I spent the bank holiday weekend with a cold beer watching old DVDs. Bullitt, The Blues Brothers, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Driver; that kind of thing.

The dust also came off the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy; partly for the comic genius that is Buford T Justice and partly for the stunning Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Stuart Milne has been thinking about the 1977 muscle car ever since.

Smokey and the Bandit has it all, as far as I'm concerned. A bloodhound called Fred, CB radios, lots of powersliding and leaping across rivers – and a thundering American muscle car.

The Bandit's Trans Am is one of the most iconic film cars ever. With its huge golden firebird painted on the bonnet, and the enormous whiplash CB aerials, it spawned a movement in the late seventies in which its members would only know each other by their call signs.

And it's not difficult to see why.

The film sees 'entrepreneurs' Big and Little Enos Burdette paying the Bandit and Snowman to drive 1,800 miles in 28 hours to collect some contraband. Of course there were few cars fast enough or fitting enough for a good ol' Southern boy to bait the police, so he took delivery of a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am T/A.

During the filming, five identical Trans Ams were used – all baring the Bandit's own 'BAN-ONE' numberplate – and were continually rebuilt.

There's only so much abuse a car can take, and it was rumoured one was totalled during a river jumping scene.

In the real world, the Bandit did for Pontiac what Bond did for Aston Martin – it was the car to have.

And if you were buying one, you might as well spec it up with a factory-installed CB for a massive $195. That might not sound much, but the whole car only cost $5,456. A 'Hurst Hatch' or T-Tops as they're better known were another must for the wind-in-your-cowboy hat thrills.

But your fist full of dollars got a lot of kit. The Bandit's T/A version of the Firebird featured power assisted front disc brakes, power steering, 15-inch alloys, a host of gauges, racing steering wheel and a 'four on the floor' manual gearbox. That's impressive for 1977.

It also had a 'shaker scoop' which was a cover on the engine's intake which poked through a hole in the bonnet. (As it was part of the engine, it would shake with it – hence the name).

And boy, would it shake.

The T/A packed a massive 6.6-litre V8 under the bonnet which made a beautiful noise under acceleration. Power was disappointing at first glance – just 200bhp, but 325lb/ft of pulling power meant it was more than capable of lighting up the rear tyres.

Performance figures are less what you'd expect from what looked – and sounded like – a drag strip refugee. It would reach 60mph from rest in 9.3 seconds, before hitting 110mph flat out.

But there ain't no replacement for displacement, and the huge engine meant for massive tuning potential.

Fancy getting on your hands on this famous film car? Get your chequebooks ready. An example needing a load of work will set you back a couple of grand, while a mint example – in black and gold with all the period toys – can cost well into five figures.

L.A.T.W.O.T. Video of the Week

It’s a video double-header this week. Both commercials for the Trans Am – the first for the 6.6 and the second for the later turbo version. Despite being a cool car, Pontiac's marketing types still managed to make it look like Bully's special prize from Bullseye.

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