Win a Burt Reynolds-Signed 1977 Pontiac Trans Am Special Edition + $26,000 for Taxes

The car: Pontiac's own Bandit, signature included

This is a May 1977 delivery wearing the Y81 Special Edition package — the factory black-and-gold treatment, not a tribute wrap — and it stickered at $7,958.26 when new. Power comes from the T/A 6.6 four-barrel V-8 through a Turbo Hydra-Matic; in 1977 that "T/A 6.6" callout was the badge Pontiac reserved for its stronger 200-hp W72 400, not the base motor. The option sheet reads like someone ticked every box that mattered: custom air conditioning, custom trim group, power windows and door locks, power decklid release, AM/FM stereo with 8-track, cruise control. And on the sun visor sits the detail that separates it from every other black-and-gold second-gen at the cruise night: Burt Reynolds' autograph.

Why it matters

Smokey and the Bandit turned the '77 Special Edition into the most recognizable Pontiac ever built, and the market has followed the movie's shadow ever since — Hagerty's guide tops out around $70k for the best Y81 cars, a rotisserie-restored '77 SE four-speed brought $136,000 on Bring a Trailer in January 2025, and untouched time-capsule examples have gone for multiples of that. The sponsor pegs this full prize at $101,020, including the tax cash. Honest caveats: it's an automatic (as most were), it's a smog-era 400 that trades in torque and theater rather than pace, and the mileage and restoration history aren't published — which is exactly the kind of thing the market prices on.

The fine print worth knowing

The Bandit Dream Giveaway is run by New Beginning Children's Homes, Inc., a 501(c)(3) (Federal ID 27-5011514) supporting veterans' and children's charities, under the long-running Dream Giveaway banner. Entries come via donation starting at $3, with larger tiers earning more tickets — and there's a genuine free mail-in route (a handwritten SASE to the address in the free-entry section; no purchase necessary). Entry closes September 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, with the drawing on or about September 23, 2026. The winner gets $26,000 applied straight to federal IRS withholding — note that's withholding, not the whole tax bill, and a six-figure prize can generate more total liability depending on your bracket. Prefer cash? There's a $60,000 alternate: a $45,000 check plus $15,000 paid to the IRS as withholding on your behalf.