The Most Iconic Vehicles From The John Wick Franchise

When "John Wick" hit theaters in 2014, a franchise was born, propelling its lead into one of the most violent and over-the-top series ever made. If there's one thing that you never do, it's kill John Wick's (Keanu Reeves) puppy, but another big no-no in the world of the John Wick franchise is that you never mess with the man's ride. People often overlook that the first film's violence ignites not because of the dog, but because of Wick's car.

Granted, slaughtering the man's puppy that his wife bought for him shortly before her passing didn't help, but it was Wick's 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 that pulled him out of retirement. Wick's Mustang is an iconic muscle car celebrated by enthusiasts and anyone lucky enough to lay their eyes upon it. As the John Wick franchise unfolded, more amazing automobiles graced the silver screen.

When you look at the franchise as a whole, it's full of iconic cars any enthusiast would want to add to their collection. This is true of all four John Wick movies, as well as "Ballerina" and "The Continental: From the World of John Wick." Some of the franchise's best rides aren't supercars, but they've been on the scene for decades. Each of these 12 vehicles appeared in the John Wick franchise, and each is important and iconic in its own way.

When you first sit down to watch "John Wick," you know nothing of the lead's violent past. All you're told is that John Wick's wife recently passed away, that she left him a puppy, and that he drives an absolutely beautiful 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 nicknamed "Maria." Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) beats the snot out of Wick in his own home, kills his puppy, and steals the car, and that's when the movie picks up speed.

Tarasov then takes the car to a chop shop, and Wick sets out on his mission of revenge that he metes out through wanton violence against the Russian mob. Wick drives a lot of cars throughout the franchise, but Maria is easily his most well-known. The car seen in the film isn't what it appears, and that's largely due to how valuable a Boss 429 is. They range in price from $175,000 to $550,000, so they're not inexpensive.

The production didn't use a real Boss 429 and instead went with a Ford Mustang Mach 1 with some modifications. Five were made for the film, and they all take some serious damage. A first-generation Mach 1 sells for an average of $44,750, so you can see why they went with that car instead of the ultra-valuable Boss 429, which isn't an uncommon practice in Hollywood when expensive automobiles are concerned.

After John Wick loses his '69 Mustang, he spends the rest of "John Wick" looking for revenge, but he doesn't do it without a sweet ride. He drives a 2011 Dodge Charger SXT, stepping away from the muscle car metal that launched the franchise. Still, the '11 Charger SXT isn't a bad ride by any measure, though it's not the fastest model in the lineup.

In the film, Wick drives the car throughout an intense action sequence in the final act, and it doesn't come out of it without a scratch. It's pretty much destroyed via some destruction-derby tactics Wick pulls against the Tarasovs as they try their hardest to take him out. Still, while Wick's driving messes up the car's panels, windows, and more, it's the 50-foot drop that truly does the Charger in.

The car serves Wick well in the movie, but it does seem like a departure from his earlier ride. It's likely that the production opted for a 2011 Dodge Charger SXT because of costs, seeing as they had to destroy multiple Chargers to film the final scene. That said, the car not only looks great on the silver screen, but it performs well under destructive conditions, keeping Wick alive so he can finish his business with the criminals determined to kill him.

In "John Wick," everyone's favorite assassin is given a choice of vehicles, though he passes on a particularly nice muscle car until the opening scene of "John Wick: Chapter 2." The film opens with Wick driving a dark green 1970 Chevelle. As with any car Wick drives, it's best not to get too attached, seeing as he only uses it on his quest to find his stolen Mustang.

You hear the car before you see it as Wick chases a man on a motorcycle through the streets, and an overhead camera makes the whole thing look like something out of "Grand Theft Auto." When the chase begins, the Chevelle looks spectacular, but it doesn't remain pristine for long, taking some serious damage when Wick manages to get the motorcycle to crash into its side.

After getting his car back from the Tarasov family, that's it for the Chevelle, but its short time on screen shows the car's power and handling to perfection. "Chapter 2" features plenty of impressive automobiles, but you can see how the increased budget of the second movie enabled the production team to use a car that sells on average for around $100,000. If you want one of your own for far less money, Greenlight makes a 1:64-scale version for $7.00, though it's not exactly street legal.

After destroying yet another beautiful muscle car, John Wick spends most of "Chapter 2" on foot, chasing one killer after another. Finally, at the end of the movie, Wick gets into the back of a much more modern car, a 2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II driven by Charon (Lance Reddick), who takes the assassin to a meeting with Winston Scott (Ian McShane).

