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From Speed Racer to Transformers, there are interesting animated cars. Relive yesteryear and discover the vehicles that inspired old car cartoons.
Some Classic Cartoon Cars
Some car enthusiasts purchase cars. Some build model cars. Others draw them! For as long as there have been Saturday morning cartoons, there have been animated vehicles. People have even made those animated versions a reality with some impressive customizations.
Like the cartoons themselves, there are a lot of exaggerated features on these cars, but there are parts of them based on reality. We know that projects like Disney-Pixar’s Cars have taken inspiration from actual vehicles, but what about classic animation? What elements did they borrow from real-life cars? Take a look at 10 memorable cars from old cartoons and see if you recognize any familiar elements from legitimate, drivable vehicles.
The Flying Car (from The Jetsons)
Although the famous flying Jetsons car still hasn’t come to fruition, it is based on a real car: the 1954 Ford concept, the FX-Atmos. The FX-Atmos was first seen at the Chicago Auto Show in 1954. The Jetsons first aired in September 1962. Like FX-Atmos, the Jetsons car has a glass dome for its occupants.
Appropriately enough, the FX-Atmos was inspired by a jet aircraft, hence the rocket-like fins and the cockpit for passengers. With a very futuristic look at the time, the FX-Atmos was a fitting choice for a TV show about a space family with a flying car. Will the Jetsons car ever become a reality? We’ll see. It was set in 2062, so there’s still some time to make it happen.
The Model T (from Popeye)
Always a convertible. Popeye is always in a drop top. I suppose it’s so that viewers can still see Popeye. It was probably easier to animate Popeye, Bluto, and the rest of the group normally rather than positioning them inside one with pillars, windows, and a roof overhead. Popeye has sat behind the wheel of a few different vehicles over time. As the various eras of animation evolved, so did his cars. By 1940, Popeye’s vehicle was more rounded with curved fenders.
In “The Spinach Roadster,” a six-minute piece made in 1936, Popeye is in an early Ford Model T. It looks to be an earlier model with sharper edges on the fenders. It’s a little more simplistic. This vehicle probably saw some rougher days, as it was more of a jalopy in this particular cartoon.
There weren’t as many choices back then, but there was some thought given to the kind of vehicle Popeye was driving. The Model T was immensely popular. It was a car of the people. Popeye didn’t seem to be overly wealthy, so he would likely be driving a Tin Lizzy. Meanwhile, Bluto comes along in his larger, fancier roadster/speedster-style vehicle, with an exaggerated, long hood. It almost looks like a Renault Viva Grand Sport with a smidgen of 1934 Chevrolet Master Deluxe. Bluto was driving faster and hogging the road every step of the way. The contrast of the cars in this instance also helped magnify the clash of styles between Popeye and Bluto.
A Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III (from The Pink Panther)
Another cartoon character in a convertible, pretty much always. The Pink Panther started as a live action movie in 1963 before morphing into an animated TV show, comics, made-for-television specials, and a pair of rebooted movies in the 2000s. A variety of vehicles were shown throughout the 124 short films starring the animated pink cat. Like other cartoons, these vehicles were sometimes exaggerated and given a particular artistic style, but you could still see the inspiration of some actual cars there. One short film, for example, showed the Pink Panther driving what appeared to be a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III convertible. Other times, he’s driving a Model T or a Volkswagen Beetle ragtop.
Though it was never used in animation, a one-off show car named “The Panthermobile” was created for the credits of the 1969 live action Pink Panther Show. It was during the same TV era of vehicles like the Batmobile and the Monkeemobile. The Panthermobile was an all-pink model built on an Oldsmobile Toronado chassis at a cost of $100,000. That’s the equivalent of over $475,000 today. Up front was an open cockpit and in the back (accessed by a side clamshell door) were reclining seats completely covered in pink shag upholstery. Instead of a rear-view mirror, the vehicle was equipped with a black-and-white TV monitor. It certainly took some imagination to create this! It’s impressive and kind of surprising, looking back, that it was made in real life for the live action TV show instead of on paper for the animated version.
Cruella’s Car (from 101 Dalmatians)
One animated vehicle that wasn’t exaggerated very much was Cruella de Vil’s car in the 1961 101 Dalmatians movie. It was shown several times in the movie, usually with a loud ‘honk, honk!’ from the horn as a forewarning. The long hood with a powerful V8 engine was inspired by a 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Weinberger Cabriolet and 1936 Alvis Speed 20 SD Drophead Coupe. Cruella’s version is burgundy with black fenders and running boards. There’s a little easter egg for you to look for, too: the headlights and bumper make a scowling face. It is, after all, the car of a Disney villain.
To achieve a more realistic look, Disney animators went through quite a process. They came up with the idea to build a model car out of cardboard with bold, black lines around the edges. The suspended the model in the air with kite string, placed wooden dowels in the areas the wheels are, and placed a long piece of black cloth over the top of them. When they pulled the cloth, the dowels spun, giving the vehicle a moving effect. Disney filmed that process and then ran the footage through a Xerox process, which translated the penciled paper drawings into line work onto animation cels. The cells were then painted for the final film version. It was a cost-effective way to animate the vehicle, and the process worked so well that it was used again in The Aristocats.
