Mustangs On the Silver Screen: The Top 10 Mustangs in Movies

The Ford Mustang has a long history of brightening up the silver screen.

From its first appearance in Goldfinger, the Mustang has been one of the coolest on-screen icons since the beginning. There may be other vehicles that have stolen the audience's hearts, but few have been as cool and coveted as the Mustang.

Over the past fifty years, Mustangs have made an impression in countless movies over a wide spread of genres. Everyone from Sylvester Stallone to Will Smith has been seen behind the wheel of one of these iconic vehicles.

Mustang lovers probably have a few films that come to mind when they think of the classic vehicle, but the options out there are truly numerous. It's impossible to count how many times the vehicle has appeared on the big screen.

That makes it all the more fun to try and narrow things down to it's ten best appearances. Read on, and we'll walk you through the ten best Mustangs in movies.

10. John Wick

One of the best Mustang appearances in all of film history came fairly recently in John Wick. Keanu Reeves played the already ironic titular character in 2014 and drove a gray 1969 Ford Mustang automatic complete with hood pins.

The vehicle makes numerous appearances. It's stolen at the beginning of the film, launching the whole revenge arc into action.

Keanau must have some love for that car because it's not the first time he's driven around it on screen. He also drove a 1969 Mustang fastback in the classic Point Break, and the vehicle sticks around for both of the Wick sequels.

We can't say we blame him for his enduring obsession.

9. I Am Legend

Will Smith is the only man left in New York City in I Am Legend, which makes the Mustang he drives around essentially his co-star. It certainly feels that way when you watch the film, with Smith spending the first half of the film driving around and making the city his own.

Smith drives a beautiful '07 Shelby GT 500 in the movie and we get to spend plenty of time with the car. Due to the post-apocalyptic nature of the story, the bright red mustang gets to be a prime highlight as the only car on the road in all of Manhattan.

The sound of its engine ripping through the otherwise silent concrete jungle is not one that's easy to forget. The vehicle is later put on the backburner as the zombie vampire creatures take over the film. But for the first half of the movie, there's nary a more captivating presence on screen.

8. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Fast and the Furious movies are the defining car franchise of the silver screen, so it was expected that one of the installments would make the list. You might be surprised to find our favorite was in this little loved installment, technically a prequel to the previous films.

In the film, an American goes to Tokyo and gets all caught up in the drifting culture. He puts together a bright green 1967 Mustang Fastback, painted that color as a tribute to another classic Mustang appearance we'll get to soon (keep reading).

Because it's a Fast and the Furious movie, there's a twist to his design. There's a lot of cool ways to upgrade a Mustang, but what our hero employs is less than traditional.

Instead of the standard engine, our hero installs a Nissan RB26DETT engine from an R34 Skyline. That gives his vehicle a real extra kick.

7. Basic Instinct

One of the most iconic films from the 90s also has one of the most essential Mustang appearances. Basic Instinct is probably best remembered for Sharon Stone's sly and sexual performance. But there are a few memorable car chases as well, with one that features a fantastic Mustang front and center.

Michael Douglas plays Detective Nick Curran in the film, and he's frequently seen behind the wheel of a 1991 Mustang GT 5.0 automatic convertible. It's a fantastic car and it gets some great casual screentime over the course of the film.

But sometime near the center of the film it really gets to shine. Curran gets embroiled in a serious car chase and has to take the vehicle up the flight and stairs and jump it from the top.

It's a serious action sequence as fine as any car chase in cinema gets.

6. Good Time

The year was 1967, and "I've Got You Babe" was a certified hit at the top of the charts. Sonny and Cher couldn't have been more popular, and they put their newfound mega-fame to good use.

They starred together in the film Good Time and wanted to have a 'his-and-hers' pair of vehicles for their characters. They commissioned world-famous designer George Barris to build them two custom Mustangs.

The twin Mustangs, one orange and one in hot pink, make a huge visual impression on the silver screen. They add a kooky 70s world to the film that helps make it greatly enjoyable.

The film reportedly lost money at the end of the day, but the vehicles live on. They were recently sold at a high price at an auction back in 2009. It just goes to show how long of a life these vehicles can have.

5. Goldfinger

As we mentioned before, the third James Bond movie also featured the first onscreen appearance by the Mustang. A chase scene between the vehicle and Bond's Aston Martin was filmed in 1964 around the Swiss Alps.

This was actually a few months between the vehicle's official introduction to the public.

The scene is best known for portraying one of Bond's best-known tricks: a tire-shredder that finally causes the Mustang to fall behind and for our British spy to get away.

4. Diamonds Are Forever

Goldfinger isn't the only Bond film that a Mustang makes a significant appearance in. The vehicle's second on-screen credit was actually in Diamonds Are Forever, another outing with Connery in the iconic role.

The vehicle in question is a brand-new '71 Mach 1 with a base 302 two-barrel engine. Bond was actually behind the wheel this outing, with a number of different cars made for production on the film.

There's a popular and well-discussed blooper in the film where the Mustang enters a tunnel on one side of the street and emerges on the other side in the opposite lane. Oops! Just goes to show that even professionals make mistakes.

3. Bull Durham

One of the best sports movies of all time features a  '68 Shelby convertible in a starring role. The vehicle is the primary mode of transportation for the washed-up major league baseball star played by Kevin Costner.

The film was released in 1988. The Mustang played such a big part of the film that it was actually featured on the film's poster alongside Costner and co-star Susan Sarandon. Around the time of filming, Costner actually owned a green GT 350 himself.

2. Gone In 60 Seconds

In 1973, a wealthy car lover named H.B. Halicki decided that he would write, direct, and produce his own movie about a car thief forced to steal luxury cars to bail his brother out of a dangerous situation.

Halicki used many of his own cars in the film, but the centerpiece car was played by two twin yellow 1971 Mustang Sportsroof models. Named 'Eleanor,' it's one of the most iconic appearances by a Mustang in movie history.

Not only did Halicki don every major role on the production, but he also decided to be his own stunt driver. There are over 50 minutes of car chases and more than 100 crashes over the film's runtime, and Halicki is behind the wheel at almost every moment.

He actually injured himself quite severely during the making of the film, and he would eventually pass during a stunt gone wrong while filming Gone In Sixty Seconds 2.

The film wasn't a massive hit upon its initial release. But over time, it developed a cult following and gained a massive audience. It was remade in 2000 and starred Nicholas Cage, who drove that same iconic Mustang over the course of the film.

1. Bullitt

There was no better car to come in at our number one slot than the iconic Mustang driven by action star Steve McQueen. No movie has done more for the Mustang's onscreen persona then Bullitt.

One of the best car chase sequences of all time is the centerpiece of the film. McQueen's character duels it out with another driver in his Highland Green '68 Mustang fastback. It's one of the most enduring car chases ever put on screen, and remains a fan favorite for movie fans and gearheads alike.

The highland green mustang has remained an inspiration for other drivers for years, including in the aforementioned Tokyo Drift. Actress Drew Barrymore even tried to purchase the original vehicle for use by her character in Charlie's Angels, but the owner at the time refused to give it up.

There's no denying it deserves its coveted spot as our favorite movie Mustang.

The Best Mustangs In Movies

The above is just a small fraction of the on-screen appearances the Mustang has made on the silver screen over the years. What did we forget? What are your favorite mustangs in movies?

Interested in modding your own Mustang after getting fueled up by hearing about these films? Check out our entire catalog of Mustang mods.