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The automobile in The Car (1977) was a custom-built killer car based on a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III coupe. George Barris transformed the big Lincoln with a lowered roof, enlarged fenders, a sinister custom front end, dark windows and a black finish. Several versions were prepared: the stunt cars were sacrificed during filming, while the close-up hero car reportedly survived and entered private European ownership. Its current whereabouts remain unverified.
The automobile in Elliot Silverstein’s The Car (1977) was a heavily customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III coupe. It was not a special factory model and it was not a 1977 Lincoln. Hollywood vehicle customizer George Barris, working with stunt coordinator Everett Creach, transformed the large Lincoln into the film’s unnaturally dark, aggressive killer car.
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Several cars appear to have been prepared for the production. The stunt and special-effects vehicles were destroyed or rendered unusable during filming, while the close-up or “hero” car reportedly survived. That surviving original was sold at a Barris-related auction in the early 1980s and was believed to have gone to a private collector in Europe. Its present owner and location have not been reliably confirmed.
What kind of car was used in The Car?
The donor vehicle was a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III, a two-door personal-luxury coupe built by Lincoln for the 1969–1971 model years. The Mark III was already an imposing automobile: long, wide, heavy and powered by a large Ford V8. Those proportions made it a suitable foundation for a vehicle that needed to look less like an ordinary car and more like a moving menace.
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It is most accurate to call the movie vehicle a customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III. Calling it simply a “black Lincoln” misses the extensive fabrication work, while identifying it as a 1977 Lincoln confuses the film’s release year with the donor car’s model year.
How George Barris changed the Lincoln
Barris did far more than repaint a production Lincoln. The cars received custom bodywork intended to make the familiar luxury coupe appear distorted, hostile and almost alive.
- Lowered roof: The roof was brought down to alter the car’s proportions and make it look crouched and predatory.
- Raised and extended fenders: The fenders were reshaped to make the car appear wider, heavier and more muscular.
- Custom front end: The grille, bumper area and surrounding trim were redesigned to suggest a face, with the dark front treatment creating the impression of eyes, a brow and teeth.
- Dark windows: Laminated windows concealed the driver and interior while still allowing the driver or a camera operator to see outward.
- Special wheels and finish: Custom wheels and a charcoal-gray or pearl-black finish completed the threatening appearance.
- Reinforced construction: Production descriptions refer to 18-gauge steel bodywork, safety equipment and other changes needed for demanding stunt work.
The design brief was essentially to make the Lincoln “flexible but heavy, huge, dark and aggressive.” That explains why the finished car does not resemble a normal Mark III from every angle: the recognizable luxury-coupe base remained, but its visual identity was deliberately buried beneath custom metalwork and blacked-out details.
What engine did the movie car use?
Later technical accounts identify the cars with a Ford 460-cubic-inch V8, while American Film Institute production research describes the film cars as having 455-cubic-inch engines. Because those accounts do not agree on one exact displacement, the cautious description is a large Ford V8 of approximately 455–460 cubic inches, rather than an uncontested single factory specification.
The cars were also prepared for practical action work. Secondary production accounts describe heavy-duty suspension, safety equipment, roll bars and locked differentials on stunt units. Those details help explain how the vehicles were used, but they should be treated as later technical reporting rather than as a complete, surviving Universal engineering specification.
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How many cars were built?
The number depends on how the production vehicles are counted, and published accounts do not agree.
| Source tradition | Reported number | How the cars are described |
|---|---|---|
| Contemporary production research summarized by the AFI Catalog | Three | Three customized Lincoln Mark III cars, each described with a 455-cubic-inch engine |
| Later Lincoln and enthusiast production accounts | Four | One hero or close-up car and three vehicles principally used for stunts or special effects |
The safest conclusion is that several customized Mark IIIs were built. If a simple number is necessary, four is the figure repeated by later accounts, but the three-versus-four discrepancy should be acknowledged. It may reflect different counting methods, production records or vehicles built for particular effects rather than a settled disagreement about the basic identity of the car.
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The stunt cars were not preserved as collectible automobiles. They were treated as working film equipment and sacrificed for sequences that could not safely be performed with the hero vehicle.
