This was a number 46 stunt car used in the movie’s big crash scene, and there’s not much left of it.
“Rubbin’ is racin'” is arguably the most-remembered quote from the classic racing flick Days of Thunder. The car you see here wasn’t rubbed so much as it was launched. In fact, it was flipped with a cannon to film the big crash scene that dropped Tom Cruise’s character Cole Trickle and Rowdy Burns (played by Michael Rooker) in the hospital. They survived, and thanks to a movie superfan, the remains of this car will survive as well.
Earlier in January we shared a video from the Coors Bandit YouTube channel showing two screen-used Days of Thunder cars being rescued from the woods. Now, that same individual is back to pluck the twisted shell of the no. 46 Superflo Chevrolet from a field in an undisclosed location. Based on the lack of snow and the accents we hear from folks in the video, we’ll go out on a limb and say it’s somewhere in the south.
It’s unclear how this former movie star ended up in a field covered by thorn bushes. The new owner received a tip on the car and trudged into the discovery not realizing it was a cannon-equipped flip car. The 46 and SuperFlo branding made the car recognizable, but the red paint has long since faded. There’s no engine, no interior, no front clip, no rear clip, and absolutely no hope it will ever turn laps at a track under its own power.
Still, it’s a neat piece of automotive history with a Hollywood connection. With some effort, it’s extracted from the thorny grave and loaded onto a trailer where we get a clearer look. The cannon rig used to make it flip is long gone, but the absolute carnage indicates this car wasn’t just driven into a wall. It was demolished with extreme prejudice.
As for this car’s future, the video concludes by saying it will join the Hardees and Mello Yello cars already rescued and on display. And yes, the channel on the lookout for even more Days of Thunder relics to expand the collection. So if you have any tips, we suggest giving them a shout.