The car only appears briefly for a single scene, showing Wick riding in the back with his dog, and that's all the audience gets to see. Still, a modern Rolls-Royce is certainly a departure from his usual ride, and it's not inexpensive either. Upon release, the 2015 Ghost Series II had a base price of $324,000, though it's unclear what the filmmakers paid for the film car.

Fortunately, unlike most cars Wick climbs into, either as a passenger or driver, it doesn't get wrecked. The car drives down the street without incident, offering some much-needed peace at the end of an incredibly long fight. Since Charon drives the car, it's reasonable to assume it belongs to Winston, so its inclusion at the end of the movie likely symbolizes the opulence and restraint of the man in charge of the Continental, since he consistently embodies those traits.

"John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" picks up where the second film ends, as John Wick and his dog find themselves cut off from the Continental and the focus of a highly lucrative hit. After riding in a cab fails, Wick spends nearly the entire film on foot until he meets Sofia (Halle Berry), who picks him up in a green 1995 Range Rover, saving him from further interactions with a plethora of unfriendly hitmen.

Not long after reconnecting, she drives him out to the desert so he can meet with The Elder (Saïd Taghmaoui). He's the only person who can undo Wick's excommunication, so the two meet, setting Wick on the path out of his predicament so killers will stop hunting him down for a hefty bounty. Getting there in a Range Rover makes a ton of sense, seeing as the '95 model included an advanced electronic air suspension, making it the perfect off-road vehicle for the sandy dunes of Morocco.

Range Rovers have always been luxury off-roaders, so its appearance in "Parabellum" ties into the franchise's themes beautifully. Unfortunately, it's not seen again after the desert scene, which moves Wick into another type of vehicle altogether. Still, seeing the Range Rover in a franchise that typically opts for muscle cars over luxury rides reflects the film's broad appeal.

After spending nearly the entire movie on foot or as a passenger, John Wick manages to drive in the third act of "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum." Instead of his typical ride, which is most often a muscle car, Wick hops onto a Yamaha MT-09 and engages in one of the best motorcycle chase scenes in movie history. He's dogged by hitmen throughout the action sequence and comes out on top.

While riding on the bike, which handles exceptionally well, Wick is chased by several killers carrying katanas. Without any sword of his own, Wick guides his bike easily along the road while taking out one bad guy after another. It's an intense action scene, which used real bikes as well as stunt bikes on rigs. One such stunt motorcycle and rig sold at auction in 2024 for $10,000, though it wasn't a functioning bike.

Seeing Wick on a Yamaha MT-09 isn't too unusual for fans of Reeves, as he's an avid rider with an impressive collection of bikes in his personal garage. Reeves even co-founded his own motorcycle company in 2011, ARCH Motorcycle, so it's fair to say the actor knows how to ride a bike, even if he used a stunt double for some of the scenes.

"John Wick: Chapter 4" doesn't pull any punches, nor does it hold back in destroying yet another amazing muscle car. This go-around, John Wick is in the driver's seat of a 1971 Plymouth Cuda. The car is driven mostly at night, and Wick doesn't waste time in absolutely tearing the car apart on the streets of Paris, France, as he takes out one hitman after another.

It's not entirely clear which version of the '71 Cuda he's driving, but given the sound under the hood and Wick's seemingly limitless fund of gold bars, it's probably the 426 Hemi V8, which is, of course, the most expensive version. These typically sell for around $1.4 million on average, so it's unlikely that's what actually appears in the film. One eagle-eyed member of the Internet Movie Cars Database suggested it was dressed up as a 1971, but had marker lights from subsequent years.

It's not uncommon to dress up a less expensive, but similar-looking vehicle in a movie, and the John Wick franchise has done so repeatedly. The reason Wick drives a Cuda in "Chapter 4" is podcast host Joe Rogan. He met director Chad Stahelski and complained about the lack of muscle cars in "Parabellum." A year later, Rogan suggested the '71 Cuda, and that's how it wound up in the film.

While the pivotal scene in "John Wick: Chapter 4" involves some serious car-fu via the aforementioned '71 Cuda, there are some exceptional motorcycles sharing the road. Wick rides an Aprilia Tuono 660, which is an amazing Italian bike, though you'd think Reeves would hop onto an ARCH Motorcycle to get in some decent branding in his own franchise, but he's yet to do so.

This is a movie where Wick rides a horse in the opening scene as well as he rides a bike, proving he's deadly no matter what kind of vehicle he's on. Reeves hops onto a 2020 Aprilia Tuono 660 immediately after finishing his killing spree around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but he's not on the bike for long. He does use it as a weapon, popping a wheelie and jumping off so it hits several people (pictured).

