Their bond began during the filming of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969 and grew stronger with subsequent collaborations like The Sting. Redford, a passionate racer himself, introduced Newman to the thrill of motorsports by lending him his rare 1964 Porsche 904 GTS. Newman quickly picked up racing skills and went on to compete professionally, even winning his class at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans.
However, Newman's enthusiasm for racing soon became hard to ignore. Redford confessed to growing tired of hearing about cars every time they met, so when Newman turned 50, Redford decided to pull off a memorable joke. He contacted a towing company to find a crushed Porsche and arranged to have it gift-wrapped and dropped at Newman's house in Connecticut as a birthday surprise.
Newman stayed silent about the stunt at first but soon got his revenge. A few weeks later, Redford received an enormous wooden crate at his home. Inside was a solid cube of crushed metal—the remains of a Porsche—sent back to him in retaliation. Not missing a beat, Redford had a sculptor turn that metal block into a grotesque garden sculpture, which he then "gifted" to Newman, completing their cheeky cycle of pranks.
Despite the mischief, the friendship between Redford and Newman was built on deep respect and affection. They kept their prank war a secret, never speaking of it openly.
