Get Smart question

[Mack]

Was just looking at some old posts and a question came to mind. Does anybody remember what kind of car Max drove in the show Get Smart? I remember at one time it was a light blue Carma Gia (sp?) I was more interested in the red car? MACK /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Sunbeam Alpine

Mickey

 

[Steve_S]

Sunbeam Tiger wasn't it? Alpine had the 4-banger, Tiger had the 289 V8.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Believe you're right, Steve. But I think there were some episodes where an Alpine was used, as well. I had forgotten about the Karmann Ghia.

Any "Get Smart" experts out there?

 

[KLUTZ]

From the Get Smart Web Page
https://www.wouldyoubelieve.com/faq.html

What kind of car did Max drive?
Max drove two cars throughout the five year run of the series. The car Max drove in the first four years of the series was a red 1965 Sunbeam Tiger. Without a doubt, it is the car most associated with Max and can be considered "his car." Pictured here, it's the same car that you see in the open of the show during the first two seasons (this exact replica is owned by Sue K. and you can read about it at her website). It's also the car that was used for the AMT model that was sold in the Sixties. More details on the Tiger are given below. The car became Don's personal car for many years. However, after his daughter wrecked it for the third time, the car was junked and destroyed.

In season five, Max drives a gold, 1969 Opel GT. He also drove the Opel in the episodes, so it can really be called his second car. Interestingly enough, Max's Opel also appeared in the movie "Stripes."

In the opening credits of the third and fourth seasons, Max drives a blue VW Karman Ghia. However, in those season's episodes, he continued to drive the Sunbeam. The open was probably changed to reflect some type of sponsorship deal. In no episode does he actually drive the Karman Ghia.

The three cars mentioned above are the only cars that Max drove in more than one episode. Yes, I know that there are episodes where he drove other cars, like the wedding episode, but they were not his car and are not going to be listed here. Some people have correctly noted that for a few episodes in the fourth season Max drove a Ford Mustang convertible, but that car was clearly designated as The Chief's car.

The one note that needs to be made concerns the pilot episode. In that, Scott M. has pointed out that Max drives a Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet. The reason for that is that they probably used a stock studio sportscar for the pilot. When the show was picked up, they were able to arrange a promotional deal with Sunbeam.

More Tiger information: According to Dick Sanders of the Pacific Tiger Club, "a look-a-like Sunbeam Alpine (rebadged with Tiger script on the side) of the same vintage ('65 or '66) was used in almost all of the shows where a Sunbeam appeared. There wasn't room to mount a machine gun (or much of anything else) under the hood of the V8-powered Tiger, so they used the Alpine which has a smaller 4-cylinder motor." For those of you interested in the Sunbeam Tiger, check out the Tiger Page.

Paul

 

[PC]

I believe Don Adams picked up another Tiger.

In a recent publicity shot in the LA Times he and Barbara Feldon are shown sitting in a Tiger with (if memory serves me correctly) the license plate 8GENT 86.


PC.

 

[Mack]

Hey thanks for all the great answers and info, another thought, how would the Tiger and an MG with the V8 go in a head to head run off? I'm not familur with the performance of iether, any thoughts? Thanks, MACK /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[Steve_S]

The Tiger would eat the MG for lunch in a straight run. In the canyons I would imagine an MGB would have a real handling advantage.

 

[Bruce74B]

[ QUOTE ]
The Tiger would eat the MG for lunch in a straight run. In the canyons I would imagine an MGB would have a real handling advantage.

[/ QUOTE ]

That would be true for the Tiger and a V-8 MGB, but I know for a fact that a stock 68 MGB will blow the doors off a 63 Alpine in both a standing quarter mile and a 5 miles country road, no holds barred race...been there and done that /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

But I was so much younger then, I'm older than that now! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cowboy.gif

Bruce /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif

 

[Steve_S]

I was talking about a stock B versus a Tiger. A V8 B would be closer on a drag strip but still slower imho. In the canyons, who knows? I'd still put money on the B I suppose.