Details

Release year: 1971

Storyline

During the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.

Top credits

Directors

Richard C. Sarafian

Writers

Cast

Barry Newman — Kowalski
Cleavon Little — Super Soul
Charlotte Rampling — Hitch-Hiker
Dean Jagger — Prospector

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Did you know

• In an interview, actor Paul Koslo spoke about legendary stunt driver Cary Loftin; "One night coming home from location, Cary was driving one of the Challengers back to the hotel, and he passed some New Mexico state troopers going 145 miles an hour! [laughs] He had four or five cop cars behind him with their lights on, but they couldn't catch up because they could only go about 125! So he drove into this little town and started to shut the car down. He pulled into a gas station, and I swear to God, he did a 360 in between the pumps and put the rear of the car - the gas tank - right in front of the super pump! He got out of the car like nothing happened, and the troopers busted his ass right there! [laughs] Oh, you should've seen those cops! They were fuming! They took him in, and the producer had to explain to them that Cary had actually been testing the car - that he did a lot of these spinouts because he'd been having trouble with the car! [laughs] I mean, you do have to test the cars, but you don't do it while you're driving home!"

• The car featured in the film is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, with a 440 cubic-inch V-8, and not a 426 Hemi V-8 (as is often believed). Eight white Challengers loaned from the Chrysler Corporation were used during the filming.

• Due to the cutting of the scene with Charlotte Rampling in the American release of the film, it creates a major plot hole within the movie. After the conversation between Kowalski and Jake, viewers see on the CHP wall map that Kowalski is approaching Cisco as early as Saturday night. However, the film then cuts to the next day, with Super Soul returning to the radio station, and Kowalski is still outside Cisco. In the U.K. release, viewers see it's because Kowalski picked up a hitchhiker, got stoned, and stopped. The American version offers no explanation for what Kowalski was doing.