I am amazed that being as much of an automotive enthusiast as I am, I was only made aware of C’etait un Rendezvous last year during a meeting at work. A group VP, also a car nut, decided to use the film as the intro to his presentation of future product and strategy. At first I merely dismissed it as another version of the Getaway in Stockholm series of insane stunts on the mean streets of Sweden.
After a few moments, I realized the soundtrack was special and the time was set back in the mid 70's. After the movie, the GVP explained the movie was only recently made available on DVD. He said the director, Claude Lelouch, had used the proceeds of a successful movie to purchase a Ferrari 275 GTB and hired an F1 pilot to drive the streets of Paris.
I just finished the book, The Driver, by Alexander Roy, the guy who took his M5 from NYC to LA in 31 hours and 4 minutes. I was struck by Roy's comment that Lelouch had used a Mercedes 450SEL 6.9 to film the movie, not a Ferrari. This story is confirmed here.
If you watch the movie and think about the blinding speed a 275 GTB would be doing in the gears, you understand the sound is a hoax. This is still a great moment in automobiles, but not the stunt you probably thought it was.
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