5 of the rarest Limited Edition Firebirds ever built – Jalopnik

So-called “badge engineering” can sometimes get a bad name, but well done, the results can be legendary. That is the case with the Pontiac Firebird from 1967, an adapted version of the Chevrolet Camaro, introduced itself in the fall of 1966 to compete against the Ford Mustang in the budding muscle caaroors. Now FireBird, introduced in 1967, was not much more than a reclined Camaro, but the Pontiac team has made a noticeable attempt to give the car its own unique identity.

For example, the main designer of Pontiac, Jack Humbert, has made a daring grille that would become an essential part of the look of the brand for the 1968 line, including the iconic Pontiac GTO. Upscal details such as a hidden fuel filler Dop added a touch of class at the back. And under the skin was a sportier suspension that would eventually also be used in the Camaro of the following year.

The results were relatively successful, because Pontiac 82,560 Firebirds in 1967, the first year at dealers, sold and had moved more than a million by the time that the second generation’s car ended in 1981. Pontiac then went by producing the 2002, so they were not exactly hard to find. On the other hand, some were certainly rarer than others, which shows that the bird is still the floor today – just like the herd of Firebirds discussed here.

It joined the line-up as a clear equipment level for the model year in the mid-1970s, but the Trans AM name was originally launched as a special package for the Pontiac Firebird from 1969. To be precise, the upgrade was called the Trans AM Performance and Extra package and required Pontiac to pay the sport or car) to the sport or car) to the ROAALD cars by car the Am -name. Slechts 697 klanten vinkten het vakje aan voor het Trans AM-pakket in 1969, waarbij $ 1.163,74 betaalde voor verbeteringen zoals een verbeterde ophanging, een grote vleugel aan de achterkant, agressieve blauwe strepen, sportiever stuur en functionele kapscheppen om zijn 400-kubieke inch V8 te helpen beter te maken-en 335 pk en 430 pond-voet en 430 pond en 430 pond en 430 Pound and 430 pounds and 430 pounds and 430 pound-foot buttons.

The most powerful version, however, was the available RAM Air IV V8, which welcomed an extra 10 ponies and left the quarter of the car to 13.7 seconds. The RAM Air IV versions are even rarer than the regular Trans AM from 1969, and that is reflected in their auction prices. Only 55 units were supplied with the more powerful V8 and one sold for $ 440,000 in 2024.

Pontiac would start to downsize his V8 engines for 1980, and therefore so many people love a trans -am from the 70s. It is true that Pontiac made up for the lack of displacement with a turbo compressor, but not before he stopped one of his monster engines in the Firebird Trans AM for another flight. The result was the Trans Am 10th Anniversary Edition from 1979, which made his debut to accelerate the Daytona 500 and had a limited series of 7,500 cars.

But of which only 1,817 were produced with the Pontiac 400 V8 engine coupled to the Borg-Warner Super T10 manual transmission for maximum excitement that GM Pontiac had ordered to stop building those engines in 1978. It changed the Motor Production of the Big 1978, which had this, this Big 1978, these V8s, these. Rare Firebirds from 1979 were about more than linear gear. After testing a ’79 Trans AM with the powerful WS6 suspension, Car and driver called it “perhaps the best surrounding production car from an American manufacturer.”

It has seen a long name the short production run, but the Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans AM 20 -year anniversary edition Indy 500 Pace had a lot going on. First, it was burning fast, with the possibility to hit 60 km / h in just 4.6 seconds – making it the fastest vehicle of the year when they were tested by the car and the driver in June 1989. To put that in context, when the publication the Chevrolet Corvette Z51 compared to the Porsche 911 Club Sport, the first in six seconds and the last in 5.6.

The Firebird also followed those performance with a quarter of miles of 13.4 seconds and a top speed of 153 MPH. The firepower of the Firebird made this a big problem, because instead of trusting typical muscle motivation, such as a high-displacement V8, it contains a turbo charger 3.8-liter V6 from Buick and 235 hp and 235 hp and 340 pound-foot torque. Regarding rarity, Pontiac gave only 1,555 examples to celebrate both Trans AM’s 20 -year production and the chase for a trophy made of Sterling Silver.

Thanks to the film ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ from 1978, Burt Reynolds and his Black Trans AM are culturally important enough to be checked by Bruce Springsteen. But a rarer option is the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Gold Special Edition from 1978 that actually turned the Burt color scheme upside down with the option code Y88 – which was only three months in the order books.

The short window meant that only 880 drivers received the very rarest configuration, with the L80 V8 being accompanied by the automatic transmission. As FYI this can be compared to the 1,267 more enthusiastic customers who prefer three-pedal sensation with the L78. They made the best of a bad situation because the 6.6-liter displacement of both-nou yes, 400 cubic inch for the L78 and 403 for the L80 dealt with a meager 180 and 185 hp.

In terms of style, the shimmering sungest exterior finish is deposited by dark-gold pinstripes, gold aluminum-arranged wheels, a freshly designed five-color Firebird Hood sticker and, inside, such niceties as golden steering wheel games. It would fit exactly in a James Bond film with that setup (although it didn’t have its own real Gold Bar).

Speaking of the end of the Pontiac Firebird, which came in 2002, when GM killed both that car and the Chevrolet Camaro. (This was before the latter brought back in 2010 for a fifth generation, only to stop the production of the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro in 2024.) The Pontiac Firebird Collector’s Combined Speed, Luxury and of course a limited production run of 2,390 cars that only include 2,000 for the American market.

Under the hood, an iconic LS1 V8 was supported by 5.7 liters of displacement to serve 335 horses, racing to 60 in 5.1 seconds and to continue to accelerate to a top speed of 165 mph. In the meantime, the type of ornithologically inspired image for which the Trans AM became famous was on the hood. At the top was the customer’s choice for a T-top roof in the coupé or a folding soft top for the convertible.

The last of the Firebirds also showed off with his share in Premium agreements, 2002 style. We are talking about leather seats of ebbenhouten with six-way power for the driver, power accessories, external keyless entrance, air conditioning and a monsoon sound system with a CD player and power antenna. Remember that FireBirds have a way to return from the axis, and as readers said, it is one of the classic GM model names that are overdue for a reboot. So who knows, maybe one day we will see a FireBird EV -Crosover.