The Bandit's Trans Am: the black and gold car that sold a million dreams
Smokey and the Bandit turned the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am into the coolest car in America. Here is how they did it.
Some movie cars are props. The Bandit's Trans Am was a co-star. In 1977, stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham made Smokey and the Bandit with Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason and Jerry Reed, and a black Pontiac with a gold firebird on the hood became the car every guy in America wanted.
The plot is a beer run
The Bandit and his buddy Snowman take a bet to haul 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana to Atlanta in 28 hours. Coors could spoil in a week without refrigeration, hence the deadline. Bandit runs interference in the Trans Am while Snowman drives the truck, and Sheriff Buford T. Justice chases them across the South.
The cars
Pontiac supplied four 1977 Trans Ams for the shoot. They were actually 1976 models fitted with 1977 front ends and 455 engines. All four got beaten up badly during filming; by the end only one was barely running and the rest had become parts donors.
The Bandit effect
The movie made it to second place at the 1977 box office, behind only Star Wars, and grossed more than $300 million worldwide on a budget of $4.3 million. Trans Am sales nearly doubled within two years of the release, and the Trans Am outsold the Chevy Camaro for the first time.
Buying one now
Black and gold 1977 to 1981 Trans Ams are among the most collectible cars of the era. Check values with Hagerty's valuation tools and real sold auction results, not asking prices. Watch for rust in the floors, trunk and rear quarters, and confirm the engine and options match the car's paperwork.
The Radazoid take
Smokey and the Bandit is the most American movie ever made: a beer run, a CB radio, a sheriff who's mad about everything, and a guy who just wants to win a bet and look good doing it. No lessons, no apologies. Just a good time.
It also did something no ad campaign could. It sold Trans Ams to an entire generation of guys who were ten years old in 1977 and bought the car the second they could afford one. If you're one of them, you already know. If you're not, you just found Saturday night's movie.
🛒 Born in 1977? Get the “Back in 1977” birthday poster → Radazoid Shop
🖨️ Printable party games & trivia at Printable Barn →
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Where this came from
This story was compiled from the reporting below, then checked against it.
- Smokey and the Bandit, Wikipedia
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