The Best Netflix Car Shows for Enthusiasts
Top Gear used to be the go-to show for car enthusiasts, but not anymore. After offering numerous car-related movies, Netflix has started making its own car shows. And whether you’re a life-long gearhead or someone new to the passion, these shows should be on your ‘to-binge’ list.
Drive to Survive
In the US, the dominant motorsport tends to be NASCAR. But for everyone else in the world, it’s Formula 1, featured in films like Senna and Rush. The high-speed races have gained a solid foothold in the States, too, especially after the Circuit of the Americas F1 track was built in Texas. F1 is an incredibly demanding sport, requiring massive investments of engineering talent, money, blood, sweat, and tears. And to document what goes on behind the scenes, Netflix created the car show Drive to Survive.
The first season was centered around the 2018 F1 championships, Car and Driver reported. It mainly focused on the efforts of middle- and bottom-tier teams, Jalopnik reported, as the biggest names, Mercedes and Ferrari, didn’t agree to participate. But for season 2, which will be based on the 2019 series, every single F1 team was involved.
Oh, and if you’re still not sold on the idea of a Formula 1 docu-series, the 2019 season will involve a shady Red Bull competitor trying to sponsor an American team.
Netflix’s car show Drive to Survive’s 2nd season debuts on February 28, 2020.
Hyperdrive
Do you remember playing Need for Speed and wondering what it would be like to race like that IRL? Netflix’s newest car show, Hyperdrive, attempts to answer that.
The first season’s 10 episodes pit 28 drivers from around the world against each other, Autoblog reports. Each is trying to set the best time possible around the 10 different customized courses, spread out over 100 acres of land. Seems simple enough, until you get to the obstacles, some of which recall Mario Kart by way of Fast and Furious.
These drivers aren’t necessarily professionals, Car and Driver reports—one’s a real-estate developer, and another’s a law student. But the show does an excellent job of showing what brought them all together: automotive passion. And it does so without the problematic behavior of another Netflix car show, Fastest Car, according to Jalopnik.
The cars in the show are just as diverse. That real-estate developer brought along a twin-turbocharged Lamborghini Huracan. There’s also modified Mustangs, tuned Nissan Z-cars old and new, and even a Dodge Charger with a striking similarity to Dom Toretto’s.
And if you’re still not convinced that Hyperdrive’s legit, one of the hosts is a former Top Gear USA presenter. And it’s partially funded with help from Fast and Furious star, and fellow car enthusiast, Charlize Theron.
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Jerry Seinfeld isn’t just a famous comic; he’s also a car enthusiast on the level of Jay Leno. But while his preferred marque is Porsche, his Netflix car show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee has featured a wide assortment of vehicles.
In 2019, Netflix released the 11th season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, as well as the car show’s past episodes, which had previously been on Crackle. Past seasons have seen Seinfeld driving former President Barack Obama in a vintage Corvette, Jim Carrey in a Lamborghini Countach, and Stephen Colbert in a classic Morgan.
But it’s not just about the cars: Seinfeld and his guests have genuine conversations, touching on struggling to make it professionally, becoming parents, and even the history of apartheid. And the pace of the show makes it perfect for binging, morning or night.
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