Look on the bright side – being stuck indoors means we have more time to dig into our TV and movie playlists. For gearheads like us, that means we have a huge list of car shows that we can stream to our heart’s content. To help you in your quest to inundate your brain with the best and brightest that the automotive world has to offer, we’ve put together a completely subjective list of the best car shows online today.
We’ve perused a wide array of streaming platforms and found a wide selection of great shows to keep you occupied. Here are our picks for the best car shows online right now.
Best Car Shows on Netflix
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (6 Seasons, Netflix)
A blend of comedy and travelogue with a touch of classic car info, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is the most laid-back show on this list.
The premise is simple: car enthusiast and legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld picks up a famous friend in a classic car and they go out and get coffee. They chat during the drive and over a cup of joe. That’s pretty much it. Despite the bare-bones idea, the show is oddly intriguing. Every episode starts out with Seinfeld giving a brief description and history of the classic car he’s chosen for the day. And throughout the episode, we’re treated with great shots of it on the road. The conversations have a delightfully candid feel, and the locales will have you updating your to-do list for your next visit to SoCal.
Hyperdrive (1 Season, Netflix)
On the opposite end of the chill spectrum is the wildly entertaining Hyperdrive. This reality series takes 28 international competitors through an obstacle-laden racetrack. With a huge focus on drifting, each course has obstacles that must either be hit or missed as the competitors blaze through trying to get the fastest time. The slowest racers are eliminated, while the survivors carry on to the next round until one is declared the Hyperdrive Champion.
The competitors have intriguing backstories and bring their own custom cars. These souped-up autos are drool-worthy (our favorite is Joao Barion’s 800-horsepower ’65 Mustang). Watching them blaze around the track is like watching a real-life Fast and Furious film. You’ll find it hard to stay in your seat as your favorite competitor drifts by obstacles with inches to spare.
West Coast Customs (6 Seasons, Netflix)
This car remodeling reality show centers on owner Ryan Friedlinghaus and his crew as they turn factory model vehicles into amazing fully customized rigs.
The WCC shop was made famous by MTV’s Pimp My Ride. While the MTV show is off the air, West Coast Customs is going strong on its own. Featuring cameos from celebrity customers like Shaquille O’Neil, Justin Beiber, and Mark Wahlberg.
As far as the upgrades, we’re not talking about everyday upgrades like a new sound system or an in-dash PS5, although WCC does incorporate those into many of their builds. West Coast Customs has turned stock cars into Batmobiles, Mad Max-style Armageddon machines, and the crotch-horned, red-coiffed Conanmobile designed for Conan O’Brien to take to comic con. The skill and creativity that goes into these vehicles is utterly amazing. This show will have you looking out at your driveway and imagining the possibilities.
Rust Valley Restorers (1 Season, Netflix)
In this series, owner Mike Hall, along with his son and best friend, takes beaten-down classic cars and brings them back to showroom condition.
Located in British Columbia, Hall’s company Rust Bros was opened with the goal of bringing the hundreds of classic cars back to life. The show chronicles the shop’s attempts to refurbish and sell the hundreds of cars in Hall’s lot. A huge part of the show’s charm is in the charismatic, dreadlocked Hall, whose enthusiasm is perfectly balanced by his partners Avery Shoaf and Connor Chapman-Hall.
In direct contrast to West Coast Custom’s catering to celebrities with bottomless budgets, Rust Bros’ goal is to restore beaten-down autos to their former glory and to sell them at an affordable price. In addition to restoring cars from Hall’s lot, Rust Bros also takes on clients and restores their beloved autos as well. It’s fascinating with a load of humor, personality, and heart.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2 Seasons, Netflix)
Produced in collaboration with Formula One, this docuseries offers a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers, cars, and races of the Formula One World Championship. The show offers the drama, excitement, stunning speed, and harrowing crashes that the championship series entails.
The racers and their teams are chock full of personality, and it’s inspiring to see the racer’s drive and the sacrifices they make to rise to the top of the ranks. As each season progresses towards that year’s championship, the drama and tension heighten, making each season a must-watch for race fans, even if they already know the outcome.
Best Car Shows on Amazon Prime Video
The Grand Tour (4 Seasons, Prime Video)
This Prime Original Series re-teams hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May in which the trio takes out a menagerie of outstanding vehicles on a series of adventures. The pilot episode starts with a Burning Man-style festival announcing their triumphant return to television, complete with a desert caravan of vehicles and a fighter plane flyover.
The excitement only ramps up from there. The hosts have a terrific rapport that belies their years of working together as these car journalists try dune buggies, drift cars, bulletproof cars, tanks, and supercars to name a few. You’ll see them cruising down rugged coastlines, ziplining their vehicles across gorges, and attempting to float their rides across rivers. It’s safe to say that there’s never a dull moment on this show.
Le Mans: Racing is Everything (1 Season, Prime Video)
The world’s oldest active sports car endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been held every year since 1923.
One of the most prestigious races in the world, the race’s winner is determined by whoever covers the most distance over the course of 24 hours. Racing teams must balance speed with the auto and the driving team’s endurance.
Les Mans: Racing is Everything covers six teams as they race, basking in the legend and history of this prestigious event. Perennial winner Audi is chased by lauded racers Porsche and Toyota, as well as Nissan, who’s driving team includes a PlayStation GT Academy winner. Shot in 4k, the coverage features beautiful scenery as these vehicles race up to 3,000 miles while sometimes going 200 mph.
Best Car Shows on Hulu
Diesel Brothers (4 Seasons, Hulu)
If you’re a truck fan, this show celebrates the diesel truck lifestyle. Profiling friends David “Heavy D” Sparks and David “Diesel Dave” Kiley, owners of the fit-it shop called Sparks Motors. Here, they customize diesel trucks for clients, flips trucks for profit, and even sets some up for giveaway.
