History Main / ExternalCombustion

** A favourite assassination of Elias, though using the more efficient remote detonator method.
** In one episode John Reese is being chased by HR, an organisation of corrupt police, who try to detonate the bomb they've planted in Reese's car. Unfortunately for them Reese not only deactivated the bomb, he also broke into their car and attached the remote detonator to the explosives they had stored there, so all they do is blow themselves up.

'''Bart: '''Well then ''you'' start it!\\
'''Homer:''' Alright, fine! I'll take a cab!

* Famously done [[HowWeGotHere in the opening scene]] of ''Film/{{Casino}}''. Sam is narrating to himself as he walks out of a restaurant into his car, and it explodes when he turns the key. [[spoiler:Subverted, however, as we see later on that he survived, as a metal plate under the seat(factory installed due to a balancing issue), delayed the explosion enough for Sam to notice it and jump out with only minor injuries.]]

* In the beginning of ''[[OceansEleven Ocean's Twelve]]'', Rusty nearly meets this fate, but is spared by villain Terry Benedict under orders from his partner, so Benedict settles for exploding it ten feet from Rusty to show he's not a HarmlessVillain and means business.

* ''Series/{{Hunter}}''

* ''Film/BlownAway'' has a variation; the bomb is inside the bomb disposal robot, a fact that the bomb squad leader realises too late. As per this trope, a closeup of a hand turning the key to shut down the robot is followed by it exploding while the hero is rushing in vain to warn them.

* At the end of Film/52PickUp'', Creator/RoyScheider's character offers his sports car as part payment to the man blackmailing him. When he turns the ignition the doors lock, trapping him inside, and ''then'' the car explodes.

* Parodied in ''Film/InspectorGadget''--Sanford Scolex blows up John Brown's [[TheAllegedCar Chevette]] with an [[LethalJokeItem exploding cigar]] that has enough punch to lay waste to the unfortunate car.

* In Creator/Dick Francis's novel ''Bolt'', protagonist Kit Fielding catches the bad guy doing something in the engine compartment of his car. The GenreSavvy Kit resorts to a rather American way of dealing with the problem: his car happens to be fitted with a "remote starter", so he ties the bad guy to the steering wheel and tells him that unless he confesses to his crimes, Kit will walk away and start the engine from a safe distance. [[spoiler:The bad guy confesses and tells Kit how to disarm and remove the bomb he had planted, after which Kit demonstrates that he wasn't lying about the remote starter.]]

* ''Film/AnotherFortyEightHrs''. The protagonists avoid getting blown up because their car has a remote starter, so they're not sitting in it at the time.

* In ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', the Lotus Esprit from ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' self-destructs when one of the bad guys tries to use the butt of his gun to break into the car.

* ''Literature/TheOdessaFile''. The IntrepidReporter has a bomb put in his [[CoolCar Jaguar XK150]], which wasn't attached to the ignition but set to go off when the suspension is compressed, as well as only using a very small pyrotechnic charge taped to the car's fuel tank in order to MakeItLookLikeAnAccident. Unfortunately for the bad guys, their explosives expert failed to take into account the fact that a high-performance sportscar has rather stiffer suspension than a more mundane vehicle and the target never even notices it had been planted.

** Happens again by accident in ''Quiller's Run''. Quiller has been boxed in by an extensive surveillance team. As night falls, another agent of similar build plans to drive away in his car in the hope of leading off the enemy so Quiller can escape. It works better than expected [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone because a bomb had been placed in his car]]. The surveillance team quickly vanish before the police show up, thinking Quiller has been killed.

* Used in the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' story [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/yesterday Yesterday]] as the method Clef uses to take out Moose in his GottaKillThemAll plot. After Moose fakes her death, she escapes into her car - convinced she's outsmarted Clef, until she starts the car's engine and it bursts into flames.

* This is of course the whole set-up to ''Film/{{Speed}}'' - the bomb is rigged to activate at the bus hitting 50 mph, and detonate upon it going ''under'' that speed.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' Man without Fear storyline, Kingpin dispatches one of his goons this way after he finds out the titular goon was running a ransom scam behind his back.
* In ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', a thug named Georgie Hill discovered a cache of weapons belonging to [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn The Green Goblin]], and showed the cache to a mysterious contact in exchange for money. The contact detonated a bomb under Georgie's car once the transaction was completed [[HeKnowsTooMuch because he was a loose end]]. The contact later used Osborn's weapons and glider to become the Hobgoblin.

* ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'': Reid Randall's brother and sister-in-law are killed by a car bomb by mobsters who want to take control of the family's garment factory. [[DeathByOriginStory This inspires Reid to become the superhero Knight Watchman]].
* ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'': When [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Linda Danvers]] realizes she and her mother have gotten into a car bomb (planted by a criminal group who is extorting Linda's father), she quickly gets her mother out of it, and then she throws the vehicle into the space where it blows up safely.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/IslandOfFire'' revolves around a crime syndicate who employs desperate, suicidal men as their assassins, where after they carried out hits they're then allowed to escape via getaway vehicle... only for the vehicle to be revealed to be rigged, which blows up as soon as they stepped on the pedal. Andrew, the geeky protagonist, witnesses his father-in-law (a politician) getting assasinated, where the fleeing assassin tries getting away in a car only for the car to suddenly explode; it forms a nice set of BookEnds at the ending when [[spoiler:Andrew, now an assassin himself, tries entering another vehicle, only to suddenly hesitate and warns his fellow assassins Lee, Da Chui and Fatty to not enter their getaway vehicle. Sure enough, their vehicle suddenly blows up a few seconds before they can board]].

* This is of course the whole set-up to ''Film/{{Speed}}'' - the bomb is rigged to activate at the bus hitting 50 mph, and detonate upon it going ''under'' that speed.
* In ''Film/JohnnyDangerously'', Roman Maroni does this to you [[DisproportionateRetribution if you park in his space]].
* Parodied in ''Film/JaneAustensMafia'' (the Creator/JayMohr comedy), where Mohr's character is in the car when this happens. He survives, but loses most of his skin in the accident (leading to a major {{Squick}} moment when he eats a tangerine, leading to a multiple VomitIndiscretionShot). By the time [[spoiler:he meets up with his wife again]], he only has a small bandage on his cheek. When he is asked what happened, he replies, [[UnexplainedRecovery "Car exploded."]]
* In ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', the Lotus Esprit from ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' self-destructs when one of the bad guys tries to use the butt of his gun to break into the car.
* Famously done [[HowWeGotHere in the opening scene]] of ''Film/{{Casino}}''. Sam is narrating to himself as he walks out of a restaurant into his car, and it explodes when he turns the key. [[spoiler:Subverted, however, as we see later on that he survived, as a metal plate under the seat(factory installed due to a balancing issue), delayed the explosion enough for Sam to notice it and jump out with only minor injuries.]]
-->'''Sam:''' When you love someone you've got to trust them, there's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point? And for a while, I thought that was the kind of love I had.
* ''Film/AngelsAndDemons'' (TheMovie): TheDragon is [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killed]] this way.
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', a judge is shown out to her car by secret service types with sealed instructions as to her destination. When she opens the envelope, the note contains only a single word: "UP". '''BOOM.'''
* As with the book, so with the film: in [[Film/ThePelicanBrief The Pelican Brief]], attempting to kill the protagonist.
* A mob boss in ''Film/TheGangThatCouldntShootStraight'' is terrified of being killed by a car bomb and always has one of his underlings start his car for him. At the end of the film, he is killed by a bomb that is triggered when the driver's door slams after the engine has been started.
* In ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}'', Tony is supposed to help a hitman kill a government official with the remote-detonated variant. [[EvenEvilHasStandards He refuses to do so]] [[spoiler:when he sees the official's kids get in the target car]].
* One of Darkman's allies is killed this way in ''Film/DarkmanIITheReturnOfDurant''.
* ''Film/WiseGuys'' has testing a car for this as Creator/DannyDeVito's chore, as the low man in the Family. Wincing, he turns the engine over, and doesn't blow up. He makes it back to the other happy laughing mobsters, including his boss, and they chat. [[spoiler:THEN it blows up.]]
* ''Film/RoyalWarriors'' combines this trope with AccidentalMurder. Assassins attempts to kill Peter Yamamoto using this method, but only manage to blow up his wife and daughter causing him to go on his RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* ''Transporter''
** TheDragon in ''Film/TheTransporter'' attempts to get rid of Frank Martin with a bomb in a suitcase, resulting in his car going kaboom (he wasn't in it, but [[PunkInTheTrunk two policeman were]]).
** In ''Film/{{Transporter 2}}'', the villains have attached a remote-controlled bomb to the bottom of Frank's car, which he sees reflected in a puddle of water. As the villains are pointing guns at him he has to get in anyway, and detaches it by launching the car into the air so the magnetically-attached bomb is knocked off by a crane hook. It would have been a lot simpler [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim for the villains to have just shot him]], or for Frank to have parked the car and ran away as soon as he was out of sight, [[RuleOfCool but well...]]
* In the original version of ''Film/TheMechanic1972'', [[spoiler:[=McKenna=] gets into his car at the end of the film, realising too late it was rigged to explode by Bishop, who knew that [=McKenna=] would eventually kill him]].
* ''Film/MichaelCollins'' features one of the assassinations of British agents as being accomplished via this. The use of such a method in the time period (as well as the Northern Irish agents featured) is entirely fictitious, and an obvious reference to UsefulNotes/TheTroubles.
* Alex Murphy becomes the eponymous character in ''Film/RoboCop2014'' when this is done to him.
* ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen''. The WellIntentionedExtremist put remote-controlled bombs inside the gas tanks, where a prior search didn't find them. The protagonist is ForcedToWatch as the woman he mentored struggles to escape from a vehicle with sabotaged locks as the other cars explode one by one, before her car also blows up.
* In ''Film/OrdinaryDecentCriminal'', a judge is intimidated by planting a bomb in his daughter's car, triggered by the remote unlocker. The fact that it blew up right in front of the judge, and only injured his son-in-law instead of killing his daughter or himself, makes it a GambitRoulette as far as intimidation tactics go.
* In ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla'', the evil aliens put a bomb in the heroes' car. Nanbara saw it coming and starts the car at a distance by turning the key with a long string. After seeing the explosion at a distance, the aliens relax and think their plan succeeded.
* The baddies in ''Film/TheBigHeat'' try to kill the hero this way but the plan gets thwarted when the wife gets into the car and gets killed instead.
* Subverted in ''Film/TheIrishman'' to show Jimmy Hoffa's wife's paranoia after a number of such "messages" have been exchanged. We get the textbook ignition key close-up, she hesitates for a long time, and there's even a fakeout of a car exploding when she eventually does turn the key, which turns out to be an ImagineSpot.
* Parodied in ''Film/InspectorGadget''--Sanford Scolex blows up John Brown's [[TheAllegedCar Chevette]] with an [[LethalJokeItem exploding cigar]] that has enough punch to lay waste to the unfortunate car.
* In ''Film/MassacreAtCentralHigh'', David sets up the hot rod Rodney inherited from Bruce to explode when he turns it on, killing him, as punishment for Rodney's bullying.
* ''Film/{{Stone}}''. A DeathMontage includes one of the outlaw bikers being killed by a hitman using a bomb placed inside his motorbike while he's trysting with a female friend. As the victim climbs onto his bike and turns the ignition key, there's a close-up of his name painted on the fuel tank: [[BlackComedy Blooey]].
* In ''Film/NothingButTheNight'', five trustees are killed when their yacht explodes: dynamite stolen from the quarry rigged to explode when the engine switched over to the reserve fuel tank.

