by people passing by in Spain. There were about ten of completely identical cars. It is likely that at least some of the wrecked cars are just copies of the M3 with standard motors and the usual suspension from the F80. The cost of the BMW M3 in the USA is $62,000. By the way, in the Mission Impossible 3, an orange Lamborghini Gallardo was blown to pieces in the explosion, which made the hearts of those who loved sports cars bleed.
Spectre (2015) - Seven Aston Martin cars destroyed!
According to stunt coordinator Harry Powell, this film set the record for the number of crashed Aston Martin sports supercars. James Bond’s favorite (and very expensive!) car was not spared for the sake of a unique scene. And they smashed seven cars at once. Let’s go the limit, as they say. The total cost of the crashed Aston Martin cars is estimated at 24 million euros. And these are unique car specially produced for the filming of James Bond movies, which makes them rare. This iconic car first appeared in Goldfinger back in 1964 and immediately became a cult icon. In the Skyfall (2012), the Aston Martin DB5 was blown up by the main villain Raul Silva, skillfully portrayed by Javier Bardem.
Doctor Strange (2016) - The Lamborghini Huracan destroyed
A talented and extremely successful surgeon is fatally injured in a car accident. He was driving a Lamborghini Huracan, which does not forgive a reckless attitude, including driving fast on a rainy night on an unlit road, talking on the phone and ignoring traffic rules. The Huracan, together with Benedict Cumberbatch, who was sitting inside, fell into the abyss. But you should not worry, as the actor is alive and well. As for the protagonist, despite being terribly injured, Doctor Strange defeats everyone in the end, which means that the Lamborghini, most likely, was not crashed. I did not find a single mention that the car was destroyed for real. The movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, so it is hoped that the fantastic Lamborghini Huracan remained intact, becoming a virtual victim, expertly drawn by a computer.
All Fast and Furious movies – 1,487 cars destroyed
In each part of Fast and the Furious its creators smash a large number of real cars. Employees of the British insurance company Insure the Gap found that a total of 1,487 cars were broken in seven films of the series. First, the absolute record holder was the 5th part, in which 260 real cars were destroyed, in contrast to the last series, where many cars were computer graphics. It turns out that more than one car crashed every minute of the movie. The sixth Fast and the Furious is almost as good as the fifth: only a few of about 400 cars survived.
350 cars were purchased for the filming of the seventh Fast and Furious movie, of which no more than 30 survived. The authors of this film decided to avoid using special effects as much as possible. What was their disappointment when, after the premiere, many viewers doubted the credibility of several scenes where cars were really destroyed, falling out of an airplane at an altitude of 4 thousand meters. The most expensive car crashed on the screen was the Lykan Hypersport, a limited-production Lebanese hypercar made by W Motors. The car jumping between Abu Dhabi skyscrapers in Fast and Furious 7 costs 3.5 million dollars.
Conclusion
Of course, you shouldn’t shed tears over the destroyed cars, as the main thing is that they saved the lives of people who were driving them. Vivid spectacular shots, in which cars explode, overturn, collide and burn, have a strong effect on the audience. Not a single action movie, not a single blockbuster can do without them. There is no point in worrying about the way in which the world works. But still, sometimes you want to be there, on the set, so that you can take this broken car for yourself in order to cure and save it. And then… sell it! Just kidding!