The Mystery Machine (from Scooby Doo)
We can’t talk about cars from old cartoons without mentioning the Mystery Machine. We’ve covered the Scooby Doo van before, but it’s worth mentioning again. It’s based off of a 1960s panel van. The exact kind? That’s unknown, but you can see it shared different characteristics with everything from a Dodge A100 to a Ford Econoline to a Volkswagen Bus. Scooby Doo, Where Are You? originally aired in 1969, so we know that it was based on early or mid-60s models. Take an in-depth dive into this animated automotive icon in our special look at the Mystery Machine. While you’re at it, find out where it placed on our list of The Best Hot Wheels Cars of All Time.
The Gadgetmobile (from Inspector Gadget)
It doesn’t seem that old, but Inspector Gadget started airing in 1983, so it’s already 40! Like the Mystery Machine, there’s no set vehicle that the Gadgetmobile drew inspiration from, but you can see elements of certain vehicles in it. Some claim it’s a Toyota Supra or maybe a Nissan 300zx (although it wasn’t in production until 1983). Others see a resemblance to a S1 Lotus Espirit or even a Matra Murena. Take a look at the photo (or rewatch some of the cartoons) and decide for yourself. No matter which side you end up on, there’s no denying the Gadgetmobile was a cool-looking sports car of the ‘80s. Even the van version of the car was impressive!
Bumblebee (from Transformers)
If you want to talk about old car cartoons, there may be none with as much of an automotive focus than the animated Transformers cartoon that aired between 1984 and 1987. A Pontiac Fiero, Ferrari Testarossa, and Porsche 911 Turbo were all included in the series that later spawned a series of blockbuster movies. Among the coolest cars? Smokescreen took the form of a Datsun 280ZX. Optimus Prime was a 1984 Freightliner Semi truck. Wheeljack was a 1977 Lancia Stratos Turbo and Sideswipe was a 1974 Lamborghini Countach LP500S, too. However, one of the best is still Bumblebee as a simple yellow 1967 Volkswagen Beetle.
The animation and dimensions of the 1980s TV show version weren’t exactly spot on (that hood was pretty short and sloped from some angles), but the idea was there, and the model was easily recognizable. That was a VW Beetle. Maybe it stood out more because so many of the other cars were impressive sports cars with sleek lines or rugged, heavy-duty vehicles that were well-suited to battle Decepticons. Bumblebee was swapped out into a Chevrolet Camaro for the live-action movies because the Volkswagen Beetle reminded director Michael Bay too much of Herbie the Love Bug.
A Bel-Air convertible (from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show)
If you’re a fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle, you may remember some of the episodes that featured four-wheeled classics. The Model T is represented in one episode. In another, Boris is sitting behind the wheel of a Model T taxi cab, front hand crank and all. Another episode has a larger sedan with a long hood and curved fenders. It borrows from perhaps a Packard Custom Eight 740 Club Sedan and a little bit of a Studebaker President Eight State.
There’s also an episode where Boris is driving a red and white convertible. It’s reminiscent of the 1958 Bel-Air convertible with the quad headlights. It’s also got a very large tailfin, similar to the 1955 Chevy Aztec Autorama, a model that George Barris once customized. That particular version has been on car magazine covers from 1950s, 2000s, and 2010s. Not a bad vehicle to draw inspiration from!
The Bulletproof Bomb (from Wacky Races)
Wacky Races was another show from the late 1960s that prominently featured a variety of vehicles. It was an animated show inspired by the 1965 film The Great Race. The concept is a 24 Hours of Le Mans-style race, but with devious tricks and more outrageous vehicles. While the Transformers’ car forms were based on actual models, Wacky Races took a few more liberties with its animation.
The Mean Machine, driven by Dick Dastardly and Mutley, is almost like a rocket with wheels that is packed with gadgets to help win the race. A fin is on the top of the car and on the hood. The 1995 Batmobile from Batman Forever looks similar to the Mean Machine with the fins and large rear rockets. Penelope Pitstop drives more of a racecar, almost like the Lotus 30 sports car, which was built in 1964. Other modes of transportation that the rest of the racers used included a wheel barrel, a mining cart, a helicopter / boat hybrid, and an army tank.
The most realistic car of the bunch was the #7 car: the Bulletproof Bomb. It seems to be based on a 1927 Packard 6-cylinder Touring sedan. Everything seems to match, from the circular headlights, grille, and ornament on the top of the hood to the wheels and hub caps. The roof lines and rounded fenders fit, too. The Packard may not actually fit a pack of seven passengers in the front seat, but it is a sharp-looking sedan.
The Mach 5 (from Speed Racer)
What do you get when you mix the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger and Elvis Presley’s Elva Mk VI in Viva Las Vegas? Apparently, you get the Mach 5 from the Japanese anime series Speed Racer. Those are two cars rumored to have inspired animators of the show. Two other vehicles designers could have influenced the design of this unique pop culture classic are the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and the Ford GT40, which was used in Le Mans races in the 1960s.
The Mach 5 has its own personality, though. It incorporates more of a pointed nose and pointed fenders than either of those vehicles. Of course, the white paint, #5 on the door, and red hood decal make it stand out, too. An actual prototype was produced as a concept car in 2000. It was built on a 2001 Chevrolet Corvette chassis, but the body was modified to resemble the animated version that everyone is familiar with.
Whether it’s the original Japanese TV series from 1967, the American version of the show, the 2008 live action movie, or in video games, the design of the Mach 5 has remained mostly the same. There have been a few minor tweaks here and there, but it’s a design that has pretty much been unchanged for five decades. It just goes to show: you don’t mess with something that works.
