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Rocket League Cars in Real Life!

Rocket League has featured a ton of different car designs over the years. We looked through our inventories and found all the Rocket League cars in real life!

Jesse McGraw June 28, 2022

Rocket League - rocketleague.media.zestyio.com

Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars

I remember playing Rocket League back in 2015 on PC. It was a simple idea then. You get a car with rocket boosters and you have to bump a ball into a soccer goal. It’s been some years since I checked on the video game honestly, and I have to say, I’m out of my element. These Rocket League players today are doing aerial flips and hitting the ball with such precision that I can’t react fast enough. It could be time catching up with me or I need a little practice, but that isn’t the only thing with the game that’s changed.

There are so many different Rocket League cars now. I remember having just a small selection of cars like the Octane and Breakout, but now there are real life car models in the game that are flipping through the air and scoring points on me. Not only that, but Psyonix has really taken some inspiration from iconic cars to make some more of their own cars. With Season 7 having just debuted, I took to the challenge of listing every real-life car in Rocket League and identifying what Rocket League’s cars could be in real life. It was an easier task than trying to rank myself up to Diamond in competitive, I can tell you that.

Real Cars in Rocket League

BMW M240i

Starting off the list of real cars that have made their way into Rocket League is the BMW M240i. The BMW M performance car features the real sounds from its twin-turbocharged 3.0L straight-six engine and looks almost identical to the living model. It’s a proper German sports car for BMW fans, just with some extra boost and it can fly.

Ford F-150

Ford didn’t just bring their renowned truck brand to Rocket League, they gamified it. This specially designed Ford F-150 RLE holds all of the design queues found in the real truck, but adds some special touches as well. It has special roof lighting, additional aero parts, an engine in in the truck bed with the “Built Ford Tough” logo, and replaced its taillights with rocket boosters. Ford was so involved with the video game crossover that they went ahead and made an IRL F-150 RLE for the Chicago Auto Show back in 2021.

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Ford followed up with another car pack in Rocket League that included a version of the Ford Mustang Mach-E. In the game the electric powered SUV is called the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rocket League Edition, but it has an uncanny resemblance to the Formula Drift car.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R

Ford Mustang GT350R- rocketleague.media.zestyio.com

Alongside the Mustang Mach-E pack was a classic Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R option that stayed true to form. The only real difference between the Rocket League model and the real one is that the lighting is a bit more futuristic. Ford also paid homage to the person that made the Mustang what we know today and added Carroll Shelby’s number 98 on the decal and player banner.

Lamborghini Huracan STO

If you’ve seen a Lamborghini driving by in person, you’ve probably seen how they like to shoot flames out of the exhaust pipes. These Lambos already act and look like living Rocket League cars, so it made sense to bring the supercar brand into the game. The first Lamborghini pack featured the Huracán STO, an awesome V10 toting race car that is allowed to run on city streets.

Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4

The Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 is a limited series supercar that brings the Countach everyone loved from the 70s and 80s into the present day. Lamborghini celebrated the rebirth of their most iconic car by making it playable in Rocket League too. While the car pack didn’t bring the retro model with it, it did include some wheels from the 1978 model.

McLaren 570S

McLaren is another supercar brand with cars that look like they already have rockets strapped at the rear, so the 570S fit right when it was released on Rocket League. The British sports coupe features the real life sounds from the 3.8L V8 engine and looks exceptionally awesome with the rocket placement integrated in the rear.

McLaren 765LT

McLaren also brought their 765LT into the game and gave it a Miami decal ahead of the F1 Miami race. This track focused supercar features active aero with the help of actuators on its rear wing. Thankfully, Psyonix baked the feature in and has the wing pop up when hitting the boost!

Nissan Z

Nissan’s new Z car has some fans split when it comes to the design, but it is one of the only Z models to make its way into Rocket League. The Nissan Z found in the game is a direct representation of the real model and features the same sounds from the twin-turbocharged V6 engine. I personally love the car design, but I can live without those Faze Clan decals that came with it.

Aston Martin Valhalla

Rocket League isn’t just making cars to promote car brands, they also do some movie promotions that happen to include some awesome cars. This Aston Martin Valhalla for instance was part of a crossover with the 007 movies. The concept hypercar isn’t seen driving much in the 2021 No Time to Die movie, but it is a fun car to speed around in Rocket League.

Aston Martin DB5

Agent 007 has a ton of cars that he’s known for, but the Aston Martin DB5 is the epitome. The classic British luxury coupe made its way into Rocket League and looks identical to James Bond’s own DB5. There are no spy gadgets like the oil slicks or ejector seat, but having the license plate slide down to reveal the rocket boost really plays into the character of the car.

