The pages of automotive history books are littered with examples where manufacturers produced “milestone” special edition vehicles. Some of these cars tend to be more impressive than others, effectively capturing the spirit of the original classic to which they pay homage. This 1989 Pontiac Trans Am 20th Anniversary Edition is an absolute gem. It has a genuine 2,392 miles showing on its odometer, and its presentation is superb. Adding to its appeal, it features a turbocharged V6 under the hood that offers stunning performance. If you want to own a genuine classic, you will find this Trans Am located in Woodbury, New Jersey, and listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN of $56,900 but will entertain the idea of reasonable offers.
This Trans Am presents as nicely as you might expect for a car with a four-digit odometer reading. Its original White paint holds an impressive shine, with no evidence of flaws or defects. The panels are laser straight, and the exterior plastic is excellent. There are no signs of physical damage or staining to the distinctive alloy wheels with the gold centers. The badges look crisp and clean, while the tinted glass and T-Top are spotless. The Turbo Trans Am was chosen as the Official Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500. Pontiac produced 1,555 replicas, and this is one of those cars. It doesn’t wear the decals that were part of the package, but these are included in the sale. It wouldn’t be stretching things to describe this car as looking showroom fresh. With such a low odometer reading, the buyer will need to decide how they treat this car. Is its fate to serve as a museum piece, or will they drive it and enjoy it as its makers intended? It will be interesting to gauge our reader feedback to see what you think.
Opening the doors of this Trans Am produces no great surprises. As with the exterior, its interior presents in as-new condition. There are no faults or problems, and the protective plastic remains in place on the driver’s side carpet. If you were to drop this Pontiