This is “Hero Stunt Car 2,” it’s the only surviving 1969 Pontiac GTO stunt car from The Punisher (2004) starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. Five cars were made for the film, but four were wrecked during filming.
The car was given a reinforced chassis, a roll cage, a fuel cell, an all aluminum interior, a custom dash, special effects “bulletproof” sliding window shielding, and it’s powered by a 400 cubic inch 350 bhp V8.
Fast Facts: “The Punisher” 1969 Pontiac GTO Stunt Car
- This 1969 Pontiac GTO, known as “Hero Stunt Car 2,” is the only surviving stunt car from The Punisher (2004) starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. Five were built for filming, but four were destroyed. It has a reinforced chassis, roll cage, fuel cell, aluminum interior, custom dash, and bullet-resistant sliding window shields.
- The 400 cubic inch Pontiac V8 is good for 350 bhp and it’s paired with an automatic transmission. Performance figures include a 124 mph top speed and a 0 to 60 mph time of 7 seconds. It has black steel wheels, front disc/rear drum brakes, twin hood scoops, and a dark finish with stylized bullet hole graphics plus Punisher badging.
- The Punisher (2004) was directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, adapting the Marvel Comics vigilante first introduced in 1974. With a $33 million budget, it grossed about $54 million worldwide. The tone leaned toward gritty crime-drama rather than superhero spectacle, and critics were divided on pacing and faithfulness to source material.
- Filming took place mainly in Tampa, Florida, with stunt cars modified for safety and visual impact. This GTO is offered by RM Sotheby’s in Munich on the 18th of October, with a price estimate of $46,500 to $70,000 USD, presenting a rare opportunity to own a fully documented, screen-used Marvel movie vehicle.
History Speedrun: The Punisher
The Punisher (2004) is an American action-thriller film directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and based on the Marvel Comics vigilante character who was first introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974.
Above Video: The 1969 Pontiac GTO stunt car features prominently in the film, and in the trailer, and in many respects the car is one of the key characters – it’s certainly one of the most memorable – almost like an anti-Batmobile or an A-Team creation.
Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, the Punisher (named Frank Castle) became a cult hero for his morally uncompromising war on crime, using lethal force in stark contrast to most Marvel heroes.
Before the 2004 film release, the character had been adapted in a 1989 film starring Dolph Lundgren, but that version diverged heavily from the original comics.
The 2004 film adaptation starred Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, an undercover FBI agent whose family is massacred by crime lord Howard Saint, played by John Travolta – prompting Castle’s transformation into the Punisher. The supporting cast includes Rebecca Romijn as Castle’s neighbor Joan, Ben Foster as Dave, and Will Patton as Saint’s enforcer Quentin Glass.
Filmed mainly in Tampa, Florida, the production aimed for a grounded, gritty, crime-drama tone influenced by 1970s revenge films – avoiding overdone CGI or superpower elements common in other comic adaptations of the time.
With a reported production budget of $33 million USD, The Punisher opened in April 2004, grossing approximately $54 million USD worldwide. While it recouped its costs, the film underperformed compared to other Marvel adaptations of the era like Spider-Man or X-Men. Though some of this disparity likely came down to the relative fame of the different franchises.
The 2004 film “The Punisher” starred Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, an undercover FBI agent whose family is massacred by crime lord Howard Saint, played by John Travolta – prompting Castle’s transformation into the Punisher. Image courtesy of Lions Gate Films.
Critics were divided on the film, some praised Jane’s committed performance and the stripped-down, noir-inspired approach, while others disliked the pacing, tonal inconsistency, and deviations from the comic source material.
The character’s cinematic life continued in other forms, and Jane reprised the role in the 2012 fan-made short Dirty Laundry, which received significant online acclaim.
The 1969 Pontiac GTO Stunt Car From “The Punisher”
The car you see here is one of five identical-looking 1969 Pontiac GTO stunt cars that were built for use in The Punisher. Of those five, just one remains, the car you see here which was named “Hero Stunt Car 2” during filming.
The car was prepared with a reinforced chassis, a stripped interior now lined in sheet aluminum, it has a roll cage, a single bucket seat, a modified dashboard, a fuel cell, an aftermarket steering wheel, and those famous sliding bulletproof window covers.
The car rides on black steel wheels and it’s powered by a 400 cubic inch Pontiac V8 producing 350 bhp. Power is sent back through an automatic transmission, and the claimed performance specifications include a top speed of 124 mph and a 0-60 mph time of 7.0 seconds.
The car you see here is one of five identical-looking 1969 Pontiac GTO stunt cars that were built for use in The Punisher. Of those five, just one remains, the car you see here which was named “Hero Stunt Car 2” during filming.
It has front disc and rear drum brakes, and it’s finished in dark paint that has been given a series of stylized bullet holes, a front strut brace, twin hood scoops, and blacked-out GTO badging with the Punisher logo on the back window.
The car is now due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s in Munich on the 18th of October with a surprisingly low price guide of $46,500 to $70,000 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images: Oliver Hirtenfelder ©2025 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
