David's car.
Does anyone know what kind of car this is? White convertible, obviously, but I don't know the make.
shareIt looked like an Austin-Martin.
shareThat's all wrong ;-)
Jaguar XK120/140/150, can't tell which one exactly by the appearance :-)
Actually, although it looks like an early '50s Jaguar XK-120, it is actually a "kit car"...and not a very good one at that. There was a rash of "kit car" companies, in the '70s and '80s especially, which made fiberglass "look-alike" bodies of older cars (Auburn "boat-tail" speedster, Jaguar XK-120, etc.) on modern chassis with modern V-8 engines and running gears and many contemorary accessories. "All the convenience and reliability and creature comforts of today, and all the beauty of the classics." A real XK-120 in pristine condition would not likely be loaned to a studio for a movie, except for a static display. Such a car is worth well over $100,000 today.
shareThe car was a Jaguar XK-120. Although I think Jeffthinks is right, it might have been a kit car. In an early scene, DeNiro is shot from behind driving the car onto the studio lot. He comes to a dead stop, then accelerates when the guard clears him. During this entire sequence, DeNiro's right hand is draped across the top of the seat. Not once does he change gears. The XK-120 is a roadster...no auto transmissions. However, the kit cars were built on a Ford 4-cylinder platform, probably the Pinto, that could very well have an auto transmission.
The other clue that it's a kit car is the odd color of the wheels -- red. I have seen hundreds of photos of XK-120s from that era and I have never seen that color combo.
I think you're right about the car....but even at that....the front end had been modified. Notice the swoop on the front fender in the movie and the location of the front bumper relative to the swoop as compared to this picture:
http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/jaguar/1953-jaguar-001.html
None of the xk120's had that kind of swoop....and the bumper location can clearly be seen to be above the bottom of the front end of the car, whereas in the film, the bumper and the bottom of the front end/fender of the car are at the exact same level.
Nice going 'poet'. I was curious too. I knew it was either a Jaguar or a Triumph, cause I wanted to buy a Jaguar in Y1958, and had a '56 Triumph tr2 in Y1960. :o)