* ''The Specialist'' by Gayle Rivers. Rivers is hired to kill a Basque terrorist and [[FalseFlagOperation make it look like the work of Spanish extremists]]. He decides a car bomb is best, but the terrorist has a bodyguard who always inspects the car and starts the engine beforehand. So Rivers studies the model and makes a shaped-charge designed to [[UndersideRide fit underneath the car without being seen]], set off by radio detonation. After sliding underneath a long line of cars to get to the target vehicle without being observed, he plants the device and leaves, only to have the [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Spanish extremists he's trying to frame show up and blatantly stuff explosives inside the vehicle where the bodyguard is bound to notice]]. Fortunately the bomb goes off prematurely, removing the evidence of River's more professional attempt.
* Happens in the ''Literature/StephaniePlum'' book ''One for the Money'', with the car she appropriated from Morelli (in this book, he's the skip she's chasing). Another of Vinnie's bounty hunters is the ill-fated person who starts the car.
** This is actually one of the least common ways Stephanie's [[RunningGag cars get blown up]].

* In ''Kiss Me Deadly'' Literature/MikeHammer has a brand-new car delivered to him as a bribe by TheMafia. Realising it's SchmuckBait, he has a mechanic friend check it out. He finds a bomb connected to the starter, and a second hidden bomb set to go off when the car accelerates to higher speeds while he's driving in the country. Later a couple of Mafia hitmen take Hammer [[DeadlyEuphemism for a ride]] in the car and congratulate him on having found both bombs. Mike says innocently, "You mean there was more than one bomb?" causing [[OhCrap the driver to slam on the brakes in panic]], giving Mike a chance to turn the tables on them.
* ''Literature/TheOdessaFile''. The IntrepidReporter has a bomb put in his [[CoolCar Jaguar XK150]], which wasn't attached to the ignition but set to go off when the suspension is compressed, as well as only using a very small pyrotechnic charge taped to the car's fuel tank in order to MakeItLookLikeAnAccident. Unfortunately for the bad guys, their explosives expert failed to take into account the fact that a high-performance sportscar has rather stiffer suspension than a more mundane vehicle and the target never even notices it had been planted.

* ''Series/AdamTwelve'' had one with a stalker who made his ex girlfriend’s car blow up. Reed and Malloy were dealing with an over eager officer who had just returned to work after a severe injury several years earlier. He couldn’t adapt to the new police work rules and they are fairly sure that if he had done his job right and they’d been able to make an arrest that stuck, the guy would have been in prison before he could plant the bomb.

** At least two [[LesCollaborateurs Russia-appointed]] [[TheQuisling officials]] in the Russian-occupied cities have been killed by bombs in cars by the local Ukrainian [[LaResistance resistance]]. One that survived reportedly had his but literally torn off by the explosion.

* During the invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} in 2022, at least two [[LesCollaborateurs Russia-appointed]] [[TheQuisling officials]] in the Russian-occupied cities have been killed by bombs in cars by the local Ukrainian [[LaResistance resistance]] and a third was injured.

* During the invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} by UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} in 2022, at least two [[LesCollaborateurs Russia-appointed]] [[TheQuisling officials]] in the Russian-occupied cities have been killed by bombs in cars by the local [[LaResistance resistance]] and a third was injured.