The best cars in Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe

Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe has taken Australia by storm, currently number two on the streaming service's most-watched list.

Based on the novel of the same name by Australian writer Trent Dalton, the story of Eli Bell and his family has captivated viewers with its compelling storyline, gritty violence, and a nostalgic trip through the Australian suburbia of 1985. And it’s the latter that has us car geeks salivating.

RELATED: Did Lincoln pay for The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix?

Set in the suburbs of Brisbane in 1985, Boy Swallows Universe is simply brimming with cars. From the lead characters to the supporting cast, cars play a supporting but important role in the seven-part series.

And it’s evident in every scene that the show’s producers have absolutely nailed their car game. Period-correct vehicles abound – from the vehicles driven by the main characters to those that simply appear parked on the street in the background, every single car has been placed with attention to period-correct detail.

From a proliferation of XD Falcon cop cars to a shining red 1980 Toyota Corona Liftback, from a fleeting glimpse of a Ford ZJ Fairlane to the WB One Tonner-based Holden ambulances resplendent in the mustard yellow of the Queensland Ambulance service, the cars of Boy Swallows Universe are impeccable, effortlessly helping to establish time and place.

But, amongst the cornucopia of mid-1980s automotive metal, there are some standouts. Unsurprisingly, they belong – mostly – to the lead players in this utterly engaging Aussie drama. Here then, are our five favourite cars from Netflix’s Boy Swallow Universe.

Teddy’s Holden TE Gemini only makes sporadic appearances in the series but they are pivotal moments. Finished in two-tone blue and silver, and riding on period-correct Center Line-style mag wheels, the Gemini looks exactly like the type of car a character like Teddy would drive.

The little four-banger (in production from 1979-82) looks the part in a series set in 1985, right down to, as one eagle-eyed spotter on Facebook observed, its period correct tyres – SF-340 Eagers. Go the Gemini!

When Eli’s step-dad, Lyle, needs to ferry his dysfunctional family around, his vehicle of choice is a Datsun C20 Vanette. And it looks sharp too, finished in that oh-so-1970s shade of Datsun's Sunny Yellow (colour code 208) paint bedecked with period-correct yellow and brown decals and some pretty nifty floral yellow curtains. Splendid.

Slim Halliday, ex-con and good friend to Eli Bell, is a bit of a loner. A calming presence and sage voice in Eli Bell’s life, Slim lives off the grid, setting up camp by the side of an undisclosed river where he likes to do nothing more than fish and contemplate life.

Slim’s vehicle of choice reflects his lifestyle – a short-wheelbase Toyota FJ40 LandCruiser, finished in that ubiquitous beige that almost every LandCruiser at the time was finished in.

It makes only a couple of brief appearances but Detective Tim Cotton’s beloved Datsun 240Z steals the show in every scene it’s in. It’s an appropriate car for a bent Queensland copper, ostentatious yet still within the bounds of what a senior detective could just about afford if he scrimped and saved. Any flashier, and it would arouse suspicions of his shady dealings with Brisbane’s criminal underworld. Not so the silver 240Z which looks as good on screen as it would have when it rolled out of the dealership new.

The Kingswood wagon has an ethereal role in Boy Swallows Universe, a cosmic chariot that serves as a mysterious guide for Eli and his brother Gus. The mystery isn’t solved until late in the series, but its occasional appearances steal the show.

Belonging to Eli’s and Gus’s father, Robert, the HG Kingswood encapsulates the family in a way few cars could. It’s Australian, it’s old, it’s battered, and it’s magnificent as it takes the boys on a journey that will change their lives forever. It’s nostalgia on four wheels, a reminder that Australia once enjoyed a thriving automotive industry.

Boy Swallows Universe is streaming now on Netlfix.

So what do you think? Have you watched Boy Swallows Universe? What did you think of the line-up of four-wheel co-stars? Let us know in the comments below?