<P> 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 . </P>
<P> 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 . </P>
what year was the first smokey and the bandit trans am
what year was the first smokey and the bandit trans am
1977
1977