Need for Speed: Ranking the best villain cars in the franchise

The Need for Speed franchise has often been about heroes and villains.

We’re usually rooting for the good guys in the series, but a few of the game’s antagonists have certainly captured our imaginations - not least because they’ve often been behind the wheel of some seriously awesome machinery.

So here we’re looking back at just a handful of our favourite cars driven by some of the more notorious NFS villains

8. Underground 2: Caleb Reece with the Pontiac GTO

Let's be honest; beating Caleb in the final race of NFS: Underground 2 was pretty easy, wasn't it?

The Bayview baddie wasn't really up to standard in his Pontiac GTO, which would be really heavy around corners and would understeer like crazy. Not that we felt too sorry for him, though.

7. Most Wanted: Razor with the Ford Mustang GT

This guy really made our blood boil when we were up against him in NFS: Most Wanted.

A cunning cheat and all round nasty piece of work, Razor - whose car of choice was a Ford Mustang GT with a (fairly cringeworthy, it must be said) flame vinyl on the side - would challenge the player to a race with their BMW M3 GTR.

Now, the Mustang is a cool car, but it is nowhere near the quickest car on the game and, in a fair fight, the player's M3 would be winning any race between two rather easily. But after Razor sabotages the M3 by unscrewing its oil sump, the engine seizes up during the contest and the player loses the race (as well as the car) to him. He gets his comeuppance, of course!

6. Undercover: Chase Linh with the BMW M6

Chase Linh is a constant source of motivation throughout NFS: Undercover, until a major twist in the story reveals she's in fact a corrupt cop who double-crosses us!

Her whip in the game is the BMW M6, which is pretty mediocre compared to other cars in the game - although it's responsiveness and stable steering means it's at least able to hold its own in the game's cop chases.

5. ProStreet: Ryo Watanabe with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

The Showdown King himself, Ryo Watanabe and his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X were the pairing to beat in the stylish NFS: ProStreet.

While perhaps not the outright fastest car we've mentioned here, Ryo's car gets some extra credit thanks to its very unique dragon vinyl design.

4. Payback: Lina Navarro with the McLaren P1

Lina Navarro is perhaps one of the least-loved antagonists of the entire NFS franchise, but at least she had a decent set of wheels when we faced her in NFS: Payback.

Her shiny black McLaren P1 is about as eye-catching as they come, with its 217 mph top speed and 727 bhp making it extremely hard to compete against.

3. Underground: Eddie with the Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec

The original... and the best?

Eddie was the main baddie in the original NFS: Underground with his iconic dark orange Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec the car to beat. Seriously, this car was the very essence of the Underground street-racing aesthetic and perhaps the biggest star of the entire series.

2. The Run: Marcus Blackwell with the Aston Martin One-77

Almost certainly one of the most impressive cars on this list is the stunning Aston Martin One-77, driven by Mob crony Marcus Blackwell in NFS: The Run.

Our only lingering question is what was Marcus' problem with us, exactly? "Beyond winning, Marcus' primary motivation is to take Jack out of the race… permanently." Ominous, yes, but why? Thankfully, Marcus and his lovely AM finish the game in a heap after he flips his car in the big finale.

1. Carbon: Darius with the Audi Le Mans Quattro

This car was cool. Heck, even the name is cool. And winning it from Darius was about as satisfying as things got in NFS: Carbon.

The Le Mans Quattro is seriously quick as well, with a particularly fast straight-line speed coupled with near-perfect handling. And we even like the colour!

Need for Speed: 2021 delayed

NFS fans will have to busy themselves with some of these older titles for now, with the recent news that EA will move Criterion Games onto Battlefield 6.

The decision will delay the next Need for Speed title until 2022. Added to the Gran Turismo 7 delay it has been a miserable start to 2021 for race fans.