# BMW in the Movies



## tim330i (Dec 18, 2001)

Thanks to our guest writer Oliver from Netcars.com ***8211; a used car search engine specializing in popular car brands such as used BMW, Ford, Audi, Peugeot and Volkswagen for this recap of BMWs on the silver screen!

*Taxi ***8211; BMW 760Li*
The 2004 re-make of Taxi may have suffered with poor ratings at the box office, and Queen Latifah may have been about as convincing as Dustin Hoffman is in the Meet the Parents franchise, but there were some good bits. The cars, for instance, helped keep Taxi just above the 'truly dreadful' film moniker. The BMW 760Li was featured in the picture, and while it may be an executive saloon, it still looks as menacing as Al Pacino in Scarface.

The 760Li represents BMW at its most luxurious, superlative best. It is the company's swansong for executive saloons and features a gigantic V12 power plant that can embarrass quite a few sport cars. It may be heavier than all of Jupiter's moons put together, but the 760Li is so cool we think it makes big-wig business very appealing, indeed.

*GoldenEye ***8211; BMW Z3*
There are many ways to promote a car, but we can't think of a better one than having it in a James Bond film. While Bond may be more accustomed to Aston Martins, he has had his hand on some of the coolest BMWs ever made. Pierce Brosnan's first Bond adventure, GoldenEye, saw him take the wheel of the BMW Z3. It was a match made in heaven for the Bavarian brand as Z3s started selling like hot-cakes after the film's release.

Escaping from terrorists can have a direct effect on your adrenaline levels and it can also make the car you're driving look cooler than anything, ever. And while the Z3 may not have been the most technically perfect car BMW ever made, it was immortalized forever by appearing in GoldenEye.

*I Know What You Did Last Summer ***8211; E36, BMW 328i*
The infamous car from the iconic and often duplicated scene where the kids run over and kill someone is the BMW 328i. The E36 model looked great ***8211; and, if we're honest, it helped the acting along a bit. The E36 variant was a popular choice during that time and the I Know What You Did Last Summer producers knew what they were doing.
It's the perfect car for college kids with rich parents. It encapsulated the whole 'American spoiled brat' image that the producers were obviously looking for. There's nothing like some European exotica to get the pulses racing.

*Tomorrow Never Dies ***8211; BMW 750iL*
Yep, another Bond film and another BMW, but this time 007 was given the keys to a top-of-the-range 750iL. And what a 750iL it was; fitted with missile launchers, tire spikes, self-inflating tires and the ability to be controlled via a mobile phone, Bond's 750 was cooler than the other side of the pillow ***8211; even though it was painted in brown. 
This particular 750 represented a new wave of sexy styling from BMW and even though Tomorrow Never Dies came out in 1997, the Bimmer still looks good today. We wouldn't say no.

*The World Is Not Enough ***8211; BMW Z8*
Ok, so the James Bond franchise likes BMW. The late '90s 007 films featured quite a few BMW cars, and one of the most iconic was the Z8 sports car in The World Is Not Enough. The Z8 was one of those cars that you wanted to drive. It looked good. It sounded good. And it was as rare as hens' teeth ***8211; but was that enough for BMW? No. That's why the Z8 appeared in the Bond epic ***8211; there's nothing like a bit of worldwide, mass market publicity to sell a car.

It didn't really work, though. Despite the Z8's visual appeal, unfortunately not enough customers bought it, and BMW scrapped it relatively early on in its life. It's a real shame, but it does mean that if you fancy one today, you'll be driving one hell of a rare car. And that is what BMWs are all about ***8211; exclusivity.

*Gone In 60 Seconds*
Was there a cooler movie made in the early 2000s? If there was, we haven't seen it. Gone In 60 Seconds was a movie dedicated to cars, girls and speed. Nicholas Cage was superb as a low-life, car robber with emotional family ties, and any car that was included in the film meant that its street credibility would shoot sky high.

The BMW 540i E39 variant was one of the 50 cars that Cage and co. needed to complete the order. It made the 540 ***8211; which was already a nice car ***8211; into a super desirable model. Competing with Mustangs and Ferraris is tough on any given day, but we think the 540i did a more than stellar job.


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## beamerGE (Nov 29, 2010)

In Gone in Sixty Seconds don't forget about the 5 series that was chasing Elenor!! Also have two more:
1. The 760LI in the first Transporter movie (got blown up)
2. In Fast and Furious (last installment) there was a 5 series in the race with Vin and Paul (got wrecked during the race)


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## GTFan712 (Feb 13, 2011)

In the opening scene of Tron: Legacy, the police motorcycle that chases Sam is a BMW.


