![]() ![]() Interiorįrom the inside, you feel like you're in a racing car, as the low seating position and faraway unseen corners make judging near distances difficult. However, with so many adjustments to the driver's seat and steering wheel, this can be improved. There are other flares, scoops, styling grooves and bulges, which are probably considered uncool by your Lexus owner, but they are a Trans Am tradition and not out of place on this car. There are functional louvers behind the front wheels, for the release of hot air from the engine compartment. The wing on the convertible is more like a platform over the entire rear deck it begins just behind the side windows-and it might even offer downforce to keep the car from floating should you ever run it in the 130-mph range, which we certainly don't suggest. With its incredibly tall sixth-gear ratio, the engine would be rumbling at less than 3000 rpm at that speed. Walkaroundįew cars on the market today have the visual impact of a WS-6 Trans Am - especially a red convertible like our test vehicle. The Trans Am always draws stares and comments on how cool it looks. Those great big long bulges on the great long hood are reminiscent of a Lister-bodied racing car from the late '50s. There are actually four nostrils for the Ram Air intake, two flared ones and two more gaps where the hood meets the rest of the nose. Fat chrome tips to the twin exhaust come out of tunnels under the rear bumper that look like an exotic racing car ground-effects undertray. The Trans Am also features some of the usual Pontiac styling touches, including hundreds of hexagons in the taillights that suggest a fly's eyeballs. The 17-inch, five-spoke aluminum wheels are so polished they appear to be chrome, and they are wrapped with wide P275/40ZR17 tires rated for extremely high sustained speeds. Three transmissions are available: The base Firebird gets a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic the Formula and Trans-Am get either the automatic or a six-speed manual in which both fifth and sixth gears are overdrive. The engine in the base Coupe or Convertible is the 3800 (3.8 liter) V6, yielding 200 horsepower and 225 foot-pounds of torque. The 5.7-liter V8 (overhead-valve LS1 with aluminum cylinder block and heads) comes in the Formula and Trans Am in two versions: 305 horsepower and 335 foot-pounds of torque or, with the WS-6 Ram Air package, 320 horsepower and 345 foot-pounds of torque. The Trans Am gets further standard equipment: removable roof panels and a special spoiler on the coupe, and leather seats with six-way power adjustment for the driver. Pontiac Firebird is available in coupe and convertible body styles and in three models: Firebird, Formula and Trans Am.Ĭompared with the base Firebird, the Formula adds speed-rated tires, performance suspension tuning, and a Monsoon CD sound system with 10 speakers.
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