Hollywood Legend to Appear with Pontiac G8 at Barrett Jackson Auction April 7, 2017

This wasn’t just any Pontiac G8 — it was VIN 001, the very first one built, and it spent years in Burt Reynolds’ personal collection wearing barely 800 miles. Discover how Reynolds tied a base-model sedan to his Smokey and the Bandit legacy, and why that connection turned a factory oddity into a collectible.

Acting legend Burt Reynolds will attend the upcoming Barrett-Jackson West Palm Beach, Florida, auction on April 7, 2017. He will be on stage presenting this VIN #001 Pontiac G8 for Restore A Muscle Car and Bandit Movie Cars of Florida.

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The car had barely been driven, and that was exactly the point. A Pontiac G8 bearing VIN 001 — the very first one built — spent years as a low-mileage curiosity in the hands of Burt Reynolds, who eventually stamped it with a prototype “Bandit” insignia tying it to the movie that made him a household name decades earlier. By the time it crossed the auction block, the car had accumulated barely 800 miles, still wearing its factory tires. Reynolds himself planned to appear onstage to present it, connecting a forgotten factory milestone to one of Hollywood’s most famous car chases. What was a Hollywood legend doing standing next to Pontiac’s least flashy sedan?

The First G8 Ever Built

This particular G8 wasn’t just any example — its VIN 001 designation marked it as the first production unit off Pontiac’s line, a fact that alone would interest collectors regardless of ownership history. Before landing with Burt Reynolds, the car spent time with High Performance Pontiac, and by the time it reached auction it had covered just 804 miles, still riding on its original tires. Under the hood sat the base G8’s 3.6-liter V6, identified by its multi-spoke wheels and body-color door handles rather than the more collectible GXP’s V8.

Trading on Bandit Nostalgia

Reynolds added his own touch to the car’s story by branding it with a prototype “Bandit” insignia, a nod to his 1977 role as the Trans Am-driving smuggler in Smokey and the Bandit — even though the G8 itself never appeared in any Bandit film. The sale included the car’s original window sticker, signed by Reynolds himself, adding a direct paper trail back to Hollywood’s golden age of car-chase cinema. For Pontiac collectors, VIN 001 status would have been enough; the Reynolds provenance and Bandit branding turned a base-model sedan into a genuine piece of pop culture memorabilia.

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