Needham saw an advertisement for the soon - to - be-released 1977 Pontiac Trans Am and knew right away that would be the Bandit 's car, or, as Needham referred to it, a character in the movie. He contacted Pontiac and an agreement was made that four 1977 Trans Ams and two Pontiac LeMans 4 - door sedans would be provided for the movie. The Trans Ams were actually 1976 - model cars with 1977 front ends. (From 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird / Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro had two round headlights, and in 1977, the Firebird / Trans Am was changed to four square headlights, while the Camaro remained unchanged.) The decals were also changed to 1977 - style units, as evidenced by the engine size callouts on the hood scoop being in liters rather than cubic inches, as had been the case in 1976. The hood scoop on these cars says "6.6 LITRE '', which in 1977 would have denoted an Oldsmobile 403 - equipped car or a non W - 72, 180 hp version of the 400 Pontiac engine. All four of the cars were badly damaged during production, one of which was all but destroyed during the jump over the dismantled bridge. The Trans Am used for the dismantled bridge jump was equipped with a booster rocket, the same type that was used by Evel Knievel during his failed Snake River Canyon jump. Needham served as the driver for the stunt (standing in for Reynolds) while Lada St. Edmund was in the same car (standing in for Sally Field during the jump). By the movie 's ending, the final surviving Trans Am and LeMans were both barely running and the other cars had become parts donors to keep them running. The Burdettes ' car is a 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible painted in a "Candy Red '' color scheme, and is seen briefly at the beginning of the movie and as Bandit, Snowman, Fred, and Frog make their escape in the final scene.
what year trans am did smokey and the bandit drive
1977 1977 1977 1977 1977 1977