All About 'The A-Team’ Van
“The A-Team” van helped the characters fight crime while performing epic stunts in the 1980s TV series.
Written by Alexandra Maloney
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
While celebrities like the iconic Mr. T and legendary George Peppard definitely shined in the action
TV show
“The A-Team,” perhaps the most underrated star of all was the van seen on screen throughout the seasons. The trusty vehicle helped the characters fight crime, clear their names from accusation, and escape a military prison, just to name a few highlights. If you loved “The A-Team” during the 1980s, then you definitely have a special place in your heart for this famous TV show car.
Jerry
, the car ownership super app
, takes a trip down memory lane to explore everything you forgot—or didn’t know—about “The A-Team” van. What was the ‘A-Team’ van?
“The A-Team” van was a 1983 GMC Vandura van, painted black and metallic gray with a striking red stripe around the vehicle. The van appeared in every episode of all five seasons of the hit action TV show created by TV legends Stephen J. Cannel and Frank Lupo.
Throughout the series, the van is used as a getaway car in high-speed chases, a storage facility for items like guns and video surveillance, and a means of deception with ever-changing license plates.
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More on the GMC Vandura
The vehicle behind “The A-Team” ride was a GMC Vandura van, a vehicle that was produced for more than just the big screen. During its production years between 1964 and 1996, many drivers purchased the Vandura.
The News Wheel
reports one of the biggest draws of the Vandura is the easy ability to customize the car however a driver wants. Hence, why “The A-Team” van featured a loud red stripe. In addition to customizable features, the GMC Vandura improved over the years to have both high safety and high fuel economy ratings. The first generation of the van was on the roads from 1964 to 1966, and featured a flat-four or flat-six Chevy engine and no frills at all—not even air conditioning.
The second generation of the van also had a short life, from 1967 to 1970. It featured the same engine options and slightly upgraded features, like a curved windshield. The third generation Vandura is the longest running generation and the one we see in “The A-Team.” The third generation ran from 1971 to 1996 and was a big upgrade from the earlier two. It had a variety of engines to choose from, ranging from a 4.1-liter I6 to a 7.4-liter V8, and even got air conditioning.
What happened to ‘The A-Team’ van?
If you were a big fan of “The A-Team” as a TV series in the 1980s, then it’s probably no surprise to you that there was a movie based on the series that debuted in 2010. While a trusty van was featured on screen, it wasn’t the same car as in the series. Instead, the film used a 1994 Chevrolet G20, a car that looked like the GMC Vandura but wasn’t quite the same.
As
HotCars
points out, there are differences between the movie and TV series cars beyond just the make and model. While the TV van was black and metallic gray, the movie van was strictly black. And, the iconic red stripe was different!Both the movie and TV van went into retirement at car museums, and some used in both are even available for sale today.
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