45 years later, Trans Am from 'Smokey and the Bandit' lives on in Palmetto (2024)

FAQs

Who owns the original Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit? ›

It has four wheels and a gold bird on the hood. "It's a 1977 Trans Am," says Gene Kennedy, owner of Bandit Movie Cars in Palmetto. "We take it all over the country. We've been to Vegas, and Detroit, Chicago, and Houston."

According to Director Hal Needham, they used three Trans Am examples for the movie, and it turned the model into a superstar. After the movie came out, sales jumped from 68,745 units in the previous year to 93,341.

Engine. Under the hood of the incredible Trans Ams used for the film sat a 400 ci V8 engine, which pushed out somewhere in the realm of 200 horsepower. Torque numbers were a lot higher at around 320 ft/lbs. Unlike many iconic muscle cars that we've all come to know and love, the Trans Am was not that fast.

To put things into perspective, the car had an original MSRP of just $8,082.

That year, Pontiac built just 1286 Firebird Trans Ams equipped with the 455 HO motor, which made an even 300 horsepower and hefty 415 lb-ft of torque. You could spec yours with either a three-speed automatic or a close-ratio M22 four-speed manual, and 458 TAs were ordered as such.

With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours revising the shooting schedule. "Buford T.

Moreover, our Z/28 produced a top speed of 105 mph (limited by the redline and the 3.73 rear axle), while the Trans-Am with a 3.23 final-drive ratio was no faster than 110 mph. The major drawback of both these cars is usable interior space.

Many viewers forget the Bandit makes his living as a trucker, not as a Trans Am stunt driver, and that the rig with the Coors is his and his buddy Snowman is only driving it.

Based on data from 3 vehicles, 16 fuel-ups and 3,095 miles of driving, the 1977 Pontiac Firebird gets a combined Avg MPG of 12.59 with a 0.45 MPG margin of error.

What is the rarest Trans Am ever made? ›

Pontiac offered the 455 through the 1976 model year, but tightening restrictions on vehicle emissions guaranteed its demise. Thus, the 1976 Trans Am was the last of the "Big Cube Birds," with only 7,100 units produced with the 455 engine.

Before she asks the famous question, the camera points to a shot of the speedometer that reads 70mph or 110kph. The Bandit reflects the thoughts of those audience members who paid enough attention to notice the tiny detail and makes the others think that the car is a lot faster than it is.

Like the three cars used for the movie (all were destroyed), it is a correct Y82 Special Edition model in black with Hurst T-Tops, a black interior and a tire-shredding 6.6-liter engine.

“With a big hood and a ton of power beneath said hood, the truck is heaved by a twin-turbo Cummins, with the occasional truck carrying a 3408 Cat instead. The BBC (bumper to back-of-cab) for the W900 model ranges from 121 inches to 130 inches, which makes it one of the largest cabs you can find.”

There were four modified 1976 Pontiac Trans Ams provided for the movie. By the time filming ended, three had been wrecked and the last could barely run. The famous bridge jumping scene required the installation of a rocket to help boost the Trans Am into the air, and the landing totaled it.

A: The original "Bandit" Trans am is kept at The Performace Car Museum, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Pontiac had supplied four new Trans-Ams for the movie, but by the time the final scenes were shot they had wiped out three Trans-Ams and the surviving fourth wouldn't start or run after all of the stunts and crashes, so a push-car was used to push the last remaining Trans-Am into the scene.