The Cars of Cannonball Run

When it came out in 1981, the action comedy film The Cannonball Run was a huge box-office success. And it's not at all hard to see why – the film’s combination of an all-star cast, a simple but exciting storyline (an illegal road race across America) and some of the most desirable cars of its era more or less guaranteed huge ticket sales.

Starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and a young Jackie Chan, The Cannonball Run based its storyline on a real-life cross-country road race. The Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash (usually shortened, unsurprisingly, to the Cannonball Run) was an unofficial, unsanctioned automobile race from the USA’s eastern to western seaboards. It took place five times across the 1970s.

Based in particular on the race’s final, 1979 instalment, The Cannonball Run was one of 1981's big box-office successes. So much so, in fact, that it inspired a sequel, 1984's Cannonball Run II – with Reynolds, Davis Jr., Chan and Martin all returning, alongside some new faces including Shirley MacLaine and Sammy and Dean’s old 'Rat Pack' buddy Frank Sinatra. Oh, and another premier-league automobile cast.

Here are some of the most iconic cars from both films. In many cases, these are cars that you can still own and enjoy to this day – so we’ve added in a little extra info about owning these classics today, and what associated costs you might run into.

When it comes to protecting cars like these, of course, your priority should always be some specialist classic auto insurance.

The Cannonball Run

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

The first film’s competitors include Sheikh Abdul ben Falafel, the wealthy Arabian prince who is determined to win the Cannonball Run in his white Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Falafel has amassed his considerable fortune from oil, and the Silver Shadow is a fitting car for displaying such wealth.

And nowadays? Yes, you too could waft around in serene comfort like Sheikh Abdul – and probably, given the car’s age, at a good deal less expense. These days, you can get your hands on a Silver Shadow for something between £15,000, for tired and/or higher mileage models, to £35,000 for a beautifully maintained example.

Things to look out for? Well, the Silver Shadow can fall prey to rust – and, being such a big car, there’s plenty of room for this to grow. Elsewhere, check the car’s automatic transmission fluid is still showing bright red, as a more brownish colour means (potentially expensive) problems with the auto box. Finally, the Shadow's brakes are a complicated setup, so ask to see paperwork showing recent servicing.

Aston Martin DB5

Another high-profile cast member of The Cannonball Run is Roger Moore, who at the time was right in the middle of a rich run of form as James Bond (The Cannonball Run came out between two Roger Moore Bonds, 1979's Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only from 1981). The joke here is that Moore’s character, millionaire playboy Seymour Goldfarb Jr., drives an Aston Martin DB5 – a car indelibly associated with Bond. Moore's Bond predecessor Sean Connery drove a DB5 in both Goldfinger and Thunderball in the 1960s.

Today, you'll need exceptionally large pockets to own a DB5. The combination of its halo status (thanks to Connery), its exceptional rarity (just over 1,000 made, around 300 left today) and, let's face it, those celestial looks, make it highly valuable. Examples usually change hands for around £1,000,000.

Compare that with elegant contemporaries like the Jaguar E-Type (most of which now sell for somewhere between £40,000 and £100,000), and you get a sense for just how desirable the Aston is. And we don't need to warn you about any issues – a car this valuable and sought after should be immaculately maintained. That said, you should definitely arrange some specialist classics insurance from the moment you take ownership!

Subaru Leone

In one of his very first films for the global market, Jackie Chan appears in The Cannonball Run driving an extremely clever and high-tech Subaru Leone. Packed with computer technology, Chan’s Subaru was also given a rocket booster engine for good measure.

The Leone was an extremely important car in Subaru's history, as it was the model with which the Japanese marque truly broke the global market. Previous Subarus had sold in Japan alone: however, the Leone sold in good numbers in Europe, the US and Australia. For those needing four-wheel-drive for the winter months, at an affordable price, Subaru’s handsome saloon was the answer.

They will be hard to find now, and will probably have been worked hard thanks to those 4WD capabilities. Those that still survive are likely to have issues with their suspension bushes, front subframes, and (that perennial devil of 1970s and 1980s Japanese cars) rust.

Lamborghini Countach

That jet black, space-age-looking Countach, with its spoilers at both front and rear, its whining V12 engine and no fewer than 12 exhaust pipes, was responsible for a significant part of the film's huge success. The two glamorous actresses (Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman) driving the vehicle in skin-tight neon bodysuits may have played a role here, too.

Both film and car benefited from the association, in fact. The Cannonball Run was one of the factors that led to the Countach becoming the iconic supercar of its era – although its futuristic looks and top speed of somewhere between 250 and 300km/h (155-185mph) already had that covered, really.

These days, you will need to find at least £300,000 to get your hands on a Countach. The first-generation (LP400) are, to our eyes, the most graceful, lacking the bulging wheel arches of their successors – but if you're looking to evoke those Cannonball Run memories it's the LP400S, from 1978 onwards, that you need.

Ferrari 308 GTS

Two Rat Pack icons driving a bright red Ferrari across the States? Honestly, what is not to love about this film? What's more, crooners Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. play delightfully colourful roles in The Cannonball Run. Martin is Jamie Blake, a former Formula 1 icon partial to a tot of whisky or two; Davis is his teammate, the splendidly-named Morris Fenderbaum, who likes a gamble.

They are taking part in a scarlet Ferrari 308 GTS and, throughout the film, they have an absorbing rivalry with Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, who are driving a souped-up Dodge Tradesman ambulance. To add to the fun, Blake and Fenderbaum are dressed as Catholic priests.