The owners are charismatic and clearly love what they do. The show follows the buddies as they turn everyday trucks into high-powered behemoths. The two principles, combined with a team of characters helping run the business, form a charismatic team with plenty of knowledge and expertise. The crew blends low-brow humor with a high-brow blend of historical and mechanical knowledge. Combine that with a variety of wild truck stunts that they film for their social following, and you’ve got a well-rounded, entertaining mix of brains and brawn.
Fast N’ Loud (Seasons 13 & 15, Hulu)
Season 13 of Fast N Loud starts out with donuts in Kenny Roger’s car from the film Six Pack, a step-van converted into a hot rod, and purchase of a super rare 1965 Shelby GT350 Mustang. And that’s just the beginning!
This show follows Richard Rawlings and his team at Gas Monkey Garage as they seek out and restore run-down vehicles for profit. The show is a mix of an auction show, American Pickers-style treasure hunting, and a killer auto show. The characters are entertaining and the vehicles are, as the title says, fast and loud.
Best Car Shows on Apple TV+
Long Way Around, Long Way Down, Long Way Up (3 Seasons, Apple TV+)
This 3-season project is a blend of international travelogue and a buddy film. It follows movie star Ewan MacGregor and his friend Charlie Boorman on long-range motorcycle trips around the world.
The first season was filmed in 2004. It documents MacGregor and Boorman as they ride their BMW motorcycles 19,000 miles through Europe and Asia, then fly to Alaska, riding from there to New York. Season 2 follows their 2007 trip from London to Cape Town. In season 3, The Long Way Up, MacGregor, and Boorman ride Harley Livewire electric motorcycles from Argentina to Los Angeles in 2019. The shows chronicle the daily rigor and pleasure of a long international motorcycle trek.
The terrain is spectacular, with footage of wide vistas and remote locations, and the cohost’s video diaries put you in touch with the struggles, elation, and wonder that you can only experience on two-wheels.
Cars, Cars (1 Season, Apple TV+)
This adorable kid’s show on Apple+ showcases Jacques and Nicholas, an alligator and raccoon who live together and share a love for cars. These short vignettes (about 5 minutes) teach kids about different types of automobiles in a fun and simple format. Each show takes a few different vehicles and highlights which ones work best in different situations and is a great way for kids to engage with and learn about different vehicles.
The bright colors, use of humor, and simple storylines keep young ones engaged entertained, and the show acts as an excellent, low-intensity way to help foster a kid’s interest in the automotive world.
Best Car Shows on Discovery+
Bad Chad Customs (2 Seasons, Discovery+)
While there are tons of auto custom shows available, Bad Chad customs is a standout. This is in part because Chad Hiltz, the proprietor of Bad Chad Customs, creates his custom hot rods using only whatever scrap metals are available. And in the small town of Canning, Nova Scotia, that’s no small feat.
Hiltz takes these scrap materials and builds junked cars into award-winning works of art, using parts from boats, planes, RV’s, and even home furnishings to build out his creations. For more information on the show and its start, check out our interview with Chad Hiltz here.
Street Outlaws (17 Seasons, Discovery+)
This docu-reality series follows the world of street racing in Oklahoma City, which claims to have the fastest street cars in the United States. The racers customize a variety of vehicles from classic muscle cars and imports to race-ready farm trucks, all in an effort to rise up in the ranks of their top ten list of the fastest racers. The show follows the culture of illegal street racing, although the races in the show take placed on closed roads and in a controlled environment.
The participants are passionate and charismatic, and the rids get lighter and faster with each season. Even though the races are controlled, the sense of danger and drama is palpable in every episode.
Best Car Shows on YouTube
Hoonigan Autofocus (YouTube)
This YouTube channel runs the gamut of experiences, including drifting, baja, and supercars. It follows Larry Chen and other Hoonigan photographers as they capture amazing images of some of the most powerful and rare cars in the world. Not a frame of this show is wasted from the jaw-dropping stunts to the stunning settings. Watching this show, it’s hard to decide what’s more impressive: the cars and drivers, or technical expertise required to effectively do them justice in a photo.
VinWiki Car Stories (YouTube)
These short 8- to 20-minute clips feature interviews and entertaining stories from all facets of the automotive world. These bite-size car story videos are perfect when you don’t have time for a full-length tv show.
From videos asking professional driver Randy Pobst how to pee in a racecar (most drivers pee their pants, but Pobst found a cleaner method), to finding a smuggler stealth truck at a DEA auction, there’s no shortage of areas to cover. If you’re overwhelmed at the options, we recommend the “How insane is the high school car scene in Dubai?” episode.
Michael Fassbender: Road to Le Mans (YouTube)
Produced by Porsche, this YouTube series follows the X-Men actor as he goes from novice racer to (hopefully) Le Mans competitor. Fassbender has stated that one of his lifelong dreams has been to be a top-tier racer. He grew up watching Michael Schumacher winning his F1 titles and has been credited as having a comprehensive knowledge of 1980s Group B rally racing.
Since his 2015 invitation to enter the Ferrari Challenge Series, Fassbender has been training seriously, eventually setting his sights on the 24 hours of Le Mans. It’s a refreshing and insightful look at someone who has achieved the pinnacle in one field (acting) becoming an amateur again in the highly competitive and dangerous field of auto racing.
Best Car Shows Online
Our best car shows online list includes content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+, Discovery+, and YouTube. Our list is nowhere near exhaustive, but we feel you can’t go wrong with spending some of your quality time taking in some of these best automotive culture shows available on the internet today. Whether you’re looking to be informed, entertained, and/or awestruck, all of these shows will keep you coming back for more.
