Drive off with a piece of automotive TV history. One of the most recognizable TV vehicles, along side the likes of the Batmobile, KITT, and the General Lee, has to be the A-Team Van. On January 23, 2021 this particular 1979 Chevrolet A-Team Van will be up for auction at no reserve through Worldwide Auctioneers, at its live auction in Auburn, IN and virtually online.
This particular example of the icon never saw screen time on the A-Team TV series, but was one of only six vans officially licensed by Universal Studios to Hollywood Productions for promotional use throughout North America. It was a hit on the auto show circuit from 1983-1987 and got around, accumulating more than 90,000-miles in the process.
Besides being a beautiful authentic example of an iconic TV vehicle, all proceeds from the auction are going to a great cause. Proceeds will go to the nonprofit J. Kruse Education Center Career Coaching Academy, which serves K-12 students and transitioning veterans to discover fulfilling career paths.
Iconic Van
For the past 30+ years this van has mostly sat in a “museum-like setting,” while occasionally being used for special events. While it wears all the right GMC badging, it is actually built from a 1979 Chevrolet G20. Under the hood is a 5.7-liter V8 (said to be running well) putting out a whopping 155 hp, which might make those famous burnouts and drifts a bit harder to come by than they seemed on the show.
Of course, this GMC Vandura A-Team Van sports the unique color scheme that makes it instantly recognizable, silver-gray over black separated by a bold red stripe. The rear wing, extra lights, roof antennas, big grille guard, black and red painted alloys, and BFG Radial T/As complete the iconic look.
Inside The A-Team Van
Inside this iconic van are all the appointments you would have seen on the show. It has a custom overhead control panel with CB radio, four custom seats, and custom interior panels done in “Race Coin” vinyl.
The real stars of the interior are the prop replicas. There are guns mounted in a variety of locations, with the big surprise being a .50 cal machine gun mounted on a swivel in the back of the van.
Read The Small Print
Always be sure to read the small print, especially when purchasing unique collector’s items like this one. The following is from the auction listing for this A-Team Van on the Worldwide Auctioneers site:
Please note: The Purchaser agrees to the special terms of sale of this vehicle and that these special terms are available to registered bidders prior to bidding. Agreeing to sign these special terms is a requirement to be registered to bid on this vehicle. The purchaser further agrees that they are a private automotive collector who will be exhibiting the vehicle at their permanent location and will not be exhibiting it at any other commercial events, shows, shopping centers, etc. nor will it be used or depicted in any advertisement, endorsement or promotion of any commercial establishment, product, book, publication, videos or service of any kind, other than promoting their own collection where any and all materials identifying or depicting the A-Team Van must contain the following notice: © & TM Universal Studios & Stephen J. Cannel.
“Special terms” don’t sound like a good time, especially if you want to use this vehicle to promote your business or to create some fun YouTube videos. We wonder how much these special terms will deter bidding and hinder the price? As the general peasants that we are, we’re probably missing the point. It’s likely that a rich collector will lock this shiny ’80s icon away in a private collection somewhere, where we’ll likely not see it again for some time.
We hope we’re wrong, and we’ll all get to see this beauty skidding into the local car show soon. But if not, we at least get to admire the details in these auction listing photos.
For all the details, and to register to bid, click HERE.
(Photos: Worldwide Auctioneers)
