'Doc!': What 10 Classic Pop Culture Cars Would Cost in Real Life

In the hierarchy of iconic pop culture cars, the DeLorean DMC-12 from 1985’s Back to the Future stands alone. Based on an actual car by troubled carmaker John DeLorean, the gull-door vehicle sent Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd into the past, future, and places in between.

Surprisingly, it might not have taken much of an investment to get into traveling through time—about $55,000. The car insurance comparison quote service Uswitch, in collaboration with CashforCars.com, recently evaluated the estimated cost of some of the most popular fictional cars, including the DeLorean DMC-12, using the real-world value of models based on actual cars and what their upgrades might cost. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Gadgetmobile // Inspector Gadget (1999) // $25,075,000
2. Acura 2012 Stark Industries Super Car // The Avengers (2012) // $9,198,000
3. The Batmobile // The Dark Knight (2008) // $9,000,000
4. Aston Martin DB4 // Goldfinger (1964) // $3,000,000
5. Flying Ford Anglia // Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) // $1,500,000
6. Autojet // THX 1138 (1971) // $1,000,000
7. Lightning McQueen // Cars (2006) // $995,000
8. FAB1 // Thunderbirds (2004) // $250,000
9. The Gigahorse // Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) // $100,000
10. The DeLorean DMC-12 // Back to the Future (1985) // $55,000

While these amounts are highly speculative—time-traveling components are, after all, hard to assess—they are based on real-world costs. The tricked-out Gadgetmobile from the Matthew Broderick-starring adaptation of the Inspector Gadget animated series uses a 1964 Lincoln Continental, which has a value of $75,000. Options like jet engines put its sticker price closer to $25 million; a classic Aston Martin will set you back $800,000, but spy upgrades to make it worthy of James Bond will set you back $2.2 million; and a Batmobile worthy of director Christopher Nolan is going to be hard to finance. Good thing Bruce Wayne is rich.