‘70 Dodge Charger

The next movie of note is one that’s a favorite of mine, the Fast & Furious franchise. The movies have only gotten more outlandish, so having them in Rocket League just makes sense. One of the first cars from Fast & Furious of note is also one of the most recognized from the films, Dom’s Charger. While the Rocket League model does resemble the drag strip ready 1970 Dodge Charger R/T with the big blown engine sticking out of the hood, the special rocket technology attached to the trunk isn’t true to the movie car. I mean, it could be in the next film at this point.

Nissan Skyline GT-R

Another favorite from Fast & Furious is the car driven by the late Paul Walker, the Nissan Skyline GT-R. The Rocket League Skyline has all the JDM flare that enthusiasts love and even features a similar street racing livery that was seen in 2 Fast 2 Furious. However, the real aftermarket logos on the hood from the movie were replaced with fake ones for the game.

‘68 Dodge Charger

Dom introduced a different Charger in The Fate of the Furious that started to enter that “this is ridiculous” realm that Fast & Furious is now known for. The 1968 Dodge Charger, commonly referred to as the Ice Charger, from the film is in Rocket League featuring the giant EMP tech at the rear and turbine engine with the stove pipe exhaust.

Pontiac Fiero

The most recent Fast & Furious car addition is what I picture if someone were to make a Rocket League car themselves. The Pontiac Fiero from F9 had a giant rocket engine strapped to it and then flew into space to destroy a satellite by ramming it. Psyonix clearly didn’t have to do much to the game model to make sense for their game mechanics.

DeLorean DMC-12

If someone were to ask you what is the most recognized movie car of all time, what would you say? A significant portion of those polled would say the Back to the Future car, otherwise known as the DeLorean DMC-12. The time traveling classic can be found in Rocket League and it has all of the gimmicks you could want. There’s all the futuristic neon lighting along the sides, Mr. Fusion on the rear engine, and flame tracks follow behind you when the car gets going fast enough.

Jeep Wrangler

The Jeep Wrangler has been synonymous with the Jurassic Park movies since the first one back in 1993, so it made sense to bring the off-roader to Rocket League when Universal was promoting the new trilogy. The Rocket League Jeep Wranglers feature Jurassic Park inspired liveries and look pretty close to the YJ generation from the movies. The engine in the rear and the spare tire being turned into a rocket is a little off-putting, but the car pack also came with a sweet T-Rex goal explosion so I’ll overlook it.

Cadillac Miller-Meteor Sentinel Ambulance

The Cadillac Miller-Meteor Sentinel Ambulance is better known to the general public as the Ghostbusters car. This classic Caddy is better known as the Ecto-1 than the name its original manufacture had given it. While the model that this ghost busting car is created from is pretty obscure, it’s definitely one of the most popular movie cars out there.

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Possibly one of the greatest TV cars of all time was KITT from Knight Rider. The sleek black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with the sweeping red light at the front is an ‘80s TV icon and was constantly flying through the air. The only thing missing is the snide comments from the car telling me how bad I’m doing.

NASCAR

The car world wouldn’t be very fun without racing, and Rocket League recognizes that. One of the motorsports inspired car packs you can find is from NASCAR featuring the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Toyota Camry Next Gen cars. Not only do race fans get the different auto manufacturers featured in NASCAR, there were a good number of different team designs included too.

Formula 1

F1 is gaining popularity again and I’m all for it. Rocket League included Formula 1 cars in the game that allows fans of the motorsport to showcase some of their favorite teams. There’s Alfa Romeo, Alphatauri, Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull designs available. Plus, the wheels feature Pirelli racing tires like the real F1 cars do out on the track. The empty cockpits are a little odd to see driving around, but so is seeing a F1 car rocket through the air to hit a ball.

Rocket League Cars in Real Life

Rocket League features some outrageous designs in their extensive catalogue of cars. I looked through all of them and identified as best I could the real-life counterpart that Rocket League’s cars may be derived from. Now, they aren’t going to be one-to-one perfect and some clearly have influences from multiple cars or have some sci-fi bits mixed in, but it’s pretty dang close. Plus, not all of the Rocket League cars are based in reality. So, cars like the Gizmo, Grog, Triton, the Hot Wheels models, the various different iterations of the Batmobile, and a handful of others are left out.

The dune buggy looking Octane was also pretty difficult to nail down. It has aspects of the Meyers Manx, Baja racing buggies, and the Caterham 7 all baked in. Luckily there are some Rocket League fans crafting their very own model in a garage making my work here a little easier. The group of engineers are currently working to build Rocket League’s star vehicle from the ground up. They’ve got project renders, scavenged junkyard parts, and have a pretty great start on the tube frame. The build is really starting to take shape and will hopefully be ready to hit a giant soccer ball by next year. Be sure to check out the team’s progress on the Octane here!

Alright, time to check out the list and see if you can get a car that looks similar to your favorite rocket propelled video game car at a dealership near you!