Picture Car Glossary
VFX vehicle or digital car
What is a vFX vehicle or digital car?
Updated June 2026 · Revolution Picture Cars
Also called digital car, or CG vehicle.
A VFX vehicle or digital car is a computer-generated picture vehicle created by the visual effects department rather than using a real physical car.
Digital cars are used when a required vehicle does not exist, when stunts are too dangerous to perform physically, when a scene requires vehicle counts or destruction impossible to achieve practically, or when the production needs a futuristic or fictional vehicle design. Even when digital cars are used, a real hero car is often photographed for reference and to match lighting, surfacing, and dimensional accuracy in the CGI model.
Example
A vehicle that cannot exist, or a crash too dangerous to stage, is built digitally. It still needs plate photography, lighting reference, and often a physical stand-in on the day for eyelines and interaction.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
A visual effects deliverable agreed in prep, with on-set reference gathered by the VFX supervisor.
Common mistake
Deciding to go digital without gathering on-set reference. Lighting data, camera information, and often a physical stand-in are what make the result sit in the plate.
Related questions
- When is a digital vehicle used?
- When the vehicle cannot exist, cannot be built in time, or the action would be too dangerous or destructive to stage practically.
- What does VFX need from the shooting day?
- Lighting reference, camera and lens data, a clean plate, and often a stand-in object for eyelines and interaction.
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