by Steven Perez
posted on June 21, 2017
As far as summer blockbuster spectacles go, almost no movie series offers quite as much blockbustery action as the Transformers series. Just in time for the newest film, Transformers: The Last Knight, we’ve rounded up the best car-based Transformers of the series so far.
Sideswipe
Image credit: Movie chronicles
Sideswipe is a sleek warrior who proves highly useful for the Autobots in the movies. His earthly form is this stylish Corvette Stingray concept, which was officially revealed at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. GM has been heavily involved with the Transformers movies, and it wouldn’t make sense to leave the Corvette out. The sleek Stingray concept perfectly fits Sideswipe’s confident, stabby disposition and is a great choice the represent the badass of the Autobots.
Best one-liner: “Damn I’m good” —Sideswipe after taking out Decepticons
Ironhide
Image credit: Autoblog
Ironhide is the Autobots’ stalwart weapons specialist and an old friend of Optimus Prime. He appears in the first three movies with the disguise of a GMC Topkick pickup truck. And this thing is big. Ten thousand pounds big. It is comfortably the most intimidating road-legal vehicle on any road, anywhere. It’s a fitting cover for the hard, grizzled war veteran among earthlings, but still probably draws a lot of attention. No matter, because Ironhide has more firepower than most developing countries and doesn’t take flack from anyone.
Best one-liner: “Class dismissed” —Ironhide dismissing class
Wheelie
Image credit: Transformers wikia
While Wheelie rarely appears in his car form, he transforms into an adorable little RC pickup truck for stealth missions. The ex-Decepticon uses his tiny size to sneak around undetected and deploy his reconnaissance tools. He has no weapons to speak of, but he (improbably) proved invaluable during parts of the series. Wheelie is a pesky but lovable companion who sometimes bites off more than he can chew.
Best one-liner: “Easy warrior goddess, I’m just a little salvage scrap drone” —Wheelie to a threatening Mikaela (Megan Fox)
Jolt
Image credit: Carscoops
Jolt doesn’t get a lot of screentime, but he made this list because the Chevy Volt is such a good fit for him. Jolt has some of the coolest weapons of all the Transformers: electrified whips that he uses to yank enemies around and cause confusion during battle. Apparently, he’s an impulsive prankster and has a big personality, but he also has no lines so who knows for sure? In Revenge of the Fallen, Jolt uses his electricity to link the resurrected Optimus Prime and Jetfire to give Optimus an impromptu flight package upgrade.
Best one-liner: *metallic transforming sounds* —Jolt not talking
Barricade
Image credit: Slash film
Barricade is not as big as most of the other Decepticons but he’s every bit as violent. As you might guess from his Decepticon affiliation, Barricade likes to be deceptive. Around humans, he takes the form of this Ford Mustang police car, a disguise which he uses in Transformers to ambush Sam Witwicky (Shia Labeouf) for information about the Allspark. Barricade and Bumblebee have sort of a personal rivalry that stems from Barricade’s less-than-friendly questioning of Sam.
Best one-liner: “Are you username: ladiesman217? Where is ebay item 21153?” —Barricade interrogating Sam
Bonecrusher
Image credit: Pinterest
Hate is the defining characteristic with this guy. Bonecrusher is a miserable, violent, dangerous Decepticon who hates everything and everyone. He lets everyone know this by unleashing his deadly weapons upon his foes. He transforms into a Force Protection Buffalo MPV, which is a huge tank-like mine clearing vehicle that the US military employs. It has six giant wheels, anti-tank RPG-resistant armor, and a 30-foot arm for detonating explosives. In Transformers, Bonecrusher uses his arm to flip cars up into the air, probably just because he hates them. His head is subsequently removed by Optimus Prime.
Best one-liner: “I hate you!” —Bonecrusher fighting Optimus Prime
Bumblebee
Image credit: iCollector
How could we forget Bumblebee? Bumblebee is a loyal sweetheart who (mostly) talks through the radio, and a fierce protector for Sam. He is unquestionably the most recognizable Transformer, especially in car form. Any kid under 18 knows that the yellow Camaro with its unmistakeable stripes is Bumblebee. Our favorite Bumblebee is early-Transformers movie Bumblebee, when he appears as a beat-up 1977 Camaro. He receives upgrades throughout the series, but he builds his relationship with Sam while in his first iteration, so we’ll go with the the ‘77. It’s rusty and dented, but has so much character that it’s the star alien robot of the series.
Best one-liner: “I wish to stay with the boy” —Bumblebee being a sweetie
Steven Perez
Steven is an avid car guy and content maker at Turo. Between Golden State Warriors games he can be found getting lost somewhere in California.
