1989 20th Anniversary Indianapolis Speedway Trans Am For Sale

Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am, 1989 Indy Pace Car, 20TH Anniversary, 3. 8L, 3700 Miles only, all Previous MOT'S to verify mileage, one of the 5 with lowest miles in the world. White, T Top, unmarked leather interior. One fastidious owner, garaged, driven in summer only. Auto, PAS, PB, EW, CL, AC, etc. In 1989, it was the fastest production car to come out without modifications from GM factory in the USA. Fitted new tyres and battery May 2014, immaculate pristine condition, museum quality automobile. Serviced regularly, synthetic oil only used, OEM Filters etc.

Article on the car published at the time;
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Production

Originally conceived by Bill Owen of Pontiac, the 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am project was outsourced to PAS, Inc., an engineering firm led by Jeff Beitzel. Beitzel and his team did most of the TTA development work. The V6 turbo engines were built by PAS at their 40, 000 square foot City of Industry, CA plant. From there, they went to GM's plant in Van Nuys, CA to be installed into GTAs on the F-Body assembly line. The cars were then shipped back to PAS for final assembly, testing, and quality control. Incidentally, the GTA chassis were selected at random, thus there is no correlation between VIN number and production sequence number. The actual number of cars to be produced had ranged from 500 to 2, 500 until GM finally settled on 1, 500. In all, a total of 1, 555 Turbo TAs were manufactured.

Features and Options

The 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am was offered as a complete package. Each was white with saddle (tan) interior, with T-tops and leather interior the only available options. Although other TAs were available with a CD player, the Turbo TA was available only with a Delco ETR AM/ FM cassette with graphic EQ and redundant steering wheel controls.

Externally, the TTA closely resembles a GTA. The primary visual clues are Indy "Winged Tire" emblems on the ground effects panel just aft of the front wheel wells, and dual twin stainless-steel exhaust tips. Closer inspection reveals "Turbo" emblems on the front fenders, "20th Anniversary" emblems on the nose and B-pillar, and a "Turbo" insignia between the tail lights. Inside, a turbo boost gauge is incorporated into the tachometer face, and there is a "20th Anniversary" logo on the leather map pocket. Special Indy Pace Car stickers were supplied for the wind shield and doors. The cars were delivered without the stickers attached - it was up to the individual owner to apply them if desired.

Original Turbo TA owners were sent a special box containing the door and wind shield stickers, a Turbo TA key chain, cassette tape, letter of congratulations and a leather owners manual cover. There is a unique owners manual supplement that came with the car. As with most GM vehicles, the Firebird service manual and TTA supplement can be ordered from Helm (publisher of GM service manuals).

Technical Highlights

What makes the 20th Anniversary Turbo TA so special is that it is a complete mechanical package, and not just some tape stripes. Starting with the engine, Pontiac borrowed Buick's 3. 8 liter (231cid) V6 turbo powerplant from the fabled 1986-87 Grand National. Some difference exist between the TTA motor and the GN version. Different heads were necessary in order to squeeze the motor between the strut towers. These heads, adapted from the transverse FWD version of the 3. 8 liter motor, have the added benefit of improved exhaust flow and combustion chamber design. Subsequently, different pistons were required in order to maintain combustion chamber volume. Other changes to the TTA motor are a cross-drilled crank, larger 12 fin/ inch GNX-style intercooler in place of the GN's 10 fin/ inch design, specially-designed stainless-steel headers, higher-pressure Bosch 237 fuel pressure regulator, and a recalibrated engine control module.

Mark Grable, writing in the March 1989 Motor Trend, noted the Turbo Trans Am's "250 horses... seem much stronger than run-of-the-mill horses." The reason is simple. Although Pontiac officially rated the engine at 250 HP, in reality it developed an honest 301 HP on the GM dyno.

The Turbo TA came with the rare 1LE racing brake package, which upgrades the front discs to 12 inch police rotors, Corvette twin piston aluminum calipers and semi-metallic pads. These brakes are virtually fade proof, and were installed to legalize the 1LE package for Firehawk endurance racing. The rear discs were also increased to 12 inches in 1989 and use Corvette single piston calipers. All of the brakes on the car are of a quick change design, and pads can actually be changed in 30 seconds.''

Performance Figures

Test Result
0-60          4. 5 sec.
1/ 4-mile          12. 5 sec.
Braking         60 to 0 =137 ft.
Lateral acceleration    0. 85 g
Weight to horsepower ratio 13. 4:1

Lots of NOS Spare Parts accumulated over last 30 years of ownership included in the sale.

Private Registration not included in the sale , subject to separate negotiation