The Cobra has visible front-end damage when it is on the interstate towards the end of the race. In the waterways, the front end is intact.
In the start-of-race sequence, set between 6:00 AM and 6:05 in Manhattan, a car passes a clock on the old New York Times building at 229 W. 43rd St. reading 10:26 (the lighting seems to support that).
As the "fake police car" leaves the starting point in NYC, it gets hit by the a undercover police car on the rear left side of the bumper and trunk, but in the next shot the "fake police car" shows no signs of damage.
The teams leave New York City at 6:00 am and it is light out. However, there is snow on the ground outside the city; there is far too much light for 6:00 am in the winter.
As a car begins to ride on two side wheels down a Los Angeles freeway, the driver suddenly sports a crash helmet.
Although a big deal is made at the end with the Cobra and the Ferrari racing neck and neck, the Cobra left New York 10 seconds after the Ferrari. The Ferrari would have had to beaten the Cobra by more than 10 seconds to win.
Since the winner of the race was to be determined by the travel time, it wouldn't matter in what "place" the winning car finished. This is why Team Ferrari should have won the race over Team Cobra. Also, this is why racers being excited over their starting position (example: Team Camaro was first out) makes no sense, since race finish time is what mattered.
At the 31 minute mark the radio announcer states that the NY Giants won 7-0 the previous day, the movie was filmed during the Giants 1975 football season and at no time during the 1975 season did the Giants win any game 7-0. Actually during the entire 1970's the Giants never won any regular season game by a score of 7-0.
The white 1968 Corvette changes into a white 1969 Corvette when it makes the jump and crashes. The seats gain headrests, the doors lose the '68-only locks, the taillights change, and the inner door panels change.
Team Cobra is first to cross the finish line, and they win the race. But they weren't really the winner:
Before the race starts, Smitty tells all the racers that their start time and elapsed time will be verified in Long Beach. Team Ferrari starts at 06:00:20, and Team Cobra starts at 06:00:30.
Team Cobra crosses the finish line first, but Team Ferrari is right behind them and crosses the finish line just a second or two after Team Cobra.
That means Team Ferrari started and finished 10 seconds before Team Cobra, which means Team Ferrari won by at least 8 seconds.
Before the race starts, Smitty tells all the racers that their start time and elapsed time will be verified in Long Beach. Team Ferrari starts at 06:00:20, and Team Cobra starts at 06:00:30.
Team Cobra crosses the finish line first, but Team Ferrari is right behind them and crosses the finish line just a second or two after Team Cobra.
That means Team Ferrari started and finished 10 seconds before Team Cobra, which means Team Ferrari won by at least 8 seconds.
While being pelted with bugs, Lapchick lifts his right hand off the throttle to wipe his visor. He should have immediately slowed and the tone of his engine should have changed. Proof that the motorcycle and Lapchick were being towed on a trailer while being filmed.
Some motorcycles of the time have throttle lock switches, that would enable the driver to lock the throttle in a desired position. If Lapchik's motorcycle was equipped with this feature, this would in fact, be possible.
There is a sign for I-80 in Illinois on a road that is clearly not of Interstate quality. And the sign is an obvious fake as it says "I-80" instead of just "80" on the shield part of the sign.
When the Acme Plumbing van is running from the trail of burning gasoline, you can see the fire extending in front of the van. It is most noticeable right after the passenger says "You can't out run it".
In the helicopter, the pilot is wearing a helmet with integral headphones, and Roscoe is not wearing any headphones. In the noisy cockpit of the helicopter, neither of them could hear what the other is saying.
All of the set-piece scenes with Roscoe and various state Highway Patrol units trying to bust the ralliers were shot on the same location, so that mountains are visible in the background in sequences supposedly taking place in flat Midwestern states.
When the cars are racing in the LA River the shots alternate between having mountains in front them (heading north) and not having mountains visible (heading south). The river flows south.
When Franco removes the Ferrari's rear-view mirror, the boom mic is clearly reflected in the car's windshield.
Roscoe tells the cop to take him to the airport. New York has three major airports and several smaller ones, but he doesn't specify which one.