1961 Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet
The ultra-expensive Ferrari was only used in the pilot episode.
Sunbeam Tiger
Season 1 & 2. Arguably the most iconic of the Get Smart cars.
Karmann Ghia Cabriolet
Max switched to the Karmann Ghia for seasons 3 & 4.
1969 Opel GT
An Opel GT was Max’s ride for the final season of Get Smart.
In the 1965 (black and white) pilot episode of Get Smart, Max steps out of a black/dark blue Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet, throwing his hat into the car and running downstairs to what we presume is Control headquarters. Built primarily for the US west coast, the Cabrio was a limited production, hand made work of art with the legendary Colombo V12 of 3 litres capacity. Not the sort of car the average secret agent would have driven.
1961 Ferrari PF 250 Cabriolet. See the Ferrari gallery for more original images
When the series went into production the Ferrari was replaced by a red 1965 Sunbeam Tiger — the best known of the Get Smart cars. The ultimate Sunbeam, the Tiger was equipped with a Ford 260 cubic inch V8 - the very same engine that appeared in the first Cobra and Mustang (the old V8 in the British sports car trick…)
Sunbeam Alpine print ad . Go to our Sunbeam gallery for more images
But the Tiger had a stand in for most of the shows, a rebadged four cylinder Sunbeam Alpine, with Tiger script on the side. There wasn't enough space under the bonnet of the Tiger for both a V8 and the James Bond style machine gun (missed it by that much...)
The handbrake lever in the Sunbeam Tiger was used as the trigger for the passenger ejector seat.
Described as a poor man's Cobra, the Sunbeam Tiger was the cheapest way to have a Shelby engineered, Ford V8 powered two-seat British convertible. The Tiger did 0-60mph in 7.8 seconds with top speed of 120mph, not as fast as the Cobra, but respectable.
For 1967 the V8 was increased to 289 cubic inches (4.7ltr) but was still the lowest powered version in Ford's stable. With a 2bbl carburetor, the engine in the Tiger was a long way short of the hottest 289 packing 271 horsepower. The Tiger II had 36bhp more than the 260 V8 series 1, but wasn't much faster as it struggled to get the additional power to the road via puny 13 inch wheels.
Max's Tiger had all the gadgets — rotating licence plate, ramming bumperettes, machine gun trapdoor, smoke screen and, would you believe...passenger ejector seat.
Check out the Tunnel Ram Sunbeam gallery here
For the third and fourth seasons Max swapped his Sunbeam for a blue VW Karmann Ghia. It was rarely spotted in the shows except for the opening titles. Volkswagen paid ABC to use the car in an attempt to promote their new, sporty Karmann - an early example of product placement.
The Karmman Ghia convertible as driven by Max was a Type 34 (based on the Type 3 platform) equipped with a 1500cc flat four and 4 speed floorshift. Hardly quick even in its day - just as well it was reliable and had low slung good looks like every Karmann Ghia dating back to the first produced in 1955. More images of Karmann Ghias in our VW gallery
Original magazine advert for a 1960s Karmann Ghia Cabrio like the one Max drove in the opening credits - seasons 3 & 4
In one episode of season four, A Tale of Two Tails, Max is seen driving a blue Mustang Shelby GT500KR convertible. As this beauty was the Chief's, it's debatable as to whether this car should make the list. Being a GT500 as opposed to the lesser GT350, the Chief had a giant 428 cu in. V8 under the bonnet of his wheels. More Shelby Mustang images available in our Shelby gallery
The Shelby Mustang GT500 convertible - in blue just like The Chief’s
In the final season, Max drove a gold 1969 Opel GT. The Opel was sold in the US through select Buick dealerships. Buick didn't have a small, sporty type car to entice younger buyers in to showrooms (unlike Chevy and Pontiac with the Camaro/Firebird twins).
The Buick-imported Opel GT as driven by Max in the final two seasons
See the Buick and Opel galleries
A success in Europe, the Opel GT was a short lived attempt by Buick to offer a sports car alongside their established line of more brutal muscle machines - the GS 340, GS 400 and GSX 455. As with the Karmann Ghia before it, the Opel GT was another example of product placement - with a view to selling more cars thanks to the ratings success of the show.
As for the most famous Get Smart car - the red Sunbeam Tiger - Don Adams acquired the car from the studio after the show finished and held on to it for the next decade. He used it in Chief Auto Parts advertisements before passing it on to his daughters, who both reportedly crashed it.
The Get Smart Tiger is reputed to be on display at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.
We’ve created an exclusive collection of T-shirts as a homage to TV’s greatest spy. We love you MAX!!
We’ve created an exclusive collection of T-shirts as a homage to TV’s greatest spy. We love you MAX!!
Google No.1 ranked article about the Get Smart Cars
About the author
Raph Tripp is a passionate classic car enthusiast and writer, and founder of TunnelRam.net. If you wish to publish this article in part or in whole, please credit Raph Tripp and tunnelram.net . This is an original Tunnel Ram production ©2016 Tunnel Ram. All images remain the property of the original copyright holders.