You too can be the Bandit

The "Black Bandit" was created under the direction of Reynolds'. It was built to be as close to period correct from the film. (image: Barrett Jackson)

It has some slight improvements to help with modern day driving. (image: Barrett Jackson)

These included new air-conditioning components. (image: Barrett Jackson)

And a custom-built 200-4R automatic transmission. (image: Barrett Jackson)

Under the bonnet is a freshly rebuilt Pontiac 400ci engine featuring Butler Performance parts. (image: Barrett Jackson)

With the sad passing of Burt Reynolds recently its hard not to think back to one of his most famous parts as the Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit. (image: Barrett Jackson)

With the sad passing of Burt Reynolds recently its hard not to think back to one of his most famous parts as the Bandit in Smokey and the Bandit.

Besides Reynolds and a very young Sally field, the star of the film was the 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

At the completion of the film "The original cars used in the movies were disposed of, due to liability reasons," says Reynold’s friend and business partner Gene Kennedy of Bandit Movie Cars Florida. "Universal Studios wouldn’t allow the sale of cars that may have had some frame damage from the stunts performed."

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The Trans Am offered in Las Vegas is

So Bandit Movie cars was formed to create replicas of the movies hero car.

Just before Reynolds death he had listed one of these replicas with auction house Barrett Jackson.

So Lot #709, The "Black Bandit" was created under the direction of Reynolds’. It was built to be as close to period correct from the film but with some slight improvements to help with modern day driving, these included new air-conditioning components and a custom-built 200-4R automatic transmission. Under the bonnet is a freshly rebuilt Pontiac 400ci engine featuring Butler Performance parts.

According to Reynolds the Black Bandit is

The Trans Am offered in Las Vegas is "pretty special," said Reynolds. "It is an exact duplicate of the one that was used in the film, all the way down to the CB antenna. To see the detail of a car we used 40-plus years ago is very humbling. My friend Gene Kennedy has done an amazing job with it." Even the white letters on the tires are correct; they’re the same tires used on the movie car. "The CB, the scanner – everything that’s inside the car has all been painstakingly researched, found and added back to the car the same way it was in the movies,"

The car will be going up for auction at this weekends Barrett Jackson Auction in Las Vegas.