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Rolled out quietly in mid-'67, the Firebird turned heads and got people talking big time. Built on GM's F-body platform with an instantly likeable interpretation of the Pontiac nose and hot twin-scoop hood, models like this brawny Firebird 400 changed the game.
Photo courtesy of Musclecar Color History: Firebird & Trans Am 1967-1994 by Bill Holder and Phillip Kunz (MBI Publishing Company).
Just 697 Trans Ams were built in the first year, and only eight were convertibles. Buyers could have the standard Ram Air III, or opt for the beefier Ram IV. Now highly prized collector's cars, they came in one paint scheme: Polar White with dual blue stripes. Front hood scoops and rear spoiler were all about attitude. See those same styling cues in today's Grand Am SC/T package.
How do you change with the times without changing the essential character that made the car an instant classic? With the '70 Formula 400, Pontiac Motor Division pulled it off. Practically everything was new from the sheet metal to the engines to single-lamp headlights and Endura body-colored bumpers. This wasn't so much a model year change as a rebirth.
Photo courtesy of Musclecar Color History: Firebird & Trans Am 1967-1994 by Bill Holder and Phillip Kunz (MBI Publishing Company).
Release the hood and stand back. The king of the LS2 engines, the 455 Super Duty is one astounding, ground-pounding powerplant. Even with the limitations of Federal emissions standards, 455 SD performance was awesome. It's been said that the last great muscle cars were Pontiac's Super Duty Firebirds of 1973 and '74. Breathtaking track times like a 13.90 second quarter mile at 106mph speak louder than words.
Photo courtesy of Musclecar Color History: Firebird & Trans Am 1967-1994 by Bill Holder and Phillip Kunz (MBI Publishing Company).
Once upon a time, Hollywood asked Pontiac for a performance car to star in what became one of the hottest movies of 1977. The first of the Trans Am Special Editions fit the bill perfectly and nearly stole the show. Selling just 643 cars in its 1976 debut year, over 46,000 of these black and gold-trimmed beauties would be sold by 1981.
Photo courtesy of Musclecar Color History: Firebird & Trans Am 1967-1994 by Bill Holder and Phillip Kunz (MBI Publishing Company).
Some Pace Cars need major engine work just to keep pace at Indy. The striking '89 Turbo Trans Am needed no help at all! In fact, the actual Pace Cars and the production cars were almost identically equipped. The 3.8 liter turbocharged V-6 production car, linked to a four-speed auto posted quarters at 13.8, with an advertised top speed of 150MPH.
Photo courtesy of Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine.
Trans Am has occupied a special place in the American Psyche for more than four decades. These special editions provided both fun and often a forward look at design direction. Gathered here are the inaugural '69, the 10th Anniversary '79, the special '89 Indy Pace Car Edition, the '99 Daytona Pace Car and the final 2002 Collector's Edition. The Trans Am cast a long shadow. But hold on. Because out on the horizon there's a new GTO.
Photo courtesy of Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine.