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| Image: Live Auctioneers |
Seen in FBDO
The front panel of a Murray Champion pedal car is best seen at 00:37:29 in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as Mrs. Bueller returns home to check on Ferris. It can be seen under the desk at the back of Ferris’s bedroom.
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| Image: Paramount Pictures |
Description
The Murray Champion pedal car dates back to the mid-20th century. Introduced in 1951, the original "Dip Side" Champion was inspired by the full-sized Studebaker Champion automobile. Its distinctive design, featuring a deep-drawn, heavy-gauge steel body, allowed for intricate details and a realistic appearance.
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| Image: Pinterest |
In 1956, Murray introduced the "Full Side" Champion, a sleeker and more modern version with a smoother body style. These iconic vehicles captured the imagination of young children and continue to be highly sought-after collectibles today.
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| Image: eBay |
Finding This Item
Recognizing that the object under Ferris’s desk resembled the front of a classic automobile, I reached out to a friend who has spent many years collecting and restoring vintage pedal cars. He immediately recognized this as the front of a mid-century Murray Champion. With this information as a foundation to build on, I was headed down the pedal car rabbit hole.
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| Image: Live Auctioneers [Edited] |
Comparing the object under Ferris’s desk with photos of Murray Champion pedal cars, it became clear that the headlights and hood ornament had been removed. This was especially noticeable based on the shadows behind the headlight openings.
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| Image: Paramount Pictures |
That said, I was a bit perplexed by the grill. The shot from the film appears to show a grill of some sort and, strangely, one significantly taller than what would be found on a Champion. After staring at this screenshot for longer than I would care to admit, it finally occurred to me that the grill had been removed, as well. The “grill” I was seeing in the screenshot was nothing more than the shadow coming from the chair to the right of the pedal car.
That left the bumper as the only remaining piece of “chrome” to be accounted for. With that in mind, I continued to notice that the front panel’s base, resting on the floor, was the same color as the hood. Assuming the bumper would be mounted on a solid piece of panel’s base, I concluded that all of the “chrome” – including the bumper – had been removed.
Lastly, I couldn’t shake the thought that the dimensions of this front panel in Ferris’s room didn’t seem quite right. It seemed much more square in comparison to photos of Murray Champions showing a wider front panel. Identifying various items in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I’ve found that many are somewhat distorted on screen based on lighting and camera angle. By placing the object from the film over a photo of a Murray Champion, the slightest amount of manipulation made the two all but a perfect match.
At this point I was confident in the fact that this was, indeed, the front panel of a Murray Champion pedal car stashed under Ferris Bueller’s desk.
Find Your Own
- Check eBay for a vintage Murray Champion pedal car of your own!
Learn More
Pick up a copy of Pedal Cars by Bloemker, Genat and Weirick for a look at a visual history of the pedal car.