News

You can own The Actual Christine for $400,000 – $500,000.

John Carpenter’s adaptation of Stephen King’s CHRISTINE is a Horror Icon. Noe you have the chance to own a screen-used Plymouth Fury straight from the movie … it’s being auctioned off with an estimate of $400,000 – $500,000.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Star Car from the 1983 film “Christine” directed by John Carpenter and based off of the novel by Stephen King

The only certified Polar Films titled car

Producer Richard Kobritz video testimonial

Promotional sweepstakes giveaway car for the movie

After production wrapped, the car was raffled off on New Year’s Eve on USA Network’s show “Night Flight”

Approximately 40,000 participants entered the sweepstakes, Scott Edminster was the winner

Previously part of the Ron Pratte collection

Featured at the 35th Anniversary celebration of the film held at the Rochester Auto Museum in 2018 with various cast and crew members in attendance

Comprehensive restoration

Small block wedge V-8 engine

Offenhauser intake manifold

Dual 4-barrel carburetors

Torqueflite pushbutton automatic transmission

Power steering

Power brakes

Finished in Red with White roof

Red vinyl and cloth bench seat interior

Full-size wheel covers

Whitewall tires

Furthermore, the site says:

This Plymouth Fury is one of very few known surviving Christines used to produce the movie. One of the star cars from the film, this Fury was used for close-up beauty shots meant to drive home the point that Christine was stunningly gorgeous… Rolling on wide whitewall tires with full-size wheel covers, a bumper sticker adorns the rear bumper reading, “Watch out for me, I am pure evil, I am Christine.” Of course, that was never seen in the film “Christine,” but movie buffs may remember seeing it in the movie, “Cat’s Eye,” another Stephen King adaptation in which Christine made a cameo appearance.

Check it out HERE.

In 1983, Columbia Pictures hired John Carpenter to direct a film version of Stephen King’s novel “Christine.” A lot of cooks were in the kitchen to create the film, but Carpenter was given the respect and liberties afforded any director, and he was looking forward to creating a film that would hopefully clear his name of the financial disaster that was 1982’s “The Thing,” which would ironically become one of the director’s best known and most appreciated works.

“Christine” debuted December 9, 1983, which was a historical year in films because more films received an “R” rating that year than any year previously—“Christine” was one of those movies. The December-January season is normally a slower time for theatergoers and an unlikely time to release a horror film; but, in spite of the hurdles, it was the fourth highest grossing film of the weekend. By the seven-week anniversary, “Christine” had grossed more than $21 million, marking it as successful, but not quite a blockbuster. However, like so many Carpenter films, “Christine” would have a cult following, one that would grow steadily over the years, lending more and more popularity to “Christine” as time went on.

The film indeed helped Carpenter’s image, both with fans and the industry, and he would go on to become one of the most legendary directors of the horror genre, one of Hollywood’s trickiest and most delicate genres, if ever there was one. Not many car guys would argue that “Christine” was one of the most beautiful cars of the 1950s—the thin roofline, quad headlights, wide straight-bar grille, moderate rear tail fins, ornate but tasteful use of chrome and aluminum trim certainly made the Plymouth a standout design that, when first released in late 1956, actually did send the majors back to the drawing board to reassess their offerings for the 1958 model year.

This Plymouth Fury is one of very few known surviving Christines used to produce the movie. One of the star cars from the film, this Fury was used for close-up beauty shots meant to drive home the point that Christine was stunningly gorgeous. This car was given away in a promotional raffle to promote the film on New Year’s Eve on USA Network’s show “Night Flight.” Roughly 40,000 people entered the sweepstakes, but Scott Edminster was the lucky winner. It has undergone a comprehensive restoration and is powered by a small-block Wedge V-8 engine fed by dual 4-barrel carburetors perched atop an Offenhauser intake manifold. Backed by a TorqueFlite pushbutton automatic transmission, the car also features power steering and power brakes and is finished in requisite Christine red with a white top. The interior is two-tone red with vinyl and cloth and features the famous AM radio, known as “Christine’s Voice,” red carpeting, correct trim and the Fury-specific 150 MPH speedometer. Rolling on wide whitewall tires with full-size wheel covers, a bumper sticker adorns the rear bumper reading, “Watch out for me, I am pure evil, I am Christine.” Of course, that was never seen in the film “Christine,” but movie buffs may remember seeing it in the movie, “Cat’s Eye,” another Stephen King adaptation in which Christine made a cameo appearance.

Previously part of the Ron Pratte Collection, the ’58 Fury was featured at the 35th Anniversary celebration of the movie held at the Rochester Auto Museum in 2018 with various cast and crew members in attendance. A truly remarkable piece of automobile and film history, Christine unknowingly helped popularize the 1957-58 Plymouths with car guys and movie buffs the world over. Prior to the book and the movie, these cars were largely in the shadow of products mostly from Ford and Chevrolet. In an interview with Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier about why he chose the Plymouth, Stephen King said, “Because they’re almost totally forgotten cars. They were the most mundane ‘50s car that I could remember. I didn’t want a car that already had a legend attached to it like the ‘50s Thunderbird, the Ford Galaxies etc… You know how these things grow. Some of the Chevrolets, for example, were supposed to have been legendary door-suckers. On the other hand, nobody ever talked about the Plymouth products.”