What year is trans am in smokey and the bandit

Pontiac sent a 1977 hood, bumper, headlights, wheels, decals and other trimmings to special projects engineer John Callies at the Van Nuys plant in California. Pontiac executives decided that their best option was to go double or nothing and graft the 1977 nose onto this 1976 model. The company was in a pickle: production of the 1977 LEвЂ™s wasnвЂ™t scheduled to start for months, but they needed to get a photo of an LE in the brochure. It enjoyed a typical press car life until Pontiac needed an LE Trans Am for a photo spread in the 1977 sales brochure. It was optioned with the 455 V8 and 4-speed manual, as well as T-tops (one of only 110 LE Trans Ams built in this configuration). It began life as a 1976 model that was assigned to GM's west-coast press fleet.

This brochure beauty's backstory is a bizarre odyssey.

Pontiac declined lending them that specific car, but instead built five other examples for them to use.ДЄdios, Bandit: Burt Reynolds makes the final jump After seeing the car in the brochure, the Needham and Reynolds reached out to Pontiac and asked if they could have the car for the movie.

It was this Pontiac Trans Am LE-or more specifically, a photo of it-that convinced Reynolds and director Hal Needham that this would be a good buddy for Bandit. It would be hard to fathom the Bandit behind the wheel of anything other than a black and gold Pontiac, but had it not been for a photograph in a brochure, the late Burt Reynolds may have been east bound and down in a Chevrolet Corvette or a Dodge Charger. The car, a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am LE, was such an integral part of the plot that the filmвЂ™s director considered it a character. The portrayal of a smooth-talking southern trucker blasting across Dixieland on an escapade to deliver illegal booze is essential viewing for any connoisseur of car culture. Over 40 years after its release, Smokey and the Bandit is still a spectacular fable of automotive fantasy.

What year is trans am in smokey and the bandit