The top 10 wheels from the movies, from The Italian Job’s Minis to Steve McQueen’s motorbike

AT an out-of-the-way plot in Los Angeles, there appears to be a vast car park, but it’s not what it seems.

Judging by the nick of some cars, trucks and buses here, in fact, it may even be a scrapyard, with the assorted vehicles just waiting to be pulverised, their best days behind them.

What it really is, however, is Cinema Vehicles, a company who have loaned vehicles for everything from Wayne’s World to Alvin And The Chipmunks, The Hunger Games to Jason Bourne.

Moviemakers often come here to locate the perfect car or motorbike for their latest project, and vehicles have always played a pivotal part in films.

True, many of us grew up on Westerns, where horses and carriages were central to all the action.

However, even in the Silent days of Charlie Chaplin or The Keystone Cops, cars and motorcycles were starting to appear in some of the best scenes.

Here are our Top 10 Cars And Motorbikes From The Movies.

1 THE GREAT ESCAPE — TRIUMPH TR6 TROPHY (1963)

THE King of Cool, Steve McQueen was a very handy car-racing man, and not bad on bikes either.

In fact, he had his own Metisse Mk 3, a classic British bike, and the Oxfordshire company are said to be making a limited run of 300 Steve McQueen Metisse Desert Racers, replicas of the grey beauty he was rarely without in the mid-60s.

2 ROMAN HOLIDAY — VESPA (1953)

AFTER Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck swanned around Rome on their little bike, Vespa sales went through the roof.

They had sold half a million between 1946 and the movie’s release, but reached a million in just three years after it came out.

3 THE WILD ONE — TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD (1953)

MUCH bigger, tougher bikes featured in this classic, released just weeks after Roman Holiday.

Marlon Brando, in leathers, rolled-up jeans and intimidating boots, was also rather less debonair than Gregory Peck, but this movie, too, benefited from some very special motorcycle action.

Suddenly, the hero was on the saddle of a bike, rather than a horse, and parents hated the whole thing while the cool kids loved it.

4 GOLDFINGER — ASTON MARTIN DB5 (1964)

THIS classic car would feature in no fewer than seven James Bond classics, and remains the best for lads of a certain generation.

Personally, much of that is down to the Corgi version that came out the same year. Wish I still had it.

Complete with opening roof to allow our hero to eject, it was the world’s most-famous car after being showcased at the New York World Fair.

I still can’t drive, but if you gave me one of these, I would learn.

5 BATMAN — BATMOBILE (1966)

ANOTHER car that had a beloved toy version, it looked like no other and could be beaten by no other.

All-terrain, all but impregnable, self-powered and boasting every kind of gadget and weapon imaginable, you got out of the way when the Batmobile came thundering down the highway.

Built from an old Lincoln Futura, designer George Barris had bought it for a dollar, but sold it four years ago for almost $5 million.

He also built the fabulous Munster Koach, which gets an honourable mention here!

6 BULLITT — FORD MUSTANG (1968)

STEVE McQUEEN became the only man in our Top 10 to power both a car and a motorbike through a classic movie.

Reaching 110mph during filming, San Francisco residents called the real police, as they were alarmed by the noise caused by the car chase.

Two cars were used, one being destroyed during the filming.

The man who had owned the surviving one, and let the film team remove driving lights, grille and badge to give it its stealthy appearance, later stored it in his garage.

He’s said to have kept it there, under lock and key and unaltered, ever since.

When it one day appears at auction, it will also rake in a fortune.

7 CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968)

THEY made no fewer than six of these cars, which were inspired by the racing cars of Count Louis Vorow Zborowski, driver and engineer.

Today, there are several versions, including a completely roadworthy one you may see at various functions around the UK.

A new one was made for a theatre version, and at £750,000 went straight in the Guinness World Records as the world’s most-expensive stage prop.

A New York policeman built his own, for $100,000, while BBC presenter Chris Evans has also owned a version.

8 THE LOVE BUG — HERBIE VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE (1968)

RELEASED just days after Chitty, this was the third classic car-based movie of ’68, and it’s still as loved today as it was when it was first released.

Named Herbie after a boxer whose broken nose resembled the front of a Beetle, this much-loved wondercar starred in sequels Herbie Rides Again, Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, Herbie Goes Bananas and Herbie: Fully Loaded.

Like real-life VW Beetles, they clearly got their money’s worth out of this almost-human little car that stole our hearts.

9 THE ITALIAN JOB — MINI COOPER (1969)

MINI COOPERS plural, to be precise, as there was a red, white and blue one, and they all did some of the best driving stunts ever seen in movie history.

Tearing through the Italian city of Turin, they roared through water, across rooftops and everything in between.

The stunt drivers reported that the biggest problem they faced was the low ground clearance, but it was a dream free advertisement for Mini and the public clamoured to own the little motor cars.

10 EASY RIDER — HARLEY-DAVIDSON (1969)

TO the bohemian generation, Harley-Davidsons became as hip as Fender Stratocasters, jeans, long hair, cannabis and incense sticks, largely thanks to this movie.

Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper are the stars in this road movie about two blokes riding through the USA, after scoring some cocaine.

One of them was a bit straight-laced, the other was open to anything.

Whatever you thought of the movie or Hells’ Angels and the like, those bikes look tempting, especially on those roads!