Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit II” (1980) Photo Courtesy Universal / The Hollywood Archive
Burt Reynolds’ restored 1977 Pontiac Trans Am owned by none other than the Bandit himself, Burt Reynolds, will be auctioned on Friday, April 24 (2015) at the Carlisle Auctions in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Spring Carlisle Auction will be held from April 23-24 this year at the Carlisle Expo Center.
Reynolds purchased this Trans Am last year, which was restored by his personal friend Harold Murphy, owner of the renowned Murphy Auto Body and Restoration of West Palm Beach.
According to Carlisle Auctions, “Reynolds and Mr. Murphy have been friends for over 35 years and collaborated on the building of a ‘Bandit Car’ for Burt’s personal collection. Harold has restored many of Burt’s vehicles in the past, including his personal airplane, and was the natural choice to build a TA for Burt. The project was undertaken with the agreement that this will be the last ‘Bandit’ car built for Burt . As such, all efforts were put into this car to make it as authentic as possible.”
This Trans Am has also been autographed by Reynolds on the dashboard and hood. The winning bidder will also receive the Florida DMV title that proves Reynolds owned the car, as well as an autographed hat and jacket worn by Reynolds during a photo shoot for the car. The hat and jacket are reproductions of the ones worn in the movie.
According to Fox Sports, the car could sell for hundreds of thousands, similar to a previous Reynolds Trans Am Auction. Trans Am expert Rick Deiters of Trans Am Florida opines,
“The 1977 Trans Am Special Edition, AKA the Bandit car is possibly one of the most iconic cars of all time. In the last 10 years, these cars have gained incredible attention, proving that iconic cars are desirable and collectible … as such, a huge amount of fans of the car and the movie are out there looking for this important piece of Americana. To find an authentic black on black 1977 TA Special Edition proves to be a mission because only a limited amount of them were produced. In 2014 alone, ones in museum quality condition sold for over $100,000 and in December of 2014, another ‘77 Trans Am from Reynolds’ collection sold for $450,000 … and in my opinion, that car wasn’t in as good a condition as some of the others I’ve seen…“That speaks volumes to the demand for not only the car, but for ones owned by Reynolds. In my opinion, this last car from his collection is a really good and a correct one. I personally know the car as it was sold by my company to Mr. Murphy to do the project for Mr. Reynolds and I know the group who restored it. They do good work. The car is identical to the car driven in the movie; it’s a correct Special Edition Y82 model with Hurst T-Tops, black deluxe interior and a 6.6-liter engine. Hopefully bidders should do so with complete confidence and I believe this car will do quite well, making its future owner very proud.”
“Smokey and the Bandit” Trivia per IMDB:
Was a Guilty Pleasure of Alfred Hitchcock according to his daughter Patricia Hitchcock
Many of the lines spoken by Jackie Gleason as Sheriff Justice were improvised.
Jackie Gleason reportedly modeled his character, Sheriff Buford T. Justice, after Burt Reynolds’ description of his father, a Florida police officer and Chief of Police.
This movie made the Pontiac Trans Am a superstar. Trans Am sales jumped from 68,745 in 1977 to 93,341 in 1978. And just one year later that number swelled to 117,108 units sold.
Three Trans-Am cars were used in this movie. Director Hal Needham claims in the DVD documentary that they could barely run towards the end of the film’s production.
When Hal Needham originally wrote the initial screenplay, he hired Jerry Reed to play the Bandit. But when Needham told Burt Reynolds about the film, Reynolds decided he wanted to do it and Reed was re-cast as the Snowman.
The Trans-Am used for the bridge jump was completely wrecked after the successful jump.
This movie is one of a handful of pictures that Burt Reynolds made with his 1970s girlfriend Sally Field. In every movie they made together, Field played Reynolds’ girlfriend. The movies are: Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and The End (1978).