[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phpYpkRsJPM2_305.jpg]]Wealthy but bored businessman Michael Bannon issues the code word "Gumball" to his fellow automobile enthusiasts, who gather in a garage in NewYorkCity to embark on a coast-to-coast race "with no catalytic converter and no 55-mile-per-hour speed limit." Their nemesis, LAPD lieutenant Roscoe, also learns of the race and most of the film is devoted to the adventures of the various driving teams and Roscoe's ineffectual attempts to apprehend them. HilarityEnsues.

The race ends at the ''Queen Mary'' in Long Beach, California, where the finishers celebrate their adventures and the defeated Roscoe skulks off to one side--until a fleet of police cars and tow trucks arrive to impound the vehicles; as it proves, Roscoe had contrived in advance to see to it that all of them were illegally parked. Bannon congratulates Roscoe on his final victory, and again utters the code word "Gumball" to initiate a race back to New York.

Compare ''CannonballRun''; the two films were both inspired from the same real-life outlaw race (but this one did it first, and some would say, better).
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!!'''''The Gumball Rally'' provides examples of:'''

* BadassDriver: Franco is hired for his reputation as one.
* TheBigRace
* BikerBabe: Joann Nail and Susan Flannery play a pair in a Porsche 911.
* BugSplat: Lapchick runs into a swarm of bugs that splat on his helmet faceplate, making him unable to see and causing him to crash.
* LargeHam: RaulJulia's character, Italian race driver Franco Bertollini.
* CandidCameraPrank: Inverted. The Dodge police cruiser team gets an Arizona state trooper to believe that they are filming a movie from a camera hidden on a far-away peak, and ask him to hold still for a face shot, as they make their getaway.
* CoolCar: Several.
* TheDanza: Michael Sarrazin as Mike Bannon.
* DistractedByTheSexy: "Emergency Plan Alpha" is a very sexy blonde who distracts Franco into pulling over and letting Bannon win the race.
* DontLookBack: Played for laughs.
--> '''Franco:''' First rule of Italian driving: whats-a behind me [breaks off rear-view mirror and throws it away] is not important!
* DressingAsTheEnemy: One entry disguises their car as a police cruiser, complete with magnetic door decals for every state they'll be passing through.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Lapchick The Mad Hungarian. ''Literally''. Franco, to a lesser extent. Also Ace "Mr. Guts" Preston in the Camaro Z-28, toward the end, as he tries to get through a traffic jam by going up on two wheels (while giving a rebel yell).
* DrivingIntoATruck: One team uses this ploy to evade a police roadblock and make a pit stop.
* DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp: The car disguised as a police cruiser loses the race when it stops to help a pregnant lady giving birth while stuck on an L.A. freeway.
* EpicRace
* FunnyForeigner: Lapchick, Franco. And the British Benz team.
* [[GoodOlBoy Good Ol' Boys]]: The Camaro Z28 team. Also the Arizona state trooper.
* HelloAgainOfficer: The main racers are literally on a first name basis with their dogged pursuer.
* HotBlooded: Franco's entire motivation.
* JurisdictionFriction: Largely averted. Roscoe pursues the racers from coast to coast with the help of local law enforcement, despite not having any jurisdiction.
* LatinLover: Franco.
* MetallicarSyndrome.
* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: The crew of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
--> '''Andy [=McAllister=]:''' Sedately Barney, as befits our years and station in life.
--> [Barney squeals tires as they leave the parking lot]
* RecycledTheSeries: ''Gumball 3000'' (only not played for laughs, it was a serious rally).
** Except for the ''Series/{{Jackass}}'' entry, perhaps.
* RightUnderTheirNoses: One of the teams evades a roadblock by driving into a truck.
* RunningGag: Several. Lapchick's craziness, Franco's womanizing, the Rolls-Royce...
* ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful: The Porsche 911 team relies on their feminine wiles to evade speeding tickets (or to get whatever else they need during the race). It also works quite well - repeatedly - on the [[GoodOlBoy Good Ol' Boys]] team in the Camaro Z28.
* ShowSomeLeg: See "Distracted By The Sexy" above.
* TakeThat: The production company approached Jaguar to provide a car for the film, but the company refused. So, the makers bought their own Jaguar to use in the film. The car fails to start.
* ToyotaTripwire: Lapchick gets doored.
* VaporTrail: Happens accidentally to one team of racers.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory
* WackyRacing
* WatchThePaintJob: One person enters the race by getting a job delivering a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. [[HilarityEnsues It doesn't end well]].
* WeaponForIntimidation: Hot-blooded Franco pulls a gun from a paper bag and threatens another driver with it. It turns out it's a squirt gun, and the whole thing was a gag.
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