It’s not what you see in the movie.
Movies don’t exist in real life. This is obvious even though it may seem obvious. However, you can see the difference between what a car jump looks live and on the silver screen. This clip shows a driver trying to recreate the jump Pontiac Trans Am by Smokey & the Bandit in a stunt at the 2019 Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals. The clip below shows the original version.
You can see that they are quite different. Hal Needham, a professional stuntman and Smokey & the Bandit director makes Burt Reynolds look heroic by jumping the bridge and staying a cool dude throughout.
The real-world jump is quite different. Because of the angle of the ramp, the Trans Am travels in a parabola. This means that the front end of the car meets the ground first and not the tires. There’s a roll cage and no harm to the driver. This Trans Am is however utterly destroyed. The suspension seems to have collapsed and there must be serious frame damage. It is a shame that such a beautiful vehicle was destroyed.
Burt Reynolds, Smokey and The Bandit star, died in 2018 at the ripe old age of 82. Together, he and Hal Needham created a series of action movies that were both impressive in the 1980s and 1970s. Although Smokey is the most well-known, The Cannonball Run and Hooper are all worth checking out for their automotive action.