To have the brochure ready for the launch of the 1977 model year, Pontiac took a '76 Trans Am - one with a 455cid V8 and 4-speed transmission - and replaced its front end with the new '77 design for the brochure photo shoot. "I remember when Hal Needham and I first saw this car," Reynolds says in a video as he sits next to the car when it visited his home. Several Detroit muscle cars were considered - until Needham and Reynolds saw the promotional brochure for the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. Burt Reynolds poses with the restored Pontiac promotional brochure car | Photos courtesy David Martino and Rick Deitersīack when they were plotting out the film, director Hal Needham and star Reynolds were trying to decide what car to cast as Reynolds' ride. It would be a few years later before he discovered the car's actual history and its relationship to the movie. Undaunted, in 2014 he found a Bandit-style Trans Am, in Virginia, and bought it for his mother. "I looked for years and every lead was a dead end," David Martino said.
#TRANS AM IN SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT 2 MOVIE#
"This is the original Bandit car, the car that started the whole Smokey and the Bandit phenomena," said David Martino, whose mother, Rena, had such a thing for Burt Reynolds that she sent her son on a quest to find her a car just like the one the handsome movie star had driven in the Smokey film.
Oh, and the car's significance also was assured - and on video - by Burt Reynolds before his recent death at the age of 82.Ī documentary about the car is in the works, and after that project is finished the car will be offered for sale, according to the son of the car's owner. The magazine reportedly had planned a one-page story on the car but, after a multi-month forensic study, ended up publishing an 8-page cover story on the car. The car is owned by an 85-year-old woman who runs an animal rescue shelter in South Carolina and the car's authenticity has been collaborated with evidence from Pontiac Historic Services and from Smoke Signals, the official magazine of the Pontiac-Oakland Club International. The buyer also received a certificate of authenticity from Universal Pictures, a Plaque from General Motors, the Original Movie Script, film location maps, pictures from behind the scenes, the Original Press Release kit, and an autograph from Burt Reynolds himself.Just when we thought we'd seen the last of the real, movie-related Smokey and the Bandit cars comes the revelation that the authenticity of the "original" car, the one that inspired the Pontiac Trans Am to share star billing with Burt Reynolds and the human actors, has been verified.
The restoration process was a complete “nut and bolt” rotisserie, that involved cleaning and repainting every part of the body to attain a factory finish. However, the MY 1977 Pontiac Trans Am that went under the hammer at the Scottsdale auction was previously titled to the “ Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theater.” The car was restored and retains its original drivetrain. Reynolds sold his personal Pontiac Trans Am “Bandit,” the last of the cars made for him. Reynold’s co-star in the Smokey and the Bandit film.Ĭuriously, this car sold for more than previous authorized “Bandit” Pontiac Trans Am models ever achieved at an auction. The Pontiac Trans Am was being driven by a Sally Field lookalike, Mr. The actor was riding shotgun and appeared on stage while “ Eastbound and Down” (by Jerry Reed) was playing on the hall’s audio system. We believe that only one of the original cars that appeared in the movie could have attained a higher price, and that would have happened if they were the same shape as this exhibit.Īs promised, Burt Reynolds was present on the auction block when the car was sold. This marks the highest ever price achieved at an auction by a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The latter will exhibit the 1977 Pontiac and keep it in the best shape possible. The price includes a 10% buyer’s premium and was paid by John Staluppi’s Cars of Dreams Museum in Florida. Even though the car didn’t appear in the actual film, as it was just a promotional vehicle that was exhibited in selected locations to promote the Burt Reynolds motion picture, LOT number 7004 sold for $550,000.
0 kommentar(er)
