Somebody just bought Tom Hanks’ 1975 Fiat 128 in a charity sale

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Tom Hanks and online automotive auction house Bring a Trailer (BaT) have raised over US$20,000 for charity after auctioning off this 1975 Fiat 128 that belonged to the actor. 

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Somebody just bought Tom Hanks’ 1975 Fiat 128 in a charity sale Back to video

The green 128, of which three million were made from 1969 to 1985, was sold on BaT back in 2011 and acquired by Hanks in 2017 to be used in the filming of The Post, a movie in which Hanks’ character, Ben Bradlee, executive editor at The Washington Post, cruises around in the vintage Italian car while working to break the story of the Pentagon Papers.

And the car looks like something a journalist would drive, which is to say, kind of like a beater. (I can say that because I’m also a journalist.) Though running and with just just 900 miles (14,484 km) on the odometer, the car has its flaws, like some significant rips in the front leather seat upholstery, corrosion on the underside, and an alternator that doesn’t charge the battery.  

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Apparently it was slated to undergo a restoration that would’ve provided a new powertrain, but that was halted after the green paint (which does look sharp) was applied. 

As is, the car uses a 1,290-cc inline-four-cylinder engine tied to a four-speed manual gearbox to drive the two front wheels. It also wears a driver’s side mirror, backdated grille, chrome bumpers, pop-out rear windows, 13-inch steel wheels, heater/defroster, push-button radio, and three-point front seatbelts. 

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The 1975 Fiat sale attracted 12 bidders, who pushed the total up to a winning bid of US$24,375. 

Neither Hanks himself nor BaT benefited from the sale, either (other than with a bit of positive press) as the full amount including the buyer’s fee was donated to charitable organization Southern California Public Radio.