---
title: "7 Reasons Why FOX’s Empire Does Cars Right"
description: "We come to the hit show for the singing, but we stay for the rides."
date: "2015-11-25"
modified: "2015-11-25"
authors:
  - name: "Sean Evans"
    job_title: "Entertainment Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/sean-evans"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/1012/7-reasons-why-foxs-empire-does-cars-right"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Roundup"
---

# 7 Reasons Why FOX’s Empire Does Cars Right

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/empirecars_hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Much ado is made over the glorious vocal pipes from the stars on FOX’s *Empire*, and rightfully so. Those actors can belt out a hit. But our favorite sounds from the show come from the tailpipes of the lesser-recognized supporting cast: a crop of choice rides gracing the screen. Here, our top picks:

**7. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS**

![empirecars\_1996dodgeviper\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_1996dodgeviper_art.jpg>)
**FOX**

This striped snake, piloted by our favorite beleaguered drug dealer-cum-rap mogul Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), makes its screen debut, slip-sliding around a corner before running smack into a police barricade. Lyon feathers the throttle, and the 8-liter V-10 snarls a salute to the cops. Impressed, the fuzz waves him through. Lyon then unleashes all 415 rabid ponies, eliciting a smile from the floozing riding shotgun. And from us.

**6. 2009 Bentley Continental Flying Spur**

![empirecars\_2009bentleycontinentalflyingspur\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_2009bentleycontinentalflyingspur_art.jpg>)
**FOX**

The Flying Spur has phenomenal stopping power for a saloon that tips the scales at 5,500 lbs. It brakes from 70 to 0 in less distance than a Lamborghini Murcielago. We get a small taste of this as the $240,000 gargantuan screeches up to a recording studio for Lyon’s sons to have a tense chat in the buttery-smooth leather backseat. There’s plenty of airtime for the interior, though sadly we never see the 600-hp V12 depart. And that’s a shame, because we hate to see her leave, but we love to watch her go.

**5. 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo**

![empirecars\_2009lamborghinigallardo\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_2009lamborghinigallardo_art.jpg>)
**China Photos/Getty Images**

A Lambo is the perfect choice to make a grand entrance to a slammed bash—like the brightly-colored Gallardo does in *Empire*. Don’t call it yellow, though. That color is actually “Giallo Halys.” Sure, it’s nice to turn heads and set off flashbulbs at a soiree, but we’d skip the shindig and have a party of one with that 5.2-liter V-10. Well, a party of 553, if you count all the horses braying behind you.

**4. 2012 Bentley Continental GT**

![empirecars\_2012bentleycontinentalgt\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_2012bentleycontinentalgt_art.jpg>)
**FOX**

*Empire* is a show about being cool, debonair, unflappable. The overbearing style of the Gallardo can be a touch audacious, particularly when the subtlety of a Bentley can more than suffice. Two doors and a quarter-ton lighter than its big brother, the Flying Spur, the GT doesn’t skimp on the goods. For instance, the W-12 powerplant generates more than 516 lb-ft of torque (that’s 118 more than the Gallardo, incidentally). When the GT pulls up behind the Lambo at the same party, we cheered a bit louder for the Winged B.

**3. 2010 Mercedes-Benz S550**

![empirecars\_2010mercedesbenzs550\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_2010mercedesbenzs550_art.jpg>)
**FOX**

The staple executive Merc makes an appearance late in the first season as a liveried ride for Lucious’ ex-fiancee, Anika Calhoun. We love the S550 because, while it doesn’t have the same gilded chariot vibe of a Bentley or a Rolls, the backseat is, shall we say, adequately appointed: there is ample legroom, a reclining executive seat, and enough creature comforts to mollify even the most jilted of ex-lovers.

**2. 2010 Audi R8**

![empirecars\_2010audir8\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_2010audir8_art.jpg>)
**FOX**

Blink and you’ll miss the low slung German supercar. It’s idling outside of a club during one brief exterior shot, though as the camera pans past the red coupe, we’re treated to a stab of the gas, prompting a sharp howl from the V-10. It’s as though the Audi’s been denied entrance to the venue and is protesting loudly to the doorman. Don’t fret, little fella. You’re always on our list.

**1. 1994 Chevrolet Impala**

![empirecars\_1994chevroleimpala\_art.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/empirecars_1994chevroleimpala_art.jpg>)
**FOX**

Perhaps the least flashy in the entire series, this beached whale is our favorite. It appears during a flashback of a drug deal gone awry for Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson), and she has to take cover behind the more-than-ample trunk during a shoot-out. The bloated boat is an SS variant, with an LT1 5.7 small block V8 lurking beneath the hood. Before Chevy plopped a Corvette engine in there, they tweaked the camshaft to favor torque over horsepower. Regardless, the 260 horses are more than enough for us.

## Author
A former entertainment columnist for the *New York Daily News*, Sean has contributed to a host of publications including *Conde Nast Traveler*, *Gawker Media*, *Sports Illustrated*, *Entertainment Weekly*, *Fast Company*, *New York Magazine* and more.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/AngryInParadise>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/AngryInParadise>)