THE FIRST BORN BANDIT
The actual Pontiac brochure car for every 1977 Special Edition Bandit. The first one ever built, certified by Burt Reynolds himself as "The Official First Born Bandit."
AN 84-YEAR-OLD GRANDMOTHER'S DREAM.
Renee Martino of Anderson, South Carolina rescues dogs and runs the SnuggleInn Doggie Resort. She is also a lifelong Burt Reynolds fan with one dream: to meet the Bandit himself. So she sent her son David on a mission to find a Trans Am from "Smokey and the Bandit." After years of research, David learned every actual movie car had been destroyed during filming.
They decided to find the closest thing instead, a black Trans Am with gold pin striping. David found a 1976 Trans Am LE 455ci Hurst T-Top in Virginia, and the "1 of 110" production number made it cool enough to buy. Then the PHS documentation arrived, and they could not believe their eyes. This was the first 1977 SE Bandit Trans Am in the world, and the official Pontiac brochure promotional car for all 1977 SE Bandit cars.
Renee asked Trans Am Specialties of Florida in Miami for a safe home for her new love. Rick Deiters housed the car and told the Martinos they owned an iconic, highly valuable collectible. Pontiac's own magazine, Smoke Signals, ran a forensic study, confirmed every PHS record, uncovered even more about this specific car, and published a front page and three page spread.
PONTIAC'S OWN BROCHURE CAR
Before there was a Bandit on the silver screen, there was this car in the Pontiac brochure. It appeared in every 1977 brochure catalog, and it is the reason the movie car exists at all. Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds saw this exact Trans Am in the Pontiac brochure, fell in love at first sight, and decided the movie would star a 1977 SE Bandit. Without this car, the Bandit would have been something else entirely.
BURT MET HIS BANDIT AGAIN.
The Burt Reynolds Foundation called Rick Deiters. Burt was attending the Key West film festival for the 40th anniversary of Smokey and the Bandit, and he wanted a 1977 Trans Am parked at the entrance of the San Carlos Institute. Rick brought the one car in the world that could do the job.
Burt arrived with a grin from ear to ear. Rick greeted him holding the original Pontiac brochure featuring this very car, and Burt signed it. Two days later, Burt's agent Gene called with a question: why had Burt signed that brochure, and was there a connection between the brochure car and the car at the festival? Rick confirmed it was the actual brochure car. Within two minutes, Gene called back. Burt was astounded. He deemed it "The Official First Born Bandit" and signed a certificate endorsing the car. A dream come true for Burt and for Renee.
EVERY ANGLE OF HISTORY
The car, the magazine features, the factory documentation, the interior and the engine. Photographed and documented from every side.
THE CAR
SMOKE SIGNALS MAGAZINE FEATURES
FACTORY DOCUMENTATION
INTERIOR
ENGINE
SPEAK WITH RICK
This is the most historic Trans Am in existence, and it lives at Trans Am Specialties of Florida. Call or text Rick Deiters directly to talk about the First Born Bandit.