Eleven best cars in non‑racing games

Warthog – Halo

We start with what many, even beyond the realms of the car world, might claim is one of the most iconic videogame vehicles. Is it a car? You’d have to define ‘car’ in the Halo universe. I like to think of it as their equivalent of a Willys Jeep, so dependable it was both in the story and in the heat of online battle. It’s so iconic, it’s even been recreated for use in the Forza franchise.

Leone Sentinel – GTA III

The Grand Theft Auto series has over the years given us a fabulous variety of elsworld vehicles, from sports saloons and trucks to supercars and bikes. We open this list however very in keeping with GTA III’s organised crime themes, and the Leone Sentinel. This hopped-up sports saloon visually combines Mitsubishi Evo with BMW M5 (E34) for a super saloon perfect for sliding around Liberty City on nefarious Mafia errands. Yes there are more exotic cars on GTA III but the Sentinel just feels right.

Porsche Cayenne Turbo – 007, Everything or Nothing

Any number of Bond cars from the games could have been here and yet I’ve picked a Cayenne. Not just any Cayenne, the first Cayenne, which was about as visually appealing as Jaws. Why? Well, firstly, it was always a pretty awesome machine, being the 450PS (444bhp) Turbo model. Secondly, in the context of the missions Train Chase and Serena St. Germaine in 007, Everything or Nothing, this Cayenne was awesome. It sounded like it had every one of those 450 ponies and even looked great, at least when emerging from the back of a transport plane. It’s when you’re chasing the train and the baddies that it really reveals its secrets, with roof-mounted rockets and even a ‘Q Cloak’ for limited-time invisibility. Being a Bond game, you are expected to execute jumps to rival Simon Hucknall on an Autocar dare, but it’s Bond’s Cayenne, so the air suspension manages just fine.

Pegasi Infernus – GTA Vice City

In GTA Vice City, we travelled back to the 1980s and all the style tropes therein, from decor and clothing, to cars. VC is a veritable chocolate box of ‘80s motoring pastiches but none get even close to the Infernus. This outrageous supercar couldn’t be anything other than a Grand Theft Auto interpretation of the Lamborghini Countach. As well as being the painted-in-white wheels of choice for friend-turned-foe Lance Vance, it’s one of the fastest cars in the game as well as one of the easiest to blow up if you damage it too much. Drive with caution sounds like odd advice on a Grand Theft Auto game.

Speed Rocket – The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Was there any other ‘car’ we could have gone with from a Simpsons game? What better way to traverse Springfield’s many jumps than in a long-finned rocket with a token set of wheels attached. Slightly unrealistic was the fact it was near enough as fast in reverse as it was in a straight line. Hit & Run never claimed to be a Gran Turismo rival, mind. 

Grotti Turismo – GTA: San Andreas

San Andreas was a new location for the GTA series in 2004, emulating the city of angels, Los Angelis and set in the early 1990s. The Sunshine State during this golden era of Hollywood is deserving of a serious exotic to parade around town. We got that in the Turismo, a meld of the Ferrari F40, a Toyota Supra and a Dodge Daytona, of all things. One of, if not the fastest car in the game and a rare one at that, only seen in Las Venturas at night. 

Dewbauchee Super GT – GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto IV brought us back to Liberty City, albeit a few years on from the events of GTA III. As the times changed, so too had the cars. The 2000s were much more about smooth understated styling. A garish supercar like the Infernus always felt a little too much in GTA IV’s greyed cityscape. The curves of the Super GT were much more like it. A blend of Corvette, Aston Martin and Maserati, the Super GT fit the cooler, crisper, higher-res more serious aesthetic of GTA IV.

Ubermacht Oracle – GTA V

GTA V brought us back to San Andreas in 2013 and truthfully, the same feeling of coolness and seriousness followed from GTA IV. Okay, maybe not in the career mode when playing the paragon of sanity and levelheadedness that was Trevor. But online, even now, after a whole range of million-dollar supercars have joined the ranks, the Ubermacht Oracle, GTA’s G12 BMW 7-Series, remains my favourite of the lot. Understated yet premium, handsome yet menacing, this thing was the perfect under-the-radar high-roller’s wheels in GTA V. The cherry on the cake? E60 M5 wheels, that you could fit via the customisation menu.

Dewbauchee Vagner – GTA V

You don’t believe us? Okay, token supercar entry for GTA V. We’ll go with the Dewbauchee Vagner, because what is so blatantly an Aston Martin Valkyrie made it to GTA five years ago. Contrast to the real Valkyrie, which hasn’t had so much as a mention yet on Forza, Gran Turismo or anywhere else for that matter.

Marlott Mk III – Watchdogs 2

There’s a bit of an Aston theme going on here but they just seem to be shamelessly counterfitted so well in elsworld games like Grand Theft Auto and indeed, Watch Dogs. This is the Marlott Mk III, a splice between an Aston Martin Vanquish and a Jaguar F-Type. The silhouette and rear lights are all Aston, while the nose and rear wing are pure F-Type and it’s spliced quite well. It’s one of the quickest and most capable cars in Watch Dogs without drawing too much attention to itself. In the game it’s described as “so fast, they might not see you. So stylish, they’ll be jealous if they do”.

Herrara Outlaw GTS – Cyberpunk 2077

In games that feature cars that aren’t cars do you want them to be closer or further to the makes and models they take inspiration from? On the one hand, it’d be really cool to just have real cars in GTA, but in a dystopian future game like Cyberpunk, how crazy they go with the cars is actually welcome… There’s a general lack of symmetry and a real cyborg style to these future machines, none more pretty than the Herrera Outlaw GTS. No, it’s not the cover star that is the Quadra Turbo-R, nor is it the Bugatti of the future that is the Rayfield Caliburn. But it is the prettiest car in the game and one of the fastest, belonging as it does to the hypercar class.

A bit of a random list, we know, but a fun one to compile bringing back gaming memories over the last 20 years. What are your favourite cars from non-racing games?