Although the auction house anticipates that the car will sell for between $250,000 and $350,000, there is no reserve.
The company was inspired by the incredible stunt in James Bond’s The Man with the Golden Gun when Jaguar did a record-breaking barrel roll during the launch of the E Pace . You can now own the 1974 AMC Hornet, as it was in the original film.
For the best weight distribution, the custom Hornet places the driver in the middle of the vehicle so that he can do the roll. The exterior body panels give it a stock look, but a tube frame replaces its standard chassis. The rear houses a tiny fuel tank and an inline six, which provides power. To make the stunt happen, the stunt driver needed only one take. Only one crack was done to the windshield. These images show it clearly.
Hemmings says that the James Bond stunt is a result of an early attempt to use computers to improve automotive safety. Raymond McHenry, an engineer, created a program to predict the outcome of crashes. He decided to use stunt drivers in order to verify the predicted results in the real world. Later, he realized that the program could be used to plan car stunts. Jay Milligan, a touring car stunt performer, helped McHenry to develop the automotive barrel roll. After they had perfected the technique and patent it, McHenry and Jay Milligan contacted James Bond producers to discuss the possibility of using the trick in a future James Bond film.
Hemmings claims that Milligan constructed two barrel-rolling AMC Hornets. Milligan’s film shows that the one he captured jumped only once, and the other went into his collection. Milliagan continued the stunt by using the second example. Auctions America plans to sell the AMC Hornet in a stunt-prepped auction that will take place in Auburn, Indiana from August 31 through September 3. Although the company anticipates that the vehicle will sell for between $250,000 to $350,000, there is no reserve.