The Cool Cars And Bikes Of Top Gun: Maverick

More than three decades later, we’ve had a dose of nostalgia as Tom Cruise, aka Pete “Maverick” Mitchell” was back pushing gas guzzling F/A-18F Super Hornets to breathtaking limits. Sure, while most of the film focused on dogfights in the air, those of us who have more of a knack for machines that run on tarmac, we were treated to some lovely gems both on two wheels and four. Here’s all the cool rides that made an appearance in Top Gun: Maverick :

Aston Martin DBR1

Sure, it was sitting in a garage and we never got to see it in action, but Pete Maverick Mitchell certainly had a taste for retro cars. And this ain’t just an ordinary classic car, as it was an endurance racer of the 50s which took on the likes of the Jaguar D-type, Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, and Mercedes 300 SLR in 12 or 24 hr endurance races. It’s most coveted achievement was none other than taking a 1-2 finish at 1959 24hrs of LeMans with the pair of Carroll Shelby and co-driver Roy Salvadori, breaking Ferrari’s seven-year winning streak. In fact, such was the success at LeMans that Aston Martin pulled the plug on their factory racing program at the time while they were ahead.

1973 Porsche 911 S

Considering Tom Cruise’s love for Porsche 911s it comes as no surprise that the film features one, and what better car to have than the 73 911 S? But those who’ve seen the movie will know that this ain’t  Pete Maverick Mitchell’s ride, but his love interest Penny (Jennifer Connelly) who drives this classic machine. Despite its age, the 1973 911 S was undoubtedly a poster-worthy car with its long nose, slim bumpers, and of course its tail-happy handling characteristics. It had an air-cooled 194PS 2.4-litre flat-six engine, paired to the 908 race car’s Type 915 transmission. In fact this was the last set of 911s before chunkier bumpers demanded in the US neutered the 911’s look. 

1986 Kawasaki Ninja GPZ900R

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The year is 1986. An F-14A Tomcat pilot on his take off roll at NAS Miramar radios to the tower, “Uh tower, this is Ghostrider 211, we’ve got an idiot riding a motorcycle down the taxiway, shaking his fist at us.” And the controller was probably like “Ghostrider 211, continue takeoff. Ignore the idiot. That’s just Tom Cruise, aka Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.” This was our first introduction to the legendary Kawasaki Ninja GPZ900R on the silver screen back in 1986 in the original Top Gun movie. So naturally we were excited to see its return in its sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, decked out in the same paint scheme and stickers, 36 years later. The GPZ900R wasn’t special thanks to its movie star good looks, but for the fact that it packed some serious performance - 117PS and 85Nm from it’s 4-cylinder 16-valve motor that could propel it to a top speed of 151mph (243kmph), which made it the fastest production bike of its time.

Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon

Of course, if Maverick is to race modern day fighters such as the F/A-18F Super Hornet on the taxiways of NAS North Island, he needs a modern day motorcycle that’s just as iconic as his original GPZ900R. So he chose none other than the Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon - a 998cc Supercharged inline-4 beast that puts out 231PS and 142Nm. It is, in fact, the tamer version of the track-only H2R, which Keenan Sofoglu took to 400kmph on a closed bridge in Turkey. But even in its Carbon trim, this H2 will easily out drag Super Hornet in the quarter mile. Of course, once the fighter gets its wheels off the ground… well, I don’t think we need to tell you what happens then!