Smokey and the Bandit is one of our all-time favorite movies. We love the action, we love the characters, and most of all, we love the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am featured in the film.
When Chevrolet canceled the Pontiac brand and the Trans Am along with it, car enthusiasts were crushed. Trans Am Depot's GM-licensed continuation Pontiacs are one of the coolest custom vehicles around. So when Trans Am Depot announced a collaboration with Burt Reynolds on its 40th-anniversary "Bandit Edition," we were ecstatic. The vehicle ended up being a powerful, modern interpretation of an unforgettable muscle car. Trans Am Depot's "Bandit Edition" is a 1,000 horsepower smoke show.
Smokey And The Bandit Is A 1977 Car Chase Classic
Smokey and the Bandit is the best car chase movie of all time. The 1977 classic takes place when truckers--known by their CB radio handles--crisscrossed the country, V8 muscle cars ruled the highways, and Colorado-brewed Coors beer wasn't available east of the Mississippi River. In the film, a Texas oilman offers Bo "The Bandit" Darville (Burt Reynolds) $80,000 to smuggle 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana to a truck race in Atlanta. The Bandit knows other truckers have failed this challenge, so he asks his friend Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed) to drive the tractor-trailer. The Bandit buys a brand new Pontiac Trans Am with the advance cash and speeds out ahead of the truck to distract law enforcement.
The Bandit can't help but pick up a hitch-hiking runaway bride (Reynold's real-life girlfriend, Sally Field). Her father-in-law to be is Texas sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). The sheriff is so enraged, he leaves his jurisdiction and chases the bootleggers across the entire country. The Bandit and The Snowman get into all kinds of trouble. With Sheriff Justice behind them and increasingly drastic police roadblocks set up in front of them, every mile is more difficult than the last. But in each new state, they meet more truck-drivers on the CB radio who offer to help.
Stuntman Hal Needham made his directorial debut with Smokey and the Bandit, ensuring the film featured stunning action set-pieces far ahead of its time. The on-screen chemistry between Reynolds and Field is palpable and charming. Finally, the action comedy is laugh-out-loud funny. Smokey and the Bandit was the second-highest-grossing film of 1977 (beat out only by Star Wars).
The 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am: A Hollywood Star
Burt Reynolds' "Bandit" drives a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The gold-on-black muscle car instantly became an automotive icon--as big a movie star as Reynolds himself. The Pontiac Firebird is one of the most recognizable muscle cars in General Motors' history. GM introduced the Firebird's Trans Am edition in 1969. Just like the Dodge T/A cars, it was a homologation model for the legendary Trans-America race series.
The Bandit's car was a second-generation Pontiac Trans Am. The race-ready vehicle enjoyed lowered suspension, anti-sway bars, larger tires, and precision steering. The Trans Am had several engine and transmission options; three of the four cars used for filming had a relatively low-performance 400 cubic inch V-8 producing 200 horsepower but making up for it with 330 lb-feet of torque. The Bandit Trans Am's hood had a 6.6-liter sticker, but that was an engine that Chevy hadn't offered since 1969. One car, built for a jump scene, had a larger engine and a manual transmission.
What the movie Trans Am lacked in power, it made up for in aggressive style and its coolness factor. The cars had 1976 front-ends on 1977 bodies. They featured a central hood scoop and a rad T-top roof. Finally, the recognizable "burning chicken" logo emblazoned the hood.
The Trans Am Depot Bandit Edition
The final Pontiac Trans Am rolled off the General Motors assembly line in 2002. But 2002 was not the end for the iconic muscle car. In 2012, GM offered the Trans Am name and Pontiac logo to the Trans Am Depot. The Trans Am Depot consists of hot rod enthusiasts as well as automotive fabricators and artists. The team rebodies brand new Chevrolet Camaros as a modern take on Firebird Trans Am and Pontiac GTOs.
For the 40th Anniversary of Smokey and the Bandit (in 2017), the Trans Am Depot unveiled their masterpiece, the Bandit Edition Trans Am. Each car is based on a sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro's chassis and drivetrain, including a 455 cubic inch direct-injection V8. The Trans Am Depot team includes experienced drag racers and prides itself on delivering maximum horsepower. Each Bandit Edition Trans Am is fitted with a 2.3 liter Magnuson supercharger. The superchargers are tuned to boost the cars to 14 psi, bumping the total horsepower to 1,000 and the torque to 1,046 lb-ft. This five-times horsepower increase over the 1977 Trans Am used in the movie enables the Bandit Edition to run the quarter-mile in well under ten seconds. See the car on Youtube.
The late Burt Reynolds himself was involved in the development and style of the Bandit Edition Trans Am. He not only paid a visit to Trans Am Depot, but The Bandit signed each car in the limited 77 edition run.