The Mello Yello car, beaten and rusted, was sitting in the woods without any wheels on it. Coors Bandit’s acquisition of the vehicle was a bit of a headache as a result, having to go out to get new tires because the ones he brought to be able to move it didn’t fit. The Hardee’s car, though also beat up and filled with bugs, looked a decent bit better, although time and the elements have turned its paint job from orange and blue to white and blue. Coors Bandit has no plans to restore the cars, but he still wants to preserve them.
This is not the first time that one of the Mello Yello-branded Chevrolet Luminas from “Days of Thunder” has surfaced. The Hollywood Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has one on display, while others have shown up for sale on sites like eBay and Classic Driver.
Besides coming at a particular point when Cruise was at the height of his powers, “Days of Thunder” also bears personal significance for the superstar, as the shoot was where he met his second wife and the mother of two of his children, Nicole Kidman. To those who saw it in theaters, though, it’s best remembered as a snazzy racing flick with some cool cars, particularly the Mello Yello-sponsored car driven by Cruise’s character, Cole Trickle.
