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This $194K Pontiac Trans Am Rammed Its Way to Rarefied Air
The Pontiac Trans Am lived a long life (1969–2002) as a flagship performance car with the perfect combination of substance and style. This first year of this top spec Firebird wears the model’s signature white paint with twin blue stripes, a color scheme used internationally by American racing organizations at the time. The livery and name echoed the SCCA’s Trans Am series, in which pony cars like the Camaro Z/28 and Mustang Boss 302 did battle on race tracks across North America.
But instead of engines with a handful of extra cubes over the 300-cubic-inch mark, the 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am bested offerings from Ford and Chevy with its signature 400-cubic-inch V-8 engine. Trans Ams either had the spicy, yet streetable Ram Air III setup with 335 horsepower, or 345 horsepower for the hotter Ram Air IV engine package. While 10 horsepower sounds modest on paper, the upgrades to the engine internals meant that figure was likely underrated from the factory.
What you see presented here is a Ram Air III Trans Am Coupe, one of 520 ever made in 1969 with a four-speed manual transmission and its requisite Hurst shifter. (Pontiac made 689 Trans Am coupes, and a mere eight convertibles.) Automatic transmissions were optional, as were Pontiac’s snazzy Rally II wheels. Neither was fitted on this Trans Am, suggesting its first owner chose performance over street presence.
This configuration is noteworthy on its own, but it made Hagerty’s Sale of the Week because it’s an older restoration of a Ram Air III Trans Am that fetched a whopping $194,205 on the Hagerty Marketplace this week. There are minor imperfections in the Trans Am’s paintwork and interior, and although it won First Place at the 2008 Trans Am Nationals show, that was way back in 2008, and it’s showing some age since then. Odds are it is in #2 (excellent) condition or somewhere close.
Here’s where it gets interesting: The above assessment normally suggests a ’69 Trans Am value of around $132,000, but not only did this almost-perfect Trans Am blow the doors off that valuation, it is over $20,000 more than the value of a #1 (concours or “best in the world”) condition Trans Am ($173,000). I talked to Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide Editor and noted Pontiac enthusiast for his take on this sale. He likely said it best:
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“This sale boils down to excellent credentials and the represented matching numbers driveline. It doesn’t get much better than this Trans Am, because we rarely see cars of this quality surface. Considering that they typically perform well at land based auctions, the fact it blew past our #1 price on an online sale is a sign that this Trans Am was the one to have.”
All of which begs the question: After this record shattering sale, how high would the bidding go for a Trans Am with the hotter Ram Air IV in the same condition, with the same pedigree? Only the Trans Am stripes know, and they will never tell.
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The Firebird is one of my top 5 designs of all time. Love this one!
Hubcaps on a T/A. That’s just wrong.
A number of them came this way. These were not all loaded cars.
We ran into a guy who had one of the very rare convertibles. He found it in a junk yard in Ohio not knowing it was a TA.
It is now out there going for big money,.
This is the true meaning of rare cars. Too often they make 3000 and call it rare but you get below 800 cars and have good demand that is really a rarew car.
My good friend sold his ‘69 trans Am 4 spd RA IV to legendary motors (it was featured in one of their shows) 6+ years ago. While I can’t disclose the private sale price since legendary flipped it to a collector — let’s just say the “then” price my friend sold it for crushed the current RA III price by 6 figures. No clue what legendary got for it or what the market is on that car today. I’d got with “a lot”!
My buddy tried to buy one of these back in the 80’s. The owner had it sitting in the yard for years.
Later it was gone. Another guy got it and we asked how he got the owner to sell. He traded a rusty VW Rabbit for it as gas prices were up.
I was a little shocked to see this thing go so high. But it’s a beautiful car and I hope the new owner drives it!
You said one thing very correct: the real good ones very rarely come up for sale, I own a 1971 TA-HO-4 speed True Survivor that just turned turned 20,000 miles. It received Legendary Status at MCACN in 2021, as well it was a GM Canada advertising car in 1971, it was featured in an Esso Atlas Tire commercial for Big Daddy Tires. It became available for purchase in 2022, I did not hesitate, it’s the best car in my small collection.
This is my lifelong dream car! The closest I got was a ’69 Firebird OHC Sprint with the trusty 4-speed Saginaw.
Back in the ’70s there was an eccentric older gentleman that had a ’69 TA. He blew the motor in it and had someone shoehorn a Caddy V8 under the hood, also had a chromed angel bolted on the hood. Sigh…Never found out what happened to that car.
Careful with that Saginaw. Trusty, sure – but not especially durable.
I love Trans Ams, but that Sprint is pretty cool, too!
One of those BaT crazy outlier auction results, where a couple of bidders REALLY, REALLY wanted this car regardless of price. Seller’s laughing all the way to the bank.
A buddy of mine back in the early 70’s bought a 69 Firebird 400 owned apparently by a GM exec who took it to Europe. The odd thing was it had a fold down rear seat back. My buddy put 12″ wide Mickey Thompson tires (looked like a steam roller back then), stiffer Koni shocks and sway bars, lowered about 1/2″, headers and different jets on the carb. Superb handler and we had did a 95 mile trip to his cottage in 45 minutes one night. Saw an indicated 160mph which supposedly was due to the low numerical rear end specified by this GM exec for autobahn driving. Was a fun car to drive except for the automatic transmission. To this day he regrets selling it.
Do buyers have to pay a fee when they purchase the cars on these online auctions?
I hate watching Mecum pressure buyers and sellers. They get a cut coming and going. Then someone overpays for a car and everyone cheers.
Anyone buying a vehicle at one of those ginned- up festivals should wear a sheep costume.
My first cars were a 1967 Firebird 326 2-speed Powerglide and a 1969 Firebird 400 4-speed. Neither was in very good condition. I lusted after a 1969 Trans Am, but it would have been a daily driver in snowy, salty, Rochester, NY. Last year I saw what I thought was a replica 1969 Trans Am that was leaving a car show as I walked in. I later found out that it was an original. Still kick myself for not trying to stop the driver to get a good look at the car or even maybe a ride.
Between 1972 and 1975, I drove a 1969 Z-28 and a 1970 Boss 302 in snowier ans saltier Buffalo. It was amazing how much “stupid” was packed into my 19 to 22-year old brain. I might leave it to science.