The last three cars belonging to the late Burt Reynolds were auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas in late September, raising $330,000 for the Burt Reynolds Institute in the process. Of the three cars, two were 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams, while the other was a 1987 Chevrolet R30 pickup truck. All three vehicles belonged to Reynolds’ car collection, and all of them were personally autographed by the recently deceased Hollywood legend.

The Full Story

If you were sitting on the possibility of owning one of Burt Reynolds’ cars, you missed your chance.

The last three cars from Burt Reynolds’ collection were all scooped up at the Barrett-Jackson auction that took place in Las Vegas in late September. The three cars collected a total of $330,000, including a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that sold for $192,500, accounting for more than half of the total amount all three cars fetched in the auction. This particular Firebird Trans Am is an exact duplicate of the car that appeared in Smokey and the Bandit, arguably the most famous of Reynolds’ movies. There’s history behind this car, too. According to records, Reynolds and his friend, Gene Kennedy, nailed every single detail of the original Trans Am movie car, right down to the CB antenna, scanner, tires, the black and gold finish, and the screaming chicken on the hood. The car isn’t just for show, either. It also has a 400-cubic-inch V-8 engine and a handful of parts from New Butler Performance, including a functional air conditioning unit.

This particular Firebird Trans Am is regarded as one of the most authentic replicas of the Bandit car that still exists today. That’s an important distinction considering that the original Bandit cars were all destroyed after production because of liability issues.

The “other” Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that was owned by Reynolds is another replica, this time of the red muscle car that Reynolds drove in the movie Hopper. The car also comes with nods to the movie car, including a bright red finish and a 403-cubic-inch V-8 engine with an automatic transmission. This model sold for $88,000.

The last of the three vehicles is a 1987 Chevrolet R30 pickup, which is also another replica of the movie car that featured in Cannonball Run, another one of Reynolds’ iconic movies. While it’s not the same model that jumped over a moving freight train, the replica version comes with its own set of modern amenities, including power steering, brakes, and air conditioning. It also comes with a 496-cubic-inch V-8 engine that’s mated to an automatic transmission. The pickup sold for $49,500.

All told, it was a very successful auction for Reynolds’ last remaining cars.

Lost in the shadows, though is another car that went up for auction that had ties to the late actor. The model is another Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, which is the only surviving example of a pair of Trans Ams that were used to promote the Tamba Bay Bandits, a professional football team from the now-defunct USFL. How is this model related to Reynolds? Turns out, he and his Smokey and the Bandit co-star, Jerry Reed, drove it during opening day in one of the league’s seasons. It didn’t fetch as high a price as Reynolds’ two Firebird Trans Ams, but it still sold for a solid $49,500.

Further Reading

Read about Burt Reynolds’ 1977 Pontiac Trans Am.

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Source: Barrett-Jackson