Anyway… back to the Ferrari. Today, the 308 is another car, like the Countach above, with a certain halo status surrounding it – in this case, partly due to its appearance as Tom Selleck's runabout of choice in the long-running ‘80s TV drama Magnum, P.I. The GTS (with the targa top, and as favoured by both Magnum and Martin/Davis Jr.) was the most numerous variant: you can get your hands on one of these today for anything upwards of £60,000. Early fibreglass examples are iconic – and expensive.

Cannonball Run II

Chevrolet Corvette C4

If the first Cannonball Run film had featured a Corvette (that iconic all-American sports car), it would have been the C3. Not only would this have fitted chronologically (the C3 was in production from 1967 to 1982), but also that car’s famous looks – those bulging wheel arches, those snarling front wings that swept up so dramatically from the front bumper – somehow fitted that film’s swashbuckling extravagance.

When it came to the sequel, however, car design had moved on. This time, the returning double act of Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin get to drive a fourth-generation (C4) Corvette, which had been introduced the year before the film (1983) and had the sleeker, more futuristic looks of its era.

The C4 'Vette is actually a smart used buy, offering near-supercar performance for a fraction of the price of contemporaries from Ferrari, Lamborghini or McLaren. If you’re in the market for one, just check all the electronics – especially seats, electric windows and those pop-up headlamps – carefully. If the steering is stiff when cold, meanwhile, this can indicate a failed power steering rack – which is expensive to replace.

Dodge Daytona Turbo

For the Cannonball Run sequel the legendary Frank Sinatra, the best-known of all the Rat Pack brigade, was tempted out of his Palm Springs mansion to join in the fun. Sinatra famously loved his cars – and for this film he was allowed to play himself, and to drive his own 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo.

In what would be his final film role, Frank needed just one day on set to complete his three-minute cameo. For his pains, he earned $30,000, which he donated to charity.
And the Dodge? Beautiful, totally evocative of its time – and pretty difficult to find on this side of the Atlantic, if we’re honest. If you do manage to import one, make sure it’s covered with classic car insurance.

Mercedes 300SL 'Gullwing'

An iconic car film needs some iconic cars, doesn't it? And the Cannonball Run sequel came good here, with a string of beautiful automobiles. Foremost among these was the 1950s Mercedes 300SL 'Gullwing', surely one of the most revered vehicles of all time.

The iconic Merc gets its moment when Susan Anton and Catherine Bach, the jumpsuit-clad, Lamborghini-driving successors to Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman, find themselves stranded on the side of the road with a broken-down Countach. We've all been there. Anyhow, the ladies have the good luck to flag down a 300SL, being driven by a laid-back cowboy type. They hop in alongside the driver, leaving their Countach by the side of the road, its scissor doors open to all comers.

Unsurprisingly, ‘Gullwings’ are hugely sought after and you will need to find somewhere between £500,000 and £1,000,000 to own one today. If you want a vintage, luxury drop-top Merc SL, we recommend looking into the far more affordable R107 range, produced in much larger numbers from 1971 to 1989. Here, around £35,000 to £40,000 should get you a nicely maintained example with under 100,000 miles on the clock.

Mitsubishi Starion Turbo

After a successful outing on the first Cannonball Run film, Jackie Chan returned for the sequel. This time he got to head out in a Mitsubishi Starion Turbo, one of that handful of potent, beautifully engineered and affordable Japanese sports cars of the 1980s alongside the Toyota MR2 and Mazda RX-7.

The Starion’s striking, angular design owed some obvious debts to classic 1970s wedges such as the Fiat X1/9 and Lotus Esprit. And it wasn’t just a looker: the Mitsubishi could reach a top speed of around 137mph, similar to a contemporary Porsche 944.

Jackie Chan's Starion was able to convert into a submarine and drive underwater. Sound familiar? Yes, there's another Bond homage at work here – the car echoes Roger Moore’s amphibious Esprit from 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me.

Porsche 928

There is indeed a role in the film for Porsche's sleek, elegant 1980s grand tourer – though it's not a particularly happy ending for the car. In fact, it's Cannonball Run director Hal Needham who appears (uncredited) in a cowboy hat, driving a black Porsche 928 that gets crushed flat by a monster truck known as Bigfoot.

Most 928s will have lasted longer than this short-loved stunt example – in fact, of the 4,500 928s sold in the UK, it's thought that around 2,500 remain, making them a very achievable ownership prospect. They're elegant-looking things, with those classic Porsche curves stretched convincingly into a longer, ‘grand tourer’ profile. As such, they are designed more for luxurious touring than out-and-out speed (unless you seek out the later GTS and S4 variants).

If you do go down the 928 route, you’ll find a lively UK owners’ club, and we would highly recommend joining. Owners’ clubs are a brilliant source of knowledge, expertise and advice about your chosen classic – if there’s a certain part you need, or a technical question that’s bugging you, someone at that club will be able to help. Better still, membership may even get you a club discount on your classic car cover.

Classic car insurance from Lancaster

We trust you’ll look after your classic a little better than the poor old Porsche 928 from Cannonball Run II. And part of that loving care should include some specialist specialist classic car insurance.

Here at Lancaster, we’re proud to provide insurance for a huge range of classic vehicles. Benefits of insuring with us include Car Club member discounts up to 25% and cover for historic rallies.

Contact us to arrange a quote for your classic.