None of us will ever park an X-Wing in our garage, but that hasn't stopped legions of Star Wars fans from getting creative with their daily drivers. It would seem that for some people, the next best thing to actually owning an X-Wing is building a car that looks kind of like an X-Wing - or in some cases, going hog wild using the Star Wars universe as a loose template for their own imaginative designs. A few major companies have also gotten in on Tatooine fever themselves and built Vader-tastic tributes to the Dark Side that get trotted from show to show in a bid to recruit future Sith lords.
Let’s take a look at 10 of the coolest Star Wars tribute cars that have found their way to the Internet…
Obi-Shawn’s Honda del Sol H-Wing Carfighter
You can't call yourself Obi-Shawn without at the very least putting a Galactic Republic sticker on your back bumper. Shawn Crosby went a lot farther than that with this Honda Del Sol, using his prop design chops to whip up what he calls a “Carfighter” that he’s dubbed the H-Wing. Decals, paint, reverse moon wheel covers, and of course a replica of R2D2 riding along on the rear deck complete the carfighter look.
Obi-Shawn’s Nissan 350Z Z-Wing Carfighter
It’s only natural to want to upgrade your carfighter after a few years, and what better way than to swap your Del Sol for a rear-wheel-drive roadster? Obi-Shawn’s second entry on this list is his Nissan 350Z carfighter, or the “Z-Wing” as he calls it. More aggressive looking than the H-Wing, the Z-Wing features blaster cannons mounted on the hood as well as on each door, another Astromech droid sitting on the trunk lid (of course), and some impressive thrusters pointed towards tailgaters. A slick silver and maroon paint job combines with the appropriate Galactic Republic logos to remind you whose side Obi-Shawn is on.
R2D2 Volkswagen Bus
The Volkswagen Bus is a ubiquitous piece of the automotive landscape, especially in Brazil, where the vehicle stayed in production for many years past its Canadian expiration date. This R2D2-themed version of the VW Bus takes advantage of its oval-like shape and simple lines to highlight the droid’s blue details. A work in progress, the impressive detail was accomplished with a three-foot wide vinyl wrap.
Katie Horn’s Red 5 Toyota Tercel
Katie Horn was bitten by the Star Wars bug in her early 20s and the end result was the decision to trick out her Toyota Tercel to look like it belonged in the Rebel Alliance’s famed Red squadron. You might recognize the name of her car - Red 5 - as the call-sign used by Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie when flying his X-Wing deep into the trenches of the original Death Star. Horn eventually formed her own online fighter wing, with close to 75 individuals working on their own Star Wars-themed automotive projects (including Obi-Shawn’s various rides).
Bill Deacon’s Millennium Falcon Malibu
The Millennium Falcon was supposedly the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, which makes the 1974 Chevy Malibu starting point of this Falcon tribute a fitting foundation. It’s got it all - the communications dish, the control pod sticking out of the door, the stars streaking by as the Mali-Falcon makes the leap to whatever malaise-era hyperspace it can achieve on 87 octane (we're thinking 55 mph), and of course thrusters on the trunk. Look closely and you'll see Han and Chewy at the controls in the Falcon’s cockpit.
Garage Italia’s Fiat 500e Stormtrooper
Garage Italia’s got a little bit more budget than most of the fan cars on this list, which is why their Stormtrooper-inspired Fiat 500e offers a level of fit and finish seldom seen in the world of Star Wars tributes. Similar in theme to the Stormtrooper Dodge Chargers that took part in an Uber promo earlier in 2015, the electric Fiat 500e boasts a stylized helmet paint job with black and white highlights intended to evoke Stormtrooper armor both inside and out.
Hot Wheels' Darth Vader Corvette
Speaking of spending big dollars on a Star Wars car - it doesn't get much more over-the-top than Hot Wheels and its Darth Vader 'Vette. The only way you'd peg this dark side ride as a Corvette would be by its wheelbase, because absolutely everything else has been reconfigured to ape the Sith lord’s helmet, with light saber-inspired elements along the door sills and lights replacing Vader’s iconic mask bolts. If it looks like a toy, that’s because it is - there’s a matching die-cast version of the replica - but the full-size one has the added bonus of being drivable and making ominous Vader respirator noises to scare pedestrians back onto the sidewalk.
Rebekah Stieg Knuth’s Boba Fett Hyundai Veloster
Vinyl wraps have opened new doors for art cars, and one of the best-executed examples in the Star Wars universe - aside from the VW Bus we've already discussed - is Rebekah Stieg Knuth’s Hyundai Veloster. Featuring an elaborate design esthetic modeled after the famed Mandalorian armor worn by feared bounty hunter Boba Fett, 'Ivor Fett' even has its own Facebook page. Because it’s 2015.
Michael Fright’s Darth Maul Hauler
Darth Maul’s controversial double-edged lightsaber had Star Wars fan-tongues flapping when the prequels were released, but that didn't stop Michael Fright from mounting a replica of the unique weapon as the hood ornament on his Darth Maul. It’s hard to say what’s more impressive: the fact that Fright did such an excellent job with his 18-wheeler’s Darth Maul paint job, or the fact that he uses the truck to tow a 35-foot replica of the Tantive IV, the cruiser carrying Princess Leia in the opening scene of Star Wars: A New Hope.
20th Century Fox’s 1977 Toyota Celica
The last entry on our list of the coolest Star Wars tribute cars is actually something of a mystery. In 1977 Toyota partnered with 20th Century Fox to build a special Star Wars edition Celica, which was intended as a giveaway to promote the movie. Stickers and an airbrushed version of the movie poster on the hood were the primary draw of this Celica GT, but apparently no one knows if the car was ever actually given away, or where it eventually ended up. Muddying the waters further is the fact that the company that had been hired to build the coupe shuttered shortly after the contest was announced due to its employees being involved in a whole mess of felonies, including murder. Toyota is currently searching for the car with the help of ardent Star Wars fans dedicated to tracking down this piece of movie history.
