And They're Gone... Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) is a car thief in "Gone in 60 Seconds" (2000). He botches an attempt to deliver 50 stolen vehicles to a Long Beach (California) gangster named Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston). Calitri kidnaps Kip and then puts the hard word on Kip's brother, Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage), a reformed car thief, to fulfill his brother's contract. Failure to do so would mean the death of his brother, their mother, and Randall himself.

Randall assembles a crew that includes, among others, his former mentor, Otto Halliwell (Robert Duvall) and Randall's former girlfriend, a car loving mechanic named Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). They have 72 hours to identify, locate and steal the cars they need. As the police suspect that the heist is going to occur, the band takes steps to ensure that everything is kept on the quiet. To this end they provide each car with a code name, and, in case you missed it, all of the names were female names. Let's face it, broadcasting that you're planning to steal a 1999 Jaguar XK8 coupe is likely to attract attention but, instead you say, "I will pick-up Deborah", the law would be none the wiser.

The cars (the stars in my opinion) were not selected at random. Director Dominic Sena and producer Jerry Bruckheimer were meticulous in their planning, selecting cars that were not only exciting, but would sit comfortably within the storyline. They consulted with car enthusiasts and collectors before putting them through screen tests to ensure that they would look good on camera.

The star car of the show was the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500, a Mustang that would become equally as famous as the 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 film "Bullitt". Code-named "Eleanor", she came with customized wheels, that iconic pepper gray paint, wooden steering wheel and a Hurst gearbox complete with a "Go Baby Go" button that activated the nitrous oxide injection system. Cage's "Memphis" Raines is a little sentimental when it comes to this vehicle... it is one that he tried to steal before and, as such, he decides that he will be the one to steal it this time and that it would be the last car taken.

Twelve Mustang fastbacks were dressed up as Eleanor for the film but only three of those were street legal. Of the twelve, there are reports that seven survived and that three of those were offered to the public for sale.

Providing female names to the vehicles is not an original idea but it does add an extra dimension of personality to what is, otherwise, merely an object. Whilst everyone is likely to have differing views to this, in some cases the names work really well with the cars they're attached to... some don't. For example, Eleanor, for the Mustang is appropriate. It adds a touch of majesty, think Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the most regal and powerful women of the 12th century or, even, Eleanor Roosevelt, a popular and long serving First Lady of the United States.

Sometimes though, we can get the wrong impression about the name. When the cast code-named the 1999 HumVee 2 door pick-up, an absolute beast of a vehicle, Tracy, someone claimed that it was a name only worthy of a toaster. I believe he had no idea that Tracy is taken from the Irish word "treasach", which means war-like. I could have also pointed out that the most devastating cyclone to have hit Australia, to this point, was also christened "Tracy". An appropriate name for a beast of a vehicle.

Neither were the cars in the film cheap. The 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4, which bore the code Nadine, was one of the dearest cars used in the film. A similar one sold at auction at RM Sotheby's in August 2022 for $3.5 million. Similarly, the 1988 Porsche 959, is a highly sought after supercar, that was built in limited numbers. Also, in 2022, one sold at auction for wallet smacking $1.5 million.

I won't reveal how the film ends but I can provide you with the complete list of cars that were stolen and their code names.
1950 Mercury Custom - "Gabriela"
1953 Chevrolet Corvette - "Pamela"
1956 Ford T Bird - "Susan"
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible - "Stefanie"
1957 Mercedes Benz 300 SL/Gullwing - "Dorothy"
1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham - "Patricia"
1959 Cadillac Eldorado - "Madeline"
1961 Porsche Speedster - "Natalie"
1962 Aston Martin DB1 - "Barbara"
1964 Bentley Continental - "Alma"
1965 Pontiac GTO - "Sharon"
1966 Shelby AC Cobra - "Ashley"
1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Big Block - "Stacey"
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4 - "Nadine"
1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 - "Eleanor"
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 - "Erin"
1969 Dodge Daytona - "Vanessa"
1969 Plymouth Roadrunner - "Jessica"
1971 DeTomaso Pantera - "Kate"
1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda - "Shannon"
1987 Ferrari Testarosa - "Rose"
1988 Porsche 959 - "Virginia"
1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30 - "Gina"
1994 Jaguar XJ 220 - "Bernadene"
1995 Ferrari 355 B - "Diane"
1997 Ferrari 355 F1 - "Iris"
1997 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo - "Tanya"
1998 Dodge Viper Coupe GTS - "Denise"
1998 Mercedes Benz SL 600 - "Ellen"
1998 Toyota Supra Turbo - "Lynn"
1999 Aston Martin DB7 - "Mary"
1999 Bentley Arnage - "Lindsey"
1999 Bentley Azure - "Laura"
1999 Cadillac Escalade - "Carol"
1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello - "Angelina"
1999 HumVee 2 Door Pickup - "Tracy"
1999 Infiniti Q45 - "Rachel"
1999 Jaguar XK8 Coupe - "Deborah"
1999 Lexus LS 400 - "Hillary"
1999 Lincoln Navigator - "Kimberley"
1999 Mercedes Benz CL 500 - "Donna"
1999 Mercedes Benz S 600 - "Samantha"
1999 Porsche 996 - "Tina"
2000 Cadillac Eldorado STS - "Daniela"
2000 Ford F350 4×4 modified pickup - "Anne"
2000 GMC Yukon - "Megan"
2000 Porsche Boxster - "Marsha"
2000 Rolls Royce Stretch Limousine - "Grace"
2000 Toyota Landcruiser - "Cathy"
2000 Volvo Turbo Wagon R - "Lisa"