This top-of-the-line Trans Am was powerful enough that Pontiac marketers felt justifiably proud to look back 31 years to the original 1969 Trans Am in this brochure, a car that still cuts a mean figure. This added 15 horsepower and 10 lb-ft of torque to the Corvette-derived aluminum LS1 V-8’s 305 hp/335 lb-ft by better breathing through the hood-ducted air intake also part of this package were numerous upgraded suspension components and 17 x 9-inch alloys with Z-rated performance tires. Carried over in a good way was that RPO WS6 Ram Air package, optional since 1996. While these models were notably facelifted for 1998, Pontiac’s still-slinky fourth-generation F-body was in its eighth (!!) model year for 2000.
There was no dispute over the 320-hp Firebird Formula and Trans Am sharing the WS6 Ram Air package.
Nineteen years ago, 300 hp was a pretty high bar, and there weren’t many domestic cars that could ante up: Cadillac’s Northstar V-8 made just that Chevrolet’s Camaro SS claimed 320, the same figure Ford’s Mustang Cobra was said to make (but was famously disputed) the year prior. Dodge’s V-10-powered Viper was the horsepower champion at 450, with the limited-production Ford Mustang Cobra R’s 385 hp second, and Chevy’s regular production Corvette’s coming in a distant third at 345 hp. Images are from the brochure collection of Hemmings Motor News, courtesy of Bruce Zahor.Ĭonsider the state of the American performance car at the turn of the century.
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