Five Movies That Featured The Pontiac Trans Am

The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is one of the most iconic muscle cars of the 20th century, so it's no surprise that the cars have been heavily featured in movies and television series over the years. Pontiac introduced the Firebird in 1967 to compete with the overwhelming success of the Ford Mustang, which had dominated the marketplace since its introduction in 1964. This was around the same time that many other popular muscle cars from other manufacturers debuted, including the Chevrolet Camaro and Mercury Cougar.

You could upgrade the base Pontiac Firebird to the legendary Trans Am status for $750 at the time. This version of the vehicle would go on to carve a niche for itself in popular culture, and it remained there long after Pontiac ceased production in 2002 after four generations of Trans Ams. The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am performed well and looked incredible, so it's no wonder why it featured heavily in so many popular movies over the years. Here are five films that featured this car.

"The Cannonball Run" is based on an outlaw race called the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash held in 1979. Several films were made about the race that stretched from coast to coast, though "The Cannonball Run" is probably the best-known. The film features an all-star cast: Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and many others, including several Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams.

The film includes a 1980 Pontiac Firebird in police black & white, a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with Hawaiian Tropic decals on the hood, a 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in white, and a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with "Screaming Chicken" decal. That's a lot of Firebirds in a single movie. The film "Cannonball," which came out in 1974, also features an impressive stock 1970 Trans Am with custom paint and decals.

There is a self-referential meta joke in the film, spoken by J.J. McClure (Reynolds) to himself after he and Victor Prinzim (Dom DeLuise) discuss the car they plan to drive for the race. Their goal is to land on a vehicle that won't be stopped, and they throw around everything from a bloodmobile to an armored personnel carrier. Then, after stopping to make a beer run, J.J. says to himself, "We could get a black Trans Am. ... Nah, that's been done," referencing a 1977 Reynolds film mentioned below.

"An Eye for an Eye" is a crime film that doesn't focus the plot on a Pontiac Trans Am, but it does feature a beautiful car throughout the movie. Chuck Norris plays Detective Sean Kane of the San Francisco Police Department. Kane works vice, and after his partner is brutally murdered and he's raked over the coals for his performance in the field, he quits to pursue the only cause he has left: vengeance! Kane then sets out to find the ones responsible for his partner's death, and he does so in pure Chuck Norris style by kicking butt and not bothering to take names.

Throughout the film, Kane drives a 1973 Pontiac Trans Am in stunning Buccaneer Red. The car's interior is a standard white, and most of the car is stock, save for its aftermarket wheels. The car's engine appears to also be the base Pontiac V8 455 engine, and there are no decals on the car's exterior. In terms of the car's noise, Kane's car sounds like the folks working in the audio department had some fun souping up the engine beyond factory specs.

Altogether, the car appears for over 31 minutes of screen time. The Trans Am is more of a place for pondering than something included in a bunch of chase scenes, and there's a three-minute compilation from the film showing nothing but Norris behind the wheel, cruising from one road to another.

When most people think of John Wayne, they likely picture the Duke riding a horse. The man was in enough Westerns to permanently be associated with them, but Wayne was in a lot of movies, and in "McQ," he wasn't riding a horse. Instead, Wayne plays Seattle Detective Lieutenant Lon "McQ" McHugh. McQ enters the film with someone attempting to steal his 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and after he solves that little problem, he takes out a would-be assassin who opens fire on him moments after he learns his partner was shot.

McQ determines that a crooked cop is responsible, and an altercation in a restroom leads him to resign from the force. With nobody watching his every move, McQ goes on the hunt. Throughout the film, McQ drives his Brewster Green '73 Trans Am, which was the only year that color was available. They were pretty rare in '73, and they're even rarer today.

McQ's Trans Am takes part in an exciting chase scene. Most of the decals aren't present, though the "Screaming Chicken" remains on the car's front above the radiator. The car makes it through most of the film but is ultimately destroyed by a couple of trucks that surround McQ in an alley. While McQ is being extracted from his smashed ride, he utters the now-famous line, "I'm up to my butt in gas."

In "Hooper," Burt Reynolds plays Sonny Hooper, a stunt coordinator working on a movie called "The Spy Who Laughed at Danger." Before long, Sonny teams up with another stunt performer, Delmore "Ski" Shidski (Jan-Michael Vincent), and they work together on the film. Eventually, the director insists on a new flashier and more expensive ending, requiring a rocket car to jump a gorge a distance of over 300 feet. Despite the dangers posed by the stunt, Sonny and Ski go forward with it and succeed in jumping the gorge.

Unfortunately, while Ski walks away without too much difficulty, Sonny isn't as lucky, and the years of stunt work have taken their toll. Throughout most of the film, there's no Trans Am present, but one does come about toward the end. It's a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in Mayan Red, and as you probably already guessed, it's the rocket car. To install the necessary equipment, the back seat is replaced with a rocket booster.

The Trans Am also boasts chrome wheels and looks incredible. Ski drives the car in the film, leaving Sonny in the passenger seat. This is unusual because Reynolds is known for driving Trans Ams, and this film hit theaters a year after his best-known film to feature the classic muscle car, "Smokey and the Bandit."

There are many movies that feature the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, but the one at the top of most people's lists is likely "Smokey and the Bandit." Burt Reynolds plays Bo "Bandit" Darville alongside Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Jerry Reed), a couple of bootleggers transporting beer from Texas to Georgia. They operate by having one person drive the truck (Snowman), while Bandit drives a 1977 Y82 Special Edition Trans Am with T-tops they use as a "blocker."

The point of the blocker is to pull attention away from the truck because the law is on their tail. Bandit's car is a 1976 model, but the production swapped out some decals and the front end to make it appear as if it were a '77. The production had four cars, and the reason they had to use the '76 was because the '77 wasn't out yet. It featured a "Screaming Chicken" on the hood and a 6.6-liter V8 engine beneath it.

The '77 Trans Am became known as the Bandit Trans Am because of this movie. It's a truly iconic car that forever became associated with Reynolds. After Reynolds died, his car collection was sold at auction and included his 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, which was a replica built for him, as the four cars used in the film were all destroyed during filming. That car sold for nearly $200,000.