Ford debuted the Mustang as a mid-year model in 1964. The 1964 1/2′ Stangs had strong sales. Chevrolet needed a competitor. By the end of September 1966, the Chevy Camaro was getting a lot of fanfare and fantastic sales. Pontiac wanted its own F-Body car, and five months later, launched the Pontiac Firebird. Pontiac needed a performance version of the Firebird, and in March 1969 they introduced the Trans Am Performance and Appearance Package for the Firebird, taking the name from the Trans Am racing series. In 1969, only 689 Pontiac Trans Am hardtops left the factory, and only eight convertibles remained.
Everyone is having fun with muscle cars and ponies, but disaster is just around the corner. Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, federal emissions standards, and insurance companies are increasingly wary of insuring young drivers with powerful, high-performance factory race cars. 1970 was GM’s last year of muscle, but the Excitement Division still built some impressive performance versions of the Pontiac Trans Am. The 1973 and 1974 Trans Am Super Duty with its stout 455 cubic inch Big Block, forged aluminum pistons, and 800CFM Rochester four-barrel carburetor, produced 290 horsepower and 390 pound-feet of torque, much more than the 1974 Chevy Corvette LS4 454 Big Block, and the T/A was decidedly faster.
This 1977 Starlight Black Pontiac Trans Am with gold stripes and Firebird on the hood is simply stunning. Combined with the 6.6 liter engine, gold anodized snowflake wheels, it caught the eye of the builder Smokey and the Bandits. In fact, the car stole the show, sending sales of the 1978 Trans Am soaring with more than 93,000 copies crossing showroom floors. Sales of the 1979 Pontiac Trans Am were even stronger, with more than 117,000 T/As sold, surpassing the Chevy Camaro for the first time.
Our featured 1977 Pontiac Trans Am has been restored in iconic Starlight Black with gold trim and pinstripes over a black bucket seat interior. The car is powered by a Pontiac L78 6.6 liter producing 230 horsepower backed by a four-speed manual gearbox. The T/A is equipped with the W-72 Performance Package, T-Tops, center console, engine-changeable dash trim, AM-FM/cassette, Tic-Toc-Tach, power steering, power brakes, and gold snowflake wheels wrapped in raised white-letter Goodyear Polysteel Radial tires. Included in the sale are Pontiac Historical Society documents.
This is beautiful 1977 Pontiac Trans Am will cross the Mecum Auctions block on 39th The Original Spring Classic in Indianapolis Friday, May 15th.
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