The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Who Owns the Original Smokey and the Bandit Car? Burt Reynolds himself drove the car on stage to the song 'East Bound and Down' and signed it. The owner restored it and sold it at the Scottsdale 2016 auction by Barrett-Jackson. The unrestored car reportedly showed up on eBay back in 2015, but no one wanted to buy it. The whereabouts of the remaining Smokey and the Bandit car, the one that was used to promote the movie, remained a mystery for years. What Happened to the Smokey and the Bandit Car? Two cars were reportedly badly damaged in early stunts in the film, while a third car was completely destroyed during the famous bridge jump scene. The production team wrecked three for the four cars it received from Pontiac. How Many Cars Were Wrecked in Smokey and the Bandit? The Trans Am used in the movie was a 1976 model with the front end of a 1977 car. What Year Was the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am? Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. Chevy almost did the same with its counterpart, the Camaro. A strike at General Motors in 1972 limited the production of the Trans Am to less than 1,300 units that year, and Pontiac almost canceled the nameplate. Some weren't that lucky and were discontinued altogether. Many nameplates lost their performance credentials, and some of them, like the Ford Mustang, were redesigned without a V-8 engine. government introduced new emission controls in 1972, and automakers had to step back. The muscle car market reached a peak in the late 1960s, as the car was becoming larger, more powerful, and more aggressive by looks.

That's because Pontiac almost canceled the Firebird in the early 1970s. The Pontiac Trans Am seems like a natural choice for Smokey and the Bandit, but the car was only a few inches close to not being used in the movie. THE PONTIAC TRANS AM ALMOST WASN'T USED IN THE MOVIE

List of smokey and the bandit movies