Skip to main content

Magazine

Snapshot, 1977: No car is safe from the sacrifices of show business

It’s 1977 in Rome, and as a bruised and battered Ferrari 250 GTE is rolled into place for another scene in ‘Highway Racer’ — or to give the film its native title, ‘Poliziotto Sprint’ — the set currently looks more like a Morecambe and Wise sketch than it does an action thriller…

While the sight of a battle-scarred Ferrari 250 GTE might make some people wince, the resulting film will be deemed more than worth the pain and the expense. Highway Racer is a classic Italian cops and robber flick, teeming with spectacular (and miraculously believable) car chases. While it won’t go down in the annals for its masterful plot or world-class cast, it will provide car buffs with a surprisingly satisfying watch for many years to come. Who knows where the GTE will end up and whether its future owner will have any idea that it was once rolled down the Spanish steps for the sake of show business? 

Photo: Reporters Associati & Archivi via Getty Images