Racing Movies You Have To See If You Love Cars

There’s nothing like spending a night catching up on some cinema, whether it be rewatching a cherished favorite or exploring movies that never hit mainstream popularity, but are a highly underrated piece that is worth your time.

If you need some ideas for your next movie night or entertainment that centers around car racing in some form or other, we have some suggestions: these are the best racing movies of all time, according to the enthusiast crowd here at CarBuzz. Some may be familiar gearhead favorites, while others are obscure, under-the-radar flicks that are worth a watch – either way, we don’t think you’ll be wasting any time setting these up on the TV.

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Arguably one of the best race car movies to come out of the past decade is the movie that depicted Ford and Ferrari’s infamous battle for the 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in 1966. Based on the true story of the Ford Motor Company’s attempt to purchase Ferrari and its motorsport division, this racing movie details the exploits of the late Ken Miles and tuning legend Caroll Shelby to develop their core weapon against the Italian machinery: the Ford GT40.

The raw soundtrack of engines and seeing the drivers’ perspective during the racing sequences are highlights of this film, with certain sequences emphasizing the pure sound of the GT40’s mid-mounted engine within its cabin. Ford v Ferrari is a must watch.

Rush (2013)

Before 2025’s F1 The Movie starring Brad Pitt and the rise of the Apex Grand Prix team, there was 2013’s Rush, a biographical film depicting the rivalry between two Formula One drivers of the 1970s, Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Chris Hemsworth, best known for his role as Marvel’s ‘Thor,’ stars as the British James Hunt, while Daniel Brühl portrays the legendary Lauda.

Much of the film depicts the real-life clash between the two drivers during the 1976 Formula One season. Adding to this film being ahead of its time when it comes to showcasing the world of Formula One racing in cinematic form, the film’s score was composed by none other than Hans Zimmer, who would go on to also compose the score for the 2025 F1 Movie.

The Fast and The Furious (2001)

Any car enthusiast who grew up within the late 90s/2000s is no stranger to the import tuning scene, and one of the key contributors to the culture’s rise has widely been credited to the very first ‘The Fast and the Furious’ movie. Though it debuted more than twenty years ago (and the film series has shifted drastically from its original roots), the film continues to leave an impression among many modern car enthusiasts today, and has even given rise to other forms of automotive media in the digital age — from vehicle technical director Craig Lieberman’s YouTube channel, to no shortage of apparel and other merchandise paying tribute to one of the most important racing movies of the Y2K.

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The star cars themsleves, from the Toyota Supra to the Dodge Charger R/T have also spawned many tribute builds, or collectors seeking any of the remaining survivor movie set cars. If that isn’t enough, the words of character Dominic Toretto proclaiming everyone is done ‘for family’ are memorable quotes anyone can associate with this film.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

While 2 Fast 2 Furious continued to win fans of street racing movies, the third installment in the series, Tokyo Drift brought the world of drifting to a widespread fandom and audience. Like preceding films in the series, this film, which saw the series shift from the United States to the Japanese street racing and tuner culture scene, has also cultivated its own following. It is also responsible for putting prominent JDM tuning brands like Veilside on the map for modern JDM fans, with the widebodied Mazda RX-7 FD3S and Nissan 350Z (Z33) being just a few of the featured vehicles that have made Tokyo Drift resonate among car enthusiasts to this day.

Thunderbolt (1995)

Jackie Chan is known for putting Hong Kong and Chinese cinema on the map with his action-packed, stunt-heavy films that usually see himself at the helm of the daring choreographed stunt sequences. But one of his efforts that is sometimes overlooked is one of the best racing movies of all time, within the eyes of car enthusiasts in Asia.

Thunderbolt, first released in 1995, is an action sports movie that sees Chan’s character behind the wheel of various Mitsubishi sports cars, a notable pair being the film’s signature Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III and a race-car specification Mitusbishi GTO. This was made possible in part by Jackie Chan’s working relationship with the Japanese car brand that saw various models make appearances in many of his films at the time.

Cars (2006)

Pixar

The Pixar animated film, Cars might not be one of the conventional race car movies out there, but it still makes for a family favorite about the rise of a ‘rookie’ race car, Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, and his exploits in a small town along Route 66.

On the surface, it may seem to be a film designed only for children, but even older car enthusiasts will find this film interesting – as we saw among CarBuzz staff vehemently defending its position on this list – with the first film also including the voice work of the late actor and racing driver Paul Newman as ‘Doc Hudson’. Eagle-eyed car spotters will also notice the inclusion of real-life vehicles as various characters throughout the film, such as Sally Carrera being none other than a 996-generation Porsche 911 Coupe (which even spawned a real-world tribute build by the German manufacturer).

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Senna (2010)

When it comes to depicting the legend and story of one of Formula One’s most accoladed drivers, Aryton Senna, the 2010 documentary is one of the best F1 movies worth adding to your watch list. Directed by filmmaker Asif Kapadia, who also oversaw the documentary ‘Amy’ (focused on the late British singer Amy Winehouse), Kapadia takes a similar style to retelling Senna’s career and life; as the documentary strays from traditional conventions and does not use interviews, but relies on archives of Senna’s voice, voiceovers/home media clips from Senna’s family, and other historic motorsports media from start to finish.

C’etait Un Rendezvous” – It Was a Date” (1976)

This short film, directed by French filmmaker Claude Lelouch, may not be a full feature film, but its narrative, complimented by the raw soundtrack of a Ferrari 275GTB roaring down through Parisian streets at dawn, make it one of the best ‘street racing’ movies of all time. Truth be told, the car featured and used to film the entire sequence was Lelouch’s personal Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL sedan, and the one-take driving sequence on active public roads even saw the French director risk his own life and safety to get the entire film shot without interruption. Getting it done on time was an impressive cinematic feat, which continues to draw admirers to this day.

Lelouch’s short film was even repurposed as the music video for Snow Patrol’s song, ‘Open Your Eyes’, and served as the inspiration for a promotional film shot by Nissan to debut the then-new 350Z sports car.

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Initial D (2005)

The Japanese anime and manga series, Initial D, is well-known to any Japanese car enthusiast, or JDM culture fan, and it also spawned a live action film that just celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. This adaptation of the original Japanese series, originally released in Cantonese, also served as the acting debut for Asian pop singer Jay Chou, who starred as the protagonist Takumi Fujiwara. Other well-known Hong Kong/Asian cinema stars, such as Edison Chen and Anthony Wong, also make an appearance, all within the real-life backdrop and environments of the mountain passes where many of the series’ racing sequences were filmed. Minus some details within the plot and characters, this attempt at a live-action Initial D film is still among the genuinely good racing movies worth watching at least once.

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Motorway (2012)

A largely under-the-radar film that debuted in 2012, Motorway is a unique action hit that combines Hong Kong kung-fu cinema with extended car chase sequences. The story centers on a police officer’s attempts to track down an elusive getaway driver, who has mastered a certain technique involving a controlled burnout and powersliding through a narrow 90-degree angle turn to escape from pursuers. Vehicular action is also this film’s centerpiece, with multiple car stunts and maneuvers akin to kung-fu stunt sequences, also taking center stage throughout this movie’s runtime. Some underrated enthusiast cars also feature as the stars too, including a stealth-pursuit first-gen Audi S4 sedan, to the getaway driver’s various JDM tuners that include a Nissan 240SX/180SX and an R33-generation Nissan Skyline.