A rare 1999 Pontiac Trans Am 30th anniversary edition convertible will be hitting the auction block at an upcoming Mecum event in Indianapolis. Showing just over 19,000 miles on the odometer, the car was one of only 175 produced with a 6-speed manual transmission.
Rare Find: 1 Of 175 Trans Am Convertibles Produced
The car is being offered as part of the private collection of Dewayne Stephens, owner of Wheel City Motors in Asheville, North Carolina. Stephens is a prolific car collector with an eclectic array of vehicles going up for auction. As an example, other cars from his collection range from a 1964 Volkswagen 13-Window Bus to a 2008 Ford Shelby GT500 to a 1983 Land Rover Defender 110.
This Pontiac Trans Am is fitted with the WS6 performance package and is powered by a 320 horsepower LS1 V8 engine with Ram Air induction. It's fitted with factory-tuned suspension and a low-restriction dual exhaust system.
A Detailed Look At The Pontiac Trans Am From Smokey And The Bandit
Looking Back at the Firebird
Made famous by movie and television appearances (remember Knight Rider? How about Smokey and the Bandit?) the Pontiac Firebird was first introduced in 1967 and shares a common platform with its stablemate the Chevrolet Camaro.
In 1989, the Trans Am was selected to be the pace car of the Indianapolis 500, and Pontiac produced a special edition for the purpose. It was the first car ever to pace the renown race without needing any performance modifications.
The fourth generation Firebird was produced between 1993 and 2002, and available trim levels were the base-model V6 Firebird, the V8 Formula, and the top-of-the-line Trans Am. The model line recieved a mid-cycle refresh in 1998 consisting of a new hood and front fascia along with other cosmetic updates. The 5.7L LS1 engine replaced the earlier LT1 motor.
The 1999 30th-anniversary Trans Am edition was offered as both a convertible and T-top coupe. Its distinctive styling featured twin dark-blue stripes from hood to tail and blue-anodized five-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels. The manual gearbox offered for V8 models was a Borg-Warner T56 6-speed.
In total, there were 1,000 30th-anniversary coupes produced and 500 convertibles which were mostly automatics. According to Hagerty, the valuations of these special edition Firebirds have gone up 50 percent in the last three years, with the best examples now touching $40,000, so it will be interesting to see what this one goes for.
The no-reserve auction will take place at the Mecum event in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday May 22, 2021.
Source: Mecum.com