Today we’re featuring two hammered looking muscle car era machines from films that weren’t exactly blockbusters. Hell, they weren’t even considered all that popular when new, but they are good car guy flicks that we’d recommend you see if you have missed out so far. The first is the 1968 Barracuda used in the movie “Highwaymen” that was released in 2004. The second car is a 1967 Corvette that Dennis Hopper drove in 1981’s King of the Mountain. Both of these cars met gruesome deaths in their movies, but they went down fighting. Before we get too deep into that, let’s check yesterday’s fight results!
[box_dark]The Corvette Summer Corvette versus the Rout 66 series Corvettes
The Route 66 Corvettes DEFEAT The Corvette Summer ‘Vette
Well that Corvette Summer car is still ugly, but now it is also dead.[/box_dark]
We could have called today’s edition of celebrity car death match, “mean ass cars from awful ass movies” but we didn’t. While it is very true that the films that the 1968 Barracuda and 1967 Corvette starred in were cinematic barf, the cars themselves are damned cool in a BangShifty kind of way. We’ll start first with the 1967 Corvette that Dennis Hopper drove in the 1981 movie, King of the Mountain. The movie was about illegal street racing on Mullholland Dr in California. The bad guy, Hopper, was the dominant due on the illegal racing scene for years before wrecking his prized Corvette and going off of the mental deep end. Harry Hamlin, driving a replica Porsche 356 Speedster is the reigning king and the loony Hopper isn’t about to stand for that. Hopper’s character fixes the Corvette but it is still an ugly mess. He then challenges Hamlin to a race on Mullholland to see who is the real king of the mountain. The good news for Hopper is that the ‘Vette had toe cops to lead Hamlin for a portion of the race. The bad news is that he plummeted off of a cliff to his death and the destruction of the car. Damn…at least the thing went out fighting.
The second car is the 1968 Barracuda that played a starring role in 2004’s forgettable movie Highwaymen. This was the story about a lunatic guy that went around in a 1972 Cadillac killing people on the highway for fun. The good guy was negatively effected by this bad guy because his wife or some other family member had met their end at his hands. In order to fix the problem, the good guy goes on a cross country mission searching for the crazy Caddy driver. His vehicle is a hammered looking 1968 Barracuda with a super stock hood and racing background. Ultimately the car fights a big battle against the bad guy and is victorious, albeit destroyed. Hey, you win some and your lose some. We dug this car because it looked so pissed with the right stance and wheel/tire combo.
VOTE BELOW TO TELL US WHICH OF TODAY’S TWO CONTESTANTS SHOULD BE IN THE NEXT ROUND! THESE CARS MAY LOOK ROUGH, BUT THEY WENT LIKE HELL! ONLY ONE CAN MOVE ON! VOTE BELOW!
This one is tough, both cars are mean as hell. By just a little bit i think im goin with the vette
Vette
Barracuda, no doubt!
Ive never seen Highywaymen but Rhona Mitra is a Hottie. LOL
Tough call! I’m going with the Cuda because steel beats fiberglass!
Like a Timex it takes a liken and keeps on ticken. The Cuda all the way.
The ‘vette, but only because I attended a showing of the movie with my girlfriend,note I did not say I watched the movie…
vette
Vette, that thing is bad ass!
I’ve only seen “King of the Mountain” and we know the Vette is rust free! So the Corvette is the vote.
The hemi powered super stock Cuda that Jim Caviezial treats like a rental Toyota. Its supposed to be a real super stock Cuda in the movie complete with pistol grip shifted four speed and full load of cb’s and cop scanners. It loses its driver door, gets rolled, smashed and generally gets in a demo dual with Colm Feore’s puke green 72 Eldorado. Yes, I have the dvd.
Rhona Mitra is a major hottie and her amazing lips ride in that Cuda.
What a waste.
I guess we now know the answer to “WWJD” is . . . drive a HEMICUDA . . .
But I’d expect a tad more cheek turning . . . . Couldn’t he have just called 911?
Maybe it was “John Reese” wheelin’ the “Machine” instead . . . .
Why is it that none of the movie slam-bangers have apparently heard of the PIT Maneuver and insist on pointlessly smacking their automotive opponents broadside-to-broadside? (See photo of “Highwaymen” above)
Is that some sort of “Marquess of Queensberry” rule for movie car chases?
You gonna burn burn burn burn it to the wick
Ooooooh, barracuda…..
The ’68 Barracuda.
Have not seen either movie? I will watch both. The vette gets my vote.
highwaymen was a better movie, but king of the mountain had better driving scenes. love both cars, going with the red one.
Goin with the Vette. Loved that ratty ol car. Hated t see it die.
Gotta go ‘Vette cuz it torques off the purist guys who trailer thier junk instead of what they were made for And Hopper is a crazy SOB too
Michael
Cuda!