Vitals

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, two-time heavyweight world champion boxer

Philadelphia, Fall 1985

Film: Rocky IV
Release Date: November 27, 1985
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Costume Designer: Tom Bronson

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 80th birthday to Sylvester Stallone! Born July 6, 1946, the carved his own path to Hollywood success by writing and starring in Rocky as the fictional Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa. What started as a simple sports drama with a million-dollar budget has advanced over a half-century to $2 billion-grossing franchise of nine films and counting.

The first six films were all entirely written by Stallone who also directed four of the sequels, including Rocky IV (1985), which essentially pits Rocky as a symbol of American greatness against the cold-hearted cruelty of the Soviet Union as embodied by his deadly rival Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren).

A brief but memorable scene finds Rocky washing his pair of Lamborghinis outside his Philly mansion while his son Rocky Jr. (Rocky Krakoff) plays with the robot they gave Rocky’s brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young) until this domestic bliss is interrupted by a phone call from Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) to discuss Drago.

Let’s continue this summer’s Car Week with a look at Rocky’s look and his Lambos!

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What’d He Wear?

Rocky dresses in head-to-toe Adidas while washing his car, though he’s sure to represent his Italian heritage despite sportswear brand’s German origins. The black cotton/polyester sweatshirt has the Italian flag’s green, white, and red stripes tapering from the shoulders down to mid-chest, where the Adidas trefoil logo and wordmark are appliquéd in red on a V-shaped black panel plunging down from the shoulders. The sweatshirt has a slightly raised crew-neck and hand pockets set into the vertical side seams under the armpits.

Vintage examples can be found from secondhand sellers on sites like eBay and Etsy, though Stallone’s official shop sells a replica rebranded specifically for the Rocky franchise.

The matching black sweatpants have the same red-appliqué Adidas trefoil logo and wordmark over the upper left thigh, plus side pockets and jogger-style elasticized bottoms that gather at the tops of his white hi-top Adidas Hercules boxing boots. These white hybrid uppers have leather T-toes, heel quarters, and lace panels against an ivory-toned padded nylon vamp and tongue. “Adidas Boxing” is printed in gold on each side of the ankles, with a blue logo-and-wordmark-embroidered tag at the top of each tongue.

The blue, red, and blue triple stripes along each side of the instep reinforce Rocky’s American iconography while taking on the cold-hearted Soviet champ Ivan Drago. The flat gum rubber soles are siped for extra traction inside a boxing ring. Indeed, though crafted in the 1960s specifically for boxing and wrestling, the Adidas Hercules was also a favorite stage shoe for Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Rocky also wore these in a black-and-white colorway during his Siberian training session.

Rocky keeps his jewelry on while washing his cars, including an intricately detailed gold ring on his right hand wtih a large diamond setting—suggesting that this is a championship ring. On the opposite hand, he wears a simpler gold wedding band symbolizing his marriage to Adrian (Talia Shire).

Stallone also wears his own yellow-gold Rolex Submariner Date ref. 1680/8 that he purchased after a fateful plane ride with Gregg Allman in 1976. “Gregg was sleeping; I looked over and saw the most beautiful watch I had ever seen,” Stallone recalled to Matt Hranek for A Man and hsi Watch. “As soon as we landed, I tracked one down, and it’s been my pride and joy ever since. It was the first valuable thing I could afford to buy, and I still love it dearly.”

The black matte dial on Stallone’s Submariner is co-branded with Tiffany & Co., informing that Stallone almost certainly found his Rolex at a Tiffany boutique during the 30+ year relationship between watchmaker and retailer that ended around 1990. The rest of the watch follows standard ref. 1680/8 specifications with its 18-karat yellow-gold case measuring 40mm in diameter with a matching Oyster-style three-piece link bracelet, black bezel insert, and luminous non-numeric hour indices and date window positioned at 3 o’clock.

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The Car(s)

Rocky Balboa’s car collection has grown with his success, from a Bandit-style Trans Am in Rocky II to a pair of Italian sports cars lined up in his driveway by Rocky IV. Though he more frequently drives his black 1984 Lamborghini Jalpa P3500, we also see a red 1982 Lamborghini Countach LP 500 S parked farther up the driveway. It’s this red Countach that Stallone posed with for a promotional shoot in this sweatsuit, perhaps with the thought that the Countach’s red exterior looked more exotic and also contrasted more cleanly against the sweatsuit’s black cloth?

Lamborghini introduced the Jalpa at the 1981 Geneva Motor SHow, intending it as more accessible alternative to the flagship Countach with its lower cost and greater ease of driving. Designed by Marc Deschamps at Bertone, the Jalpa was powered by the 3.5-liter L353 V8 engine, a double overhead camshaft version of the earlier Lamborghini Silhouette’s transverse-mounted 3.0-liter V8.

Also mounted transversely behind the driver, the Jalpa’s L353 V8 produced 252 horsepower with a claimed top speed of 155 mph and 0-100 km/h acceleration in six seconds flat, an assertion more or less verified by independent contemporary testing. The engine was exclusively mated to a five-speed syncromesh manual transmission, illustrated on screen when the gearbox is prominently featured as Rocky slams through the gears the dramatic “No Easy Way Out” montage.

1984 Lamborghini Jalpa P3500

Body Style: 2-door targa sports coupe

Layout: tranverse mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive

Engine: 210 cu. in. (3.5 L) Lamborghini L353 V8 with four twin-barrel Weber 42 DCNF carburetors

Power: 252 hp (188 kW; 255 PS) @ 7000 RPM

Torque: 225 lb·ft (305 N·m) @ 4000 RPM

Transmission: 5-speed syncromesh manual

Wheelbase: 96.5 inches (2451 mm)

Length: 170.5 inches (4330 mm)

Width: 74 inches (1880 mm)

Height: 44.9 inches (1140 mm)

Lamborghini ended production of the Jalpa in 1988 after a total of 410 were produced at its Sant’Agata Bolognese plant. This would be the last Lamborghini to use a V8 engine for thirty years until the Urus SUV in 2018.

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How to Get the Look

Many of us are probably used to carrying out mundane errands in a sweatsuit and sneakers, but Rocky stylishly elevates his leisurewear in a matching Adidas sweatsuit detailed in tribute to his “Italian Stallion” persona—paired with his usual Adidas boxing boots and a gold Rolex.

• Black cotton/polyester Adidas sweatshirt with Italian flag-striped shoulders, red trefoil logo/wordmark at mid-chest, and set-in side pockets
• Black cotton/polyester Adidas sweatpants with red trefoil/wordmark on upper left thigh, set-in side pockets, and jogger-style bottoms
• White leather-on-nylon Adidas Hercules lace-up boxing boots with blue, red, and blue leather-appliqué side stripes
• Diamond-set gold championship ring
• Gold wedding band
• Rolex Submariner ref. 1680/8 dive watch with 18-karat yellow-gold 40mm case, black bezel insert, black “Tiffany & Co.” dial with luminous hour indices and 3 o’clock date window, and gold three-piece Oyster-style link bracelet

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Do Yourself a Favor and…

Check out the movie.

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The Quote

I fight so you don’t have to fight. ‘Cause I want you to use your head for somethin’ instead of a punching bag like I do.