Pontiac’s Turbo Trans Am Promised Fire But Was Mostly Hot Air

Among the 1,300 classic cars heading to auction from an Alabama cardboard magnate turned serial collector lies a time capsule of American automotive ambition. Tucked among this remarkable stash is a slice of muscle-car history that’s equal parts nostalgia and missed opportunity.

More: Cardboard Magnet Couldn’t Stop Buying Cars And Ended Up With 1,300 Of Them

The 1980 Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am certainly looks the part with its iconic screaming chicken hood decal and T-top roof, but under that famous bird lurks one of the more controversial powertrains ever to nest in a Trans Am.

End of the Big Cube

Pontiac’s second-generation Firebird Trans Am built and mostly maintained its legend through the 1970s by sticking to its big-cube V8 guns at a time when rivals either downsized or disappeared altogether. That, and the halo effect of Burt Reynolds’ slip-sliding his way past Sheriff Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit to keep a semi full of beers moving.

But by 1980, emissions regulations and fuel economy standards had sent the 400 cu-in (6.6-liter) V8 into retirement. Its replacement was a relatively small 301 cu-in (4.9-liter) V8, but one with a turbocharger trick up its sleeve. Well, if it made a legend out of Porsche’s 911, why couldn’t it work here?

On paper, the numbers looked good for 1980: 210 hp (213 PS) and 345 lb-ft (468 Nm) of torque made it way more powerful than the 185 hp (188 PS) of the regular 403-cube Oldsmobile V8 that was standard in ’79 Trans Ams, and only 10 hp (10 PS) shy of that year’s W72 upgrade 400. But the drag strip told a different story.

Turbo By Name, Turd By Nature

Restricted to a three-speed automatic gearbox and a languid 3.08:1 rear end, the Turbo Trans Am needed around 8.2 seconds to reach 60 mph (96 km/h) and ambled down the quarter mile in 16.7 seconds at 86mph (138 km/h) in Car and Driver’s hands.

A year earlier, the same magazine’s manual-shift W72 T/A had scored 6.7 seconds to 60, demolished the quarter in 15.3 seconds, and did it with an epic (for the period) 97 mph (156 km/h) trap speed.

Related: This Pontiac Trans Am Revival Packs More Power Than A Bugatti Veyron

Turbo reviewers also complained that there was no longer enough grunt to kick the tail loose on dry pavement, though the handling was still praised and at least the package looked the part. The Turbo got a new side-mounted hood bulge whose fake rear-facing air intake contained optional lights that illuminated as boost increased.

And you could still have the hood bird graphic, though as before, this was technically an option.

This auction car’s original owner obviously thought the giant sticker was worth the $120 premium on top of the $350 Pontiac charged for the Turbo engine. Forget to tick that box and you got an emaciated naturally-aspirated 301 V8 making just 155 horses (157 PS).

Other desirable options on this example include the removable T-tops, which are reportedly showing a little wear due to age, as are various other parts of the car.

Fewer than 50k miles from new

Hagerty/Broad Arrow

But overall, it’s survived its 45 years incredibly well, in part thanks to having covered only 49,930 miles (80,400 km) from new.

It even has a few trim interior details from the rare Y84 black and gold SE model, but is missing others, like the gold bumper inserts, and doesn’t have Y84 on the cowl tag or any mention in the action listing, so we presume it’s just a lookalike.

SE or not, this blown bird might not represent a high watermark for Trans Am performance, but the Turbo is an important piece of Pontiac history that showed how hard Detroit was working to keep some semblance of muscle on the menu during the malaise ere. And it paved the way for 1989’s turbocharged 20th Anniversary Trans Am, a car that really did set the road on fire.

If you fancy bidding on this low-mileage Trans Am or any of the other from the huge collection, click here.

Hagerty/Broad Arrow