Accounts place production cars in the destruction of the house and in the spectacular barrel-roll sequence over police cars. Two of the four vehicles are specifically reported to have been destroyed during production. Enthusiast reconstruction of the scenes also describes fiberglass-bodied or special-effects bodies mounted on separate chassis for particularly destructive work, including the barrel roll and the canyon finale.
That scene-by-scene reconstruction is useful but comes from user-contributed vehicle-identification research, not a surviving Universal production file. The broader point is better established: the stunt and effects units were expendable, and they did not survive filming as intact original movie cars.
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Did the original killer car survive?
Apparently, yes. The close-up or glamour car was generally kept separate from the most destructive stunt work. Later accounts say that the final gloss-black hero car survived filming and was sold at a Barris-related auction in either 1983 or 1984, depending on the account.
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There is not enough publicly verifiable information to say that the surviving car is in a particular museum, belongs to a named collector, carries a confirmed vehicle identification number or remains roadworthy. The most defensible summary is:
The surviving hero car was reportedly sold at a Barris auction in the early 1980s and believed to have entered a European private collection, but its current whereabouts have not been publicly confirmed.
Original film car versus replica
Because the design is so distinctive, replicas and tribute cars have appeared at shows and in enthusiast collections. They should not automatically be presented as the original automobile from the film.
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- Original film vehicle: The surviving Barris-built hero or close-up car, reportedly sold in the early 1980s and believed to be in Europe.
- Destroyed production vehicles: Stunt and effects cars used for crashes, rolls and other dangerous work.
- Replicas: Later show or collector vehicles modeled on the movie design, including examples discussed in the United Kingdom and one associated in enthusiast reporting with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
Public discussions of those replicas do not establish a definitive construction history or ownership record for every example. A car that looks exactly like the movie vehicle is therefore not proof that it is the surviving original.
Why does the car look so unlike a normal Mark III?
The Lincoln’s original design supplied the length, mass and luxury-coupe profile, but Barris’s alterations changed how viewers read those shapes. Lowering the roof made the body appear closer to the ground. Enlarging the fenders made it seem broader and more powerful. The concealed cabin removed the driver as a visible human presence, while the custom front end encouraged viewers to see a face rather than a grille.
The effect was especially important because The Car gives the automobile an almost supernatural role. It does not merely transport a villain; it behaves like the antagonist. The custom bodywork makes that idea readable before the car has done anything violent. Its physical weight, dark glass and practical stunt capability turn an expensive American coupe into an apparently self-directed threat.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to watch or research the film car
For readers who want to study the vehicle in context, availability varies by country, edition and date. A physical The Car (1977) Blu-ray edition has been associated with Arrow Films, while digital rental or purchase availability may differ by territory and storefront. Check the current listing before buying because formats, subtitles, bonus features and regional compatibility can change.
Owners, restorers and replica builders should search specifically for a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III repair manual or restoration reference rather than a generic 1977 Lincoln manual. The movie car’s custom body and stunt modifications are not factory Mark III equipment, so a stock-model reference can explain the donor chassis and mechanical layout but cannot document Barris’s one-off fabrication.
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The answer in one sentence
The car in The Car was a Barris-customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III; several versions were built, the stunt cars were destroyed during production, and the surviving close-up car was reportedly sold in the early 1980s and believed to have entered a European private collection, with no verified public record of its current location.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of car was used in The Car?
The automobile was a customized 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III coupe. George Barris modified its roof, fenders, front end, windows, finish and other components for the film.
How many cars were made for The Car?
Several cars were built. The AFI Catalog reports three customized Mark IIIs, while later accounts commonly describe four: one hero car and three stunt or effects vehicles.
Did the original car from The Car survive?
The stunt cars were destroyed or rendered unusable during crash and special-effects sequences. The close-up hero car reportedly survived and was sold at a Barris-related auction in the early 1980s.
Where is the surviving car from The Car now?
Its current location has not been reliably confirmed. Later accounts say it was believed to have gone to a private collector in Europe.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: The killer car was not a special 1977 Lincoln. It was a heavily modified 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III coupe built by George Barris. The stunt versions were sacrificed during filming, while the hero car reportedly survived and entered private European ownership after an early-1980s auction. Its present whereabouts remain unverified.
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