What Audi Model Does Jason Statham Drive In The Transporter Franchise?

The first "The Transporter" film released in 2002 and was met with enough success to warrant two sequels with Jason Statham in the leading role as Frank Martin. What's not to like? Statham got to showcase his skills with various martial arts and gear heads got to see some exhilarating car stunts with the many different vehicles. The franchise's first entry had Statham's character drive a BMW E38 753i. The filmmakers changed it up for "The Transporter's" two sequels and put Statham behind the wheel of a W-12 model of the 6-liter Audi A8L.

Unlike the many iconic movie cars that aren't even real, the Audi A8 is very real and director Louis Letterier believed it was a well-crafted blend of luxury and sports cars, according to Motor Trend. Director Louis Letterier reached out to the Ingolstadt car manufacturer in 2004 to get the Audi A8L W-12 in their movie. That following year, the automaker brought the A8L over to the United States, just in time for "The Transporter 2's" premiere.

Statham upgraded to the 2008 A8L model for "The Transporter 3," which had nearly identical specs. Both came with an adaptive air suspension that let the driver adjust the smoothness of the ride, depending on the way they were driving, and both could push out around 450 hp at 6,200 rpm and went from zero to 60 mph in five seconds. Both were also quite the gas guzzlers, getting between 13 and 15 mpg on streets and 17 or 19 on the highway.

The Audi A8L W-12 isn't simply a nice car to look at. It was ranked as one of Audi's most reliable models ever built, and when you're jumping a car onto a train or over a Miami canal, you need something reliable. What's an action flick with only one vehicle to feature, though? As we already stated, the franchise's first film had Jason Statham driving a 1998 BMW 750iL Euro model, but it was referenced as a 735i.

That specific car came with a V-12 engine that could get up to 322 hp. Its original transmission was replaced with a 6-speed manual one that was typically seen in the BMW 850 CI, the same car that actor Pierce Brosnan was pulled over in for speeding. That transmission allowed for better action sequences throughout the chase scenes. Statham also jumps in the driver's seat of a Mercedes-Benz W140, a car that still seems so luxurious today. The version in the movie had a special Turbo-Diesel engine under the hood and an Adaptive Damping System to help smooth out aggressive driving.

The Lamborghini Murcielago is one of the more impressive machines to make an appearance in "The Transporter 2." Statham really stretches its legs, using it to chase down an airplane on a runway during "The Transporter 2's" conclusion. This roadster oozes speed just by looking at it, and when you press the pedal to the floor, it can reach 60 mph in no more than 3.2 seconds.