Movie and TV cars of the 2016 Paris motor show

What does James Bond have in common with Ghostbusters, Steve McQueen with Marty McFly (aside from Scottish heritage), Bumblebee with Austin Powers and Paul Walker with Mr Bean?

The 2016 Paris motor show would you believe, with the mysterious Hall 8 hiding a dimly-lit exhibition of famous cars from the big and small screen. Not all were the real deal, but those that were more than made up for those that weren't. Here are the best according to our eyes.

James Bond's Aston Martin DB10, DBS and Citroen 2CV

Bond's DB10 didn't look this swish after he ditched it in a Roman canal.

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Bond's DB10 didn't look this swish after he ditched it in a Roman canal.

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Bond's DBS after The Stig was finished with it.

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Stick-on bulletholes and giant 007 lettering distract from this 2CV's correct number plate.

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What movie car exhibition would be complete without a few Bond vehicles? The Paris exhibit went straight to the top of the list with the DB10 created for the most recent Spectre Bond film, plus Daniel Craig's DBS that was destroyed by former Stig Ben Collins in Quantum of Solace. Also on show was a mockup of the 2CV driven by Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only. We say mockup because it certainly didn't have 007 logos on its sides for the movie, and we hope the real thing had slightly more believable bullet holes than the adhesive ones of the display car.  

Patrick Jane's Citroen DS from The Mentalist

Patrick Jane's DS is a long way from E-Street.

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Your author has never seen The Mentalist, but learning that former E-Street star Simon Baker's character Patrick Jane drove a Citroen DS might push it onto my watch list. And what a lovely opportunity to publish an example of Citroen's most iconic model.

Columbo's Peugeot 403 Cabriolet

Columbo's Peugeot 403 Cabriolet was about as well presented as Columbo.

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If you're old enough to remember the 1980s TV series Columbo, you'll remember how crappy his car was. This crappy 403 Cabriolet doesn't appear to be the actual TV car, but is in a similar condition to the obscure-for-America French convertible driven by Peter Falk's eccentric character.  

Austin Powers' Jaguar XK8 Convertible

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Austin's most famous car was the Union Jack-coated E-Type, but the matching-hued XK8 from The Spy Who Shagged Me sequel had a similar impact. This example is missing the SWINGER number plates and has the wrong wheels, but stood out like a buttered crumpet among the baguettes at the show.

Mr Bean's Mini

This Mini looked a little too tidy for Mr Bean, and there weren't any Reliant Robins in sight.

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We remember Mr Bean's mini being a later Clubman-era model, along with being right hand drive, but the colour scheme was at least correct for this French Mr Bean Mini.

Sally Carrera from Cars

This real-life Sally Carerra was built to promote the original Cars movie in 2006.

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The real Sally Carrera was a cartoon animation, but Pixar built this real-life example from a 996 Porsche 911 to help promote the original film in 2006. With a raised roof, shortened nose and shortened wheelbase, Sally took more work than you'd think.

Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters

Who ya gonna call? The '59 Caddy from the original Ghostbusters is infinitely cooler than the one used in the 2016 remake.

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Not the try-hard 80s Cadillac hearse from the recent remake, this 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance is a faithful recreation of the example used in the original Ghostbusters movie in 1984.

1958 Plymouth Fury from Christine

The Plymouth Fury in the movie Christine was able to restore itself. This one seems to have similar capabilities.

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The Plymouth Fury from Stephen King's movie Christine liked to kill people. This one just looks great.

DMC DeLorean from Back to the Future

The DeLorean would need those rocket thrusters to hit 88mph with all that time machine stuff on board.

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Someone's gone to a lot of trouble in creating this replica of the DeLorean used for Back To The Future 2, which is replete with Flux Capacitor and Mr Fusion in the back.

K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider

A shadowy flight into the life of a man, who does not exist. Knight Rider. Or so the opening credits used to say...

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Also faithful to the original was this K.I.T.T.-spec Pontiac Firebird made famous by the 1980s David Hasselhoff series Knight Rider. This one had everything from the nose scanner to the fully kitted-out (snap) interior. We didn't touch Turboboost.

Jurassic Park YJ Jeep Wrangler

Someone clearly likes Jurassic Park a whole lot if this Wrangler is anything to go by.

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This is either an unused actual movie car or someone's a very sad Jurassic Park tragic. This square-headlight Jeep YJ Wrangler in Jurassic Park garb was immaculately presented, with no sign of any Dilophosaurus stains.

Transformers Bumblebee Camaros

Bumblebee from Transformers, before driving through a tunnel.

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This Bumblebee is the Bumblebee you could buy from the showroom floor, if you lived in the US.

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Before he drove through a tunnel, Bumblebee was a beaten up second-gen Chevrolet Camaro that famously had Megan Fox tinker under his bonnet. He then became the concept version of the fifth-generation Camaro (with the skinny door mirrors). The earlier version on show is a faithful recreation of the movie-cars patina, but the fifth-gen Camaro was actually a Bumblebee Camaro road car (with aftermarket skinny door mirrors) built to commemorate GM's involvement with the franchise.

Bullitt Mustang

The ride height on this Bullitt Mustang looks ready for launching off San Francisco streets.

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The actual 1967 Mustang GT fastbacks used in Steve McQueen's Bullitt weren't particularly beautiful after filming wrapped, but this example was faithful to the movie car down to its pony-less grille, torque thrust wheels, SUV-like ride height and Highland Green paintwork.

Dukes of Hazzard General Lee 1969 Dodge Charger

This General Lee doesn't look like it's landed any river jumps.

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Also a little clean to be real was this 1969 Dodge Charger done up in the style of the General Lee from the 1980s TV series The Dukes of Hazzard. It had all the right details though, aside from the doors that didn't look like they'd been welded shut.

The Fast and the Furious franchise Toyota Supra and Buick Grand National

The Fast and the Furious Supra has aged about as well as the 2001 film. Ew.

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Note: That is a cardboard Vin Diesel behind the wheel of this Buick Grand National.

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These could be the real deal, as we're hoping nobody went to the trouble of doing such grotesque things to a Supra, just to look like Paul Walker's. The Buick Grand National was a bit rough and ready like a real movie car, and even had a roll cage fitted. That's a cardboard Vin Diesel in the driver's seat though.

Herbie Volkswagen Beetle

Herbie Goes to Paris was a little more static than the other love bug outings.

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Who knows if this 1963 Beetle is the real deal given how many knock offs have been made over the years, but any Herbie replica brings a smile to our faces.

Le Mans Steve McQueen Porsche 908

Steve McQueen raced this Porsche 908 in the 1970 Le Mans 24hr, while filming Le Mans the movie.

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Steve McQueen made a movie about the Le Mans 24hr race, but he also drove in the 1970 race while filming it. Here is the actual #48 car he drove with August Deutsch.  

And the rest...

There were plenty of other impressive artefacts from French programs and movies unfamiliar to us, so here's the best of them for the sake of inclusion.

Any Facel Vega is as rare as hen's teeth, but when did you ever see a convertible?

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The wings on this DS would also be great for cornering stability.

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Like peas and carrots. The Citroen SM is front-drive and Maserati V6-powered, while the Alpine A610 is rear-engined with a Renault V6.

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The unmistakable Citroen H Van was built between 1947-81. Not quite Land Rover Defender material, but still more than half a century.

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Not sure what's going on here, but it's one part Cadillac limo, several parts transparent Peugeot 404 styling.

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We'd like to see the TV show or movie that featured this Alpine A110 circuit racer.

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What's your favourite movie or TV car? Tell us what you think in the comments below.