3 Real Life Vans That Look Like The Mystery Machine

The Mystery Machine is nearly as timeless as the "Scooby-Doo" franchise as a whole. For more than 50 years, our favorite team of teenage mystery solvers has been piling into a bright green and blue van with their dog to find out who's really behind the mask. As a result, the Mystery Machine may just be the most recognizable van in the world across multiple generations.

It only makes sense, then, that at some point, you might start to wonder what kind of van the Mystery Machine is. If you've ever looked at the Mystery Machine in a Scooby-Doo TV show are movie and thought: "Hey, that looks familiar," you just might be onto something. It's worth noting, though, that over the years and various movies, shows, spinoffs, and specials, the Mystery Machine hasn't always looked exactly the same. The signature paint job is constant, but the shape and dimensions of the van have changed over the years. Let's look at three examples of vans that closely match the Mystery Machine in the real world.

Many folks (understandably) go straight to assuming the Mystery Machine is a Volkswagen Type 2; more widely known as a "VW Bus." Barring that as an option, though, there are a couple of vans that match the looks of the Mystery Machine. Perhaps the most similar in appearance to the cartoon van is the Dodge A100. A quick glance at the Dodge A100 makes it pretty obvious why people suspect that it's the inspiration for the Mystery Machine. It shares the signature round headlights and flat front end. 

In addition, the model was available as a windowless panel van, just like the Mystery Machine is portrayed with. Most notably, though, the Mystery Machine is often presented with an all-chrome front bumper, a signature feature of the A100. It may seem like an open and closed case. However, there is another van that throws a flag on the play. The Dodge A100 makes a good case for being the signature mystery-hunting van, but it's not the only one with those design cues.

The Chevrolet G-Body van from model years 1964 to 1970 also resembled the Mystery Machine. Like the A100, it has a flat nose and two round headlights lighting its path. It doesn't have the chrome front bumper found on the A100, but it does match a couple of design cues on some Mystery Machine drawings that the A100 lacks. The angled windshield glass on the G-Body van appears to be shared with the Mystery Machine in some instances. The glass stretches completely from the roof to the lower body panel at a slight angle. 

Perhaps the most convincing argument for the G-Body, though, is that these vans were largely sold without rear side windows, as they were mostly used for commercial purposes. The cartoon van's drawings changed a bit between shows, networks, spinoffs, and so on. In light of that, it's safe to assume that the Mystery Machine may be a blend of both vans with a little paint inspiration from hippie-era van culture. Rolling the VW Type 2 into it is a fair assumption, too. There is one instance, though, where we can tell you exactly what kind of van the Mystery Machine is.

In the 2002 live-action "Scooby-Doo" movie, the Mystery Machine was portrayed with a 1972 Bedford CF Van. If you're reading this from the U.S. and haven't heard of the model, that makes a lot of sense. We didn't get them here, and they're mostly found in Australia. While that may seem like an odd call for an American-based franchise, it makes a lot of sense when you find out the film was shot in Australia.

The Bedford CF, though, is likely just a victim of circumstance due to the shooting location. Its design is a pretty drastic offshoot from the original Mystery Machine with the exception of the round headlights. Overall, in a live-action film that isn't focused on the van, though, it makes sense not to stress much about a perfect lookalike. All that aside, this is the only time we can definitively say which van model the Mystery Machine is. Otherwise, it is, in itself, a mystery. It's completely understood, though, why a quick glance at any of these vans in the real world would make you think you're looking at the starting roots of a Mystery Machine clone.