With the hit film “Smokey and the Bandit” topping the box office charts in 1977, bettered only by “Star Wars,” Pontiac’s Trans Am became a household name. Orders flooded dealerships for Trans Ams dressed just like the one used in the movie: Starlight Black with all the gold trimmings and a black interior. Pontiac couldn’t keep up, dealers were making up the appropriately equipped cars accordingly, and Director Hal Needham said it very well when he joked, “I sold more Trans Ams than Pontiac.” The Bandit Trans Am became a Special Edition option known as Y84, and they quickly became the gold standard of the brand after the movie hit the big screen. By the time the 1979 Trans Am debuted with its newly styled front end, rear end, wheels and refreshed interior, sales were still on the rise. In fact, more Trans Ams and Firebirds would be sold in 1979 than any other year. This one is a Y84 Special Edition Trans Am with T-tops, an automatic transmission, power steering, power 4-wheel disc brakes, power windows, power door locks, air conditioning, G80 Positraction, cruise control and a tilt steering column, among other features. Powered by the famed and fabled 6.6L V-8 engine, the Trans Am has often been considered one of the last of the true performance throwbacks to the heyday of the muscle car era. Bold, brash and motivated by a big-cube engine, the formula was there. But, unlike so many early muscle cars, the Trans Am offered a higher degree of finish and equipment, creating a more refined performance machine. This one is finished in the requisite Starlight Black with the gold trim, and the interior is in the rarely seen tan with gold engine-turned detailing. To be sold with the original build sheet, punch card, dealer’s sales report, Protect-O-Plate, brochures and the original title, this Trans Am checks a lot of fabulous boxes.
