Photo: Barrett-Jackson
Back in 1977, two exciting things happened in the world of cinema: George Lucas launched “Star Wars: A New Hope,” and Hal Needham did the same with "Smokey and the Bandit." The former would go on to create something of a cult following, while the latter cemented Burt Reynolds' career, and made the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am a phenomenon.
Smokey and the Bandit told the tale of two guys trying to move several hundred cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta before a set deadline. They use a truck for transport and a Trans Am to keep law enforcement busy.
It was during the movie that the bond between Reynolds and the Trans Am became very solid, as did the one between the car model and the movie with which it would forever be associated, at times in a rather forced manner.
There’s no need to force things with the 1977 Trans Am we have here, though. This one was a promotional vehicle for the flick and was gifted to Reynolds himself, becoming in the process the only one of its kind to have been owned by the actor.
The car comes in the SE configuration and has a list of extras on top of the factory offering. Under the hood, there’s the regular 400ci (6.6-liter) engine tied to an automatic transmission and good for 180 hp.
During its time in Reynolds’ ownership, the car was not used all that much, now showing just 3,600 miles (5,800 km) on the odometer. He got rid of it in 2014, and one year later, the vehicle entered a restoration process. Now it presents itself just like it did back in the day when it was a star thanks to the movie, down to the gold stripping and the word Bandit placed atop each door.
The Trans Am is for sale during this month’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona and, according to the seller, it goes complete with “scuff marks left by Reynolds' cowboy boots on the driver's sill plate.”
The car is going with no reserve, and no mention as to how much it is expected to fetch has been made.
Google News