Who Stars In Your Dream Car Movie?

Whether it be a car chase, a street race or a fictional interpretation of your favorite racing series, Hollywood and cars go together like a symphony orchestra and brass instruments. Our eyes are the only medium that can better portray the speed and danger of flat-out driving. Movies also have the power to elevate certain cars into immortality, like the Aston Martin DB5 in "Goldfinger" or the Ford Mustang in "Bullitt."

The cars aren't doing all the heavy lifting on screen. Any good blockbuster needs a charismatic star, like Sean Connery or Steve McQueen. So for today's question, we want to know: who's the star of your dream car movie? Car enthusiasts haven't been lacking for inspiration over the past few decades. However, Hollywood seems fixed on just retreading the already-trodden ground. Tom Cruise is set to reprise the role of driver Cole Trickle in the long-awaited sequel to "Days of Thunder." While no driver from the 1990 season is still competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, we're all going to see Trickle race again despite likely being over the age of 60.

My dream car movie would be focused on the later career of my least-favorite racing driver: Mike Hawthorn. The 1950s British star personified every popular cliché about racers. Despite how dangerous racing was during the era, Hawthorn was often criticized by his competitors for his aggressiveness and recklessness. I would cast Will Poulter as Hawthorn. The London-born actor has proved his acting chops in recent years on "The Bear" and in the hyper-realistic Iraq War drama "Warfare." It also helps that he has a pretty punchable face.

The most infamous moment of his career was the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans. During a pit-in lap, Hawthorn passed Lance Macklin's Austin-Healy before abruptly braking in front of him to dive into the Jaguar pit box. Macklin swerved to avoid Hawthorn and collided with Pierre Levegh's Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. The Mercedes was launched into the spectator area opposite the pits, killing Levegh and 83 spectators. Jaguar would go on to win the disaster-marred race, refusing to withdraw alongside Mercedes. Hawthorn celebrated the victory with a bottle of champagne as if the disaster never happened.

The zenith of Hawthorn's career would come with his return to Ferrari in 1957. Beside the usual drama in Maranello, he dueled with Vanwall star Stirling Moss for the accolade of being the first British F1 world champion in 1958. During that season's Portuguese Grand Prix, Hawthorn stalled his 246 and bump-started the Dino V6 by driving downhill the wrong way on track. He would cross the finish line second behind Moss, but was later disqualified by race officials.

Moss went to the officials and successfully argued for Hawthorn's reinstatement. The Vanwall driver didn't know it in the moment, but his act of sportsmanship would secure the championship for his title rival. Hawthorn surprisingly retired as world champion at 28. Unbeknownst to most people, he had spent nearly his entire career competing with his terminal kidney disease. His driving style and recurrent errors were later attributed to his health issues. Hawthorn raced as if he were on borrowed time and even experienced blackouts behind the wheel.

Hawthorn's illness had become such an open secret by his retirement that his colleagues gifted him a liquor cabinet at a January 1959 gala dinner held in his honor. Hawthorn died three days later in a car crash. It's believed that he either made a mistake or blacked out and crashed his Mercedes 300SL while racing F1 team owner Rob Walker on a public road. Despite Britain's now-dominant position as the center of the F1 world, Hawthorn is largely a footnote in the sport's history. In stark contrast, Moss is fondly remembered as "the greatest F1 driver to never win the world championship." He even found fame in the United States as a commentator for ABC's "Wide World of Sports."

But what about you? Who would star in your dream car movie? Let us know in the comments below, and I'll round up my favorite answers next week.