Nostalgia is a Schedule I influence. Just look at the values of the cars we wanted when we were young, or the way “Back to the Future” heavily affected the DeLorean market. We all want to drive a piece of our childhoods, and if your childhood was the ’80s, guess what? You could be the next owner of an all-time cinema vehicle. We’re talking about a made-for-Hollywood car that perfectly satirized the bloat, excess, and inefficiency of Detroit’s most popular ’80s machines: The 6000 SUX from Robocop.
Yep, we’re looking at one of the most infamous fastbacks of all time, although it’s definitely seen better days. There appears to be a crack in the windshield, the paint is faded, and it’s picked up a few scuffs over the years. Thankfully, replacing the windshield shouldn’t be terribly hard because the middle section of this creation is actually fairly standard.
Underneath Gene Winfield’s coachwork sits a 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme as pictured below, the last model year before the downsized, controversial fastback appeared. This means it’s powered by some wheezy malaise-era motor, likely a 4.3-liter V8, although it should still be efficient enough to exceed the advertised 8.2 MPG.
What about technology? Leather seats, cruise control, and a Blaupunkt? Well, sort of. See, because this is really just a Cutlass, you probably only get one of the three. Obviously, this thing also predates Magnavolt, so you might want The Club because GM’s steering column is notoriously easy for thieves to smash in the pursuit of hotwiring. Still, as a showpiece, who cares?
Winfield built two complete cars and one shell for the film, with the shell being what Clarence Boddicker blew up with his Cobra Assault Cannon. One of the complete cars managed to make its way to Pop Central in France, a big museum full of movie cars and memorabilia, which is now auctioning off a bunch of cars to make way for even more cars.
What else is going under the hammer? How about the actual 1973 Chevelle Malibu from Drive, seen above? It’s up for grabs and expected to fetch between €60,000 and €80,000. That’s strong money, but justified considering the impact the film had. Or how about the Peugeot 406 V6 from Taxi 2? Okay, it’s a bit more niche in North America than the “Drive” Chevelle, but come on. Would.
Anyway, back to the American Tradition. Reckon you’d buy the 6000 SUX for a dollar? Well, you’re probably going to want to bring a fair few of them. Bonhams expects this thing to fetch between €30,000 and €50,000, or between roughly $34,716 and $57,860. That’s not terrible when you think about the provenance of this screen car, and it’s still somehow easier to look at than some actual new cars you can buy today. If you can’t make it to Paris, you can also bid online.
Top graphic images: Bonhams; Orion Pictures
All these years later I’m still scratching my head at why Drive had the impact it did.
So which Autopian got to explain the “Bidders Leave” reference to David?
I’m not so sure about that proud to own part.
Man, Red’s one hellva weird fellow. Kicking his son’s ass here, leading a gang in a future Detroit there.
Which is even weirder: wouldn’t think a Bears fan would like to be in Lions territory….
oooh, really shitty mileage.
VIN decodes as a 350, so it’s got the shitty gas mileage covered (looks like 11mpg), but not so much the really fast part (~18 second 1/4 mile). 455 would help immensely with both requirements though.
Schedule one. 😀
I liked the first Robocop movie of course, but I don’t feel compelled to own this or any other memorabilia from it.
I had a pretty strong crush on Nancy Allen as Officer Anne Lewis at the time IIRC. She really rocked that short hair. 🙂
Jill Hennessy, Rachel Weisz, and Jessica Chastain are my biggest weird screen crushes.
I’d watch anything these were in. Even Robocop III.
Nothing weird about any of that IMO. 😉
Careful who you tell about your Rachel Weisz crush, her husband had a license to kill.
I’d rather have one of the Taurus-based cop cars from the movie than this thing.
Damn those Colonnades sucked hard.
The sedans sure did.
The coupes? YOU SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH.
Something with reclining leather seats, that goes really fast, and gets really shitty gas mileage! maybe even a Blaupunkt
I considered bringing this up for the 6000 STE from Pontiac Pthursday. Odd that it shows up now.
Fitting that we just saw a 6000 STE article as I think the 6000 SUX is making fun of 80’s GM and their sad-ass cars.
I always assumed that was intentional, given the heavy Taurus product placement
I almost died laughing at this.
Bidding is open at €30,000.
You have 20 seconds to comply.
You now have 15 seconds to comply.
You have 5 seconds to comply.
I am now authorized to use physical force.
your move, creep
I won’t buy that for a dollar, but…
Ronnie Cox as Dick Jones was one of the best movie villains ever. Deserved at least an Oscar nomination.
Recently rewatched Beverly Hills Cop after decades, and him as a good guy is hard to deal with b/c of how good he was in Robocop.
Try Deliverance!
No, that’s okay, really, I’m good.
He’s also great as Edward Jellico on TNG, as kind of a bad guy who’s really a good guy that just irritates the fuck out of people.
Good point, however he is still kinda the antagonist lite to Foley’s protagonist…
It’s been a while, but didn’t he give basically the same performance in Total Recall?
Yes. With the same director from Robocop.
I would actually happily drive it daily. so many modern upgrades would be perfectly fine in that chassis. But I would not be willing to pay that much just to get it and then add on shipping back to the states. probably better to have a custom builder make a version to be able to drive and leave this for Volo or some other movie car place to let sit and not get used.
Wow, the 6000 SUX. Hopefully it finds the right buyer.
I’ve often wondered (or maybe I just thought of this now) what if this magnificent vehicle had been in production and had continued on for multiple generations.
If only there was someone who could bring that vision to life.
I think maybe the Caddilac Celestiq was starting to go there. the rear overhang definitely fits the vibe. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT3o7pj5Zl4j8vmjysbAkP8cQYmnAc6oEncaoogfHHNUftmquLDr8oIre1X4LTCbD10Sjg&usqp=CAU
I like it!
(I’m sorry.)