It’s that time of year again to look forward to a whole new year of potential car chase and racing films. Here are the major ones I have spotted so far that will or are likely to have some quality automotive action:

Car Chase Films:
1. Driver (James DeMonaco, 2006)
No promotional images or trailers yet but this will be a must see film for every fan of the video game upon which it is based. If it is as good as the game, it will be the car chase event of next year.

2. Spy Hunter (John Woo, 2006)
Another video game adaptation, this time starring The Rock with John Woo to direct.
This storyboard image indicates there should be some pretty good chase sequences:


3. The Brazilian Job (F. Gary Gray, 2006)
It would be unthinkable that this instalment now set in Brazil would not have a car chase so it is reasonable to expect that they will have some car chase set piece. Most of principal cast will return to their roles, with Mark Wahlberg in the lead again.

4. Race with the Devil (Chris Moore, 2006)
The IMDB entry says that shooting will commence Fall 2006 so it is unlikely that the film will hit the screens next year. Still, as this remake thread shows, there has been a longstanding interest to see this horror/chase classic remade.

5. The Payback Man (Ivan Rogers, 2006)
No guarantee that this police thriller starring and directed by Ivan Rogers will have a car chase, but there are some initial signs that it will have. It’s plot keywords for the IMDB entry lists ‘chase’ and A-1 Auto supplied the stunt vehicles.

6. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
Pure speculation here, but who heard of a James Bond film without a car chase? If there is to be one, let’s hope they aim for something more like the chase sequence in The Bourne Supremacy rather than the one in Die Another Day.

Auto-Racing Films:
7. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Justin Lin, 2006)
Now doubt, the most anticipated auto-racing film of next year. Sounds like it will be an interesting mix of the previous The Fast and the Furious instalments and the drifting in Initial D.

8. Genevieve II (Beau Dare, 2006)
Status of this remake of the 1953 original British rally movie is still announced and no new information as of yet.

9. Dolphins (Mark Jay, 2006)
This UK production currently filming in the UK is about boy racer sub-culture in Brighton. Nice to see a non-US automotive film on the slate.

10. Short Track (Marie Hopkins, 2006)
According to Barbara Niven’s website, this family film is about “a family of three generations of NASCAR race car drivers going after their dreams.” Apparently, Joe Piscopo and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. make appearances.

Any more that I have missed?

Those are the lot that I checked out. Good job! I looked around in the IMDB and found there to be the sequal to The Bourne Supremacy. It will be called The Bourne Ultimatum. Unfortunately, it won't come out until 2007 (supposedly). Regarless of that, I can wait patiently for some good movie to come out.

Thank you for that list! Good work.

Wow, a lot of hot stuff... Hopefully 'the Driver' Remake will turn out as good as the original film from the 70's, one of my alltime-faves.

Seeing as the original Driver game was practically based on The Driver movie, with similar sounds and cars, it will be interesting to see how this new movie will turn out. Very high hopes indeed, and dont forget there was that small movie Run The Gauntlet that was released in conjunction with Driv3r if thats anything to go by. There is also Driver Parellel Lines, the sequel to Driv3r, coming out in around March

1. The Da Vinci Code (Ron Howard, 2006)
As Adri has pointed out in another thread, it seems that there is a car chase in this film featuring SMART cars in it, and one can spot a few glimpses of them in the trailer.

2. Mission Impossible III (J.J. Abrams, 2006)
Initial signs would seem to indicate that this third instalment of the series will have a car chase. In the stunt section of its imdb entry it lists stunt drivers and camera cars, the kind of things one would expect a car chase to include in its credits. Once again, one gets glimpses of a chase in the trailer.

3. Cars (John Lasseter, 2006)
This Pixar animated film was originally slated for release in 2005 but was pushed back for the following year. Story includes various racing scenes and features Richard Petty as the voice of one of the characters.