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## chicagofan00 (Feb 10, 2008)

The new Mission Impossible movie is said to have the new 6 series along with an X5.


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## GTFan712 (Feb 13, 2011)

chicagofan00 said:


> The new Mission Impossible movie is said to have the new 6 series along with an X5.


...and the Vision Efficient Dynamics. Plus, there's a scene where they're on top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. I'm sold.


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## BIMMERUSAM5 (May 20, 2007)

*No mission is impossible.*



chicagofan00 said:


> The new Mission Impossible movie is said to have the new 6 series along with an X5.


2 words.........

Chuck Norris


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## x3brian (Jan 13, 2011)

Ateam....the bad guys are driving an e83 x3 in Germany.


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## 02BMW530 (Nov 19, 2010)

The Transporter with Jason Statham - e38 735i with a manual transmission. 

The opening is one of the best car chase scenes in my book. I was about 15 when it came out and I fell in love with BMW on the spot. 

Sent from my iPhone using BimmerApp


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## jusmills (Nov 18, 2005)

Mr and Mrs Smith: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt being chased on the freeway by a trio of 540i(s)...I think they were supposed to be M5s but its all good. Kinda embarrassing that they were outdone by a Minivan though :thumbdwn:, but that's Hollywood....


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## 02BMW530 (Nov 19, 2010)

jusmills said:


> Mr and Mrs Smith: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt being chased on the freeway by a trio of 540i(s)...I think they were supposed to be M5s but its all good. Kinda embarrassing that they were outdone by a Minivan though :thumbdwn:, but that's Hollywood....


I love the racing stripe on those. My fiancé...not so much.

Sent from my iPhone using BimmerApp


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## oh that guy (Jan 11, 2011)

In tomorrow never dies the E38 has M-pars. But when the tire inflates, it's on a bottle cap rim. Continuity editor=fail


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## mlukas161 (Oct 29, 2008)

I have a couple more great movies with BMW's

1.) Bourne Identity - black e46
2.) Ronin - black 535i

Both great movies IMO.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

mlukas161 said:


> 2.) Ronin - black 535i


+1

Ronin is still the best BMW chase sequence I've seen. And its a good movie too. Highly recommended rental.






Mesrine is another movie that features a BMW in Paris. Worth watching but its very very long and mostly in French.






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY4Gz7vHqoM&feature=related


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## x3brian (Jan 13, 2011)

Ah yes Ronin! One of the top 10 chase scenes! I forgot the chase car was an e39....the Audi steals that chase limelight.


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## oh that guy (Jan 11, 2011)

x3brian said:


> Ah yes Ronin! One of the top 10 chase scenes! I forgot the chase car was an e39....the Audi steals that chase limelight.


In Ronin? it was an E34


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

x3brian said:


> Ah yes Ronin! One of the top 10 chase scenes! I forgot the chase car was an e39....the Audi steals that chase limelight.


Audi??

The lead car is an e34 5 Series. You can just about see an M5 badge around 1:11. For a sequence like that in the pre digital age there was more than one car. I doubt they were all true M5s. The engine sounds very much like an e34 M5, but movies always add the sound in post. I've watched the clip a couple of times now. M5's have unique side view mirrors and back seat. We never see the back seat, but we do see the mirrors. It looks to me like the mirrors and wheels change. Some times the car has M5 plastic turbine wheel covers and in a closeup it doesn't.... After watching the clip a few times I'd say the 'hero' car was a real M5 and the stunt cars weren't.

The chase car is a Peugeot. You can see the Lion emblem fairly clearly at 1:03 and 2:58 in the clip I linked.


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## Mister Chow (Jan 1, 2006)

Perhaps X3brian was talking about the S8 when he was referring to Audi? :dunno:

There was a E28 5 series in Splash with Tom Hanks. I remember it mounting the curbs while racing through Chicago. One of my earliest impressions of 5ers as a sport sedan. :thumbup:


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## Darxide (Dec 17, 2010)

The 540i was not one of the cars on "The list" in gone in 60 Seconds (sadly, there were no BMW's on the list at all), but as stated earlier, it was the car the detectives drove and chased Elenor in.


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## ColomBull (Nov 27, 2009)

E34, 5 series looking good in 'Machete'


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## EdCT (Mar 14, 2002)

*The Last Run* with George C Scott features lots of great driving sequences - this one comes early in the film where Scott test drives an old BMW 503 convertible up a mountain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHEe3LO_TuE&feature=related

Later, he's chased by a jag sedan ...


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