Even though it's on screen for under a minute, you can clearly see how well it handles as Wick rides through the streets of Paris. Fortunately, destroying one doesn't break the movie's budget, which was estimated at $100 million. Aprilia sells them for between $10,000, but had he ridden the Aprilia RS 660 Factory edition, it still wouldn't have been too expensive to destroy for the film's production, as they cost closer to $12,000.

The first, and hopefully not last, spin-off film, "From the World of John Wick: Ballerina," hit theaters in 2025 with Ana de Armas taking the lead role of Eve Macarro, while Keanu Reeves appears in a supporting role as John Wick. Unlike Wick, Macarro isn't as into muscle cars as he is, but she does drive a rather impressive automobile: a black 2016 Ford Shelby GT 350.

Macarro drives the car about midway through the film and into the third act. It's seen moving along an icy road, so it appears on screen, showing its exterior and interior for longer than most rides in the movie. Needless to say, the Shelby GT 350 is a desirable automobile, and it's not ridiculously expensive like earlier Shelby models. You can pick up your own for around $50,000, depending on condition.

After exiting the car for some ultra violence, Macarro abandons the Shelby and spends most of the rest of the film on her feet. It's unclear what happened to the car after she drives it, but it's fortunately not the only impressive automobile in "Ballerina." The Shelby was likely chosen for the film because of its connection to "John Wick" and the car that started it all, as the Shelby is also a Mustang, even if it's not a traditional muscle car.

Keeping up with her preference for more modern cars over John Wick's typical ride, Eve Macarro drives a 2012 BMW 6-Series in "Ballerina." Macarro sits in the driver's seat of the BMW 6 after her mission goes sideways. She jumps into the car, which recently pinned a man to a wall. Just when it looks like she's free and clear, an SUV upends her plans.

The car T-bones Macarro's BMW, pushing it several hundred feet back to where it was parked while firing an automatic weapon into it. This results in a fight and, sadly, the destruction of the BMW, which ends its time on the silver screen when the scene ends. Fortunately, destroying the car didn't set the production back too much, as they average around $18,500, which is far below the launch MSRP of $76,895 to $90,395.

Because of how it's shown in the movie, the audience doesn't get to see the 6-Series' handling while being pursued by hitmen, as is common in the franchise. Still, what appears on screen in a single scene is memorable. BMW discontinued the 6-Series in 2023, and you don't often see them in action movies these days. Because Macarro spends most of the movie on foot, the BMW 6-Series and Ford Shelby are the most notable cars in the film.

Much of "The Continental: From the World of John Wick" celebrates the John Wick franchise, but more than that, it has several callbacks to other IPs. One car that appears in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment is an underappreciated 1976 Ford Torino. On the surface, a '76 Ford Torino isn't a particularly collectible or expensive car, averaging around $18,375 should you desire to pick one up for yourself.

The reason the car is in the movie, and more importantly, its red and white paint job, is as a reference to "Starsky and Hutch." Fans of the series likely immediately recognized the car's distinctive colors as belonging to the hit series from the '70s. The so-called "Striped Tomato" was driven by Detective Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and became an iconic auto of the 1970s.

The '76 Ford Torino was the final production year for the car, and it definitely scored big when it was chosen for the TV series. It's unclear why the Striped Tomato makes a cameo appearance in "The Continental" outside of its iconic status, but seeing it likely pleased plenty of fans who grew up watching the show. It's easy to miss on a first viewing, as the car drives in and out of the frame in a scene where it's not the focus, but it's there.

One of the most noteworthy cars seen in "The Continental" is a 1960 Chevrolet Impala Limousine. The car is a stretch version of the Impala that arose during the 1960s, making it a somewhat strange car for the period. At the time, limos were typically built from Buicks or Cadillacs, but someone at Chevy said, "Hold my beer," and designed a stretched version.

The reason for the limo's presence isn't immediately apparent until you see the license plate, which reads "SW-FLTY." Most might try to ascertain its meaning and give up because it's unclear what it means, but the plate has a direct connection to "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum." The car's passenger is none other than The Adjudicator (Katie McGrath), who, in "Parabellum," (Asia Kate Dillon) was well known for "swearing fealty" to the High Table.

All that said, the '60 Chevy Impala Limo is an unusual car to appear in the franchise, but it's clearly there to link The Adjudicator, making it a well-placed Easter egg. Still, it's an obscure car that's difficult to find for sale online. It's much easier to locate a far more famous version of the classic Chevy, the 1967 Chevrolet Impala driven by Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) in the television series "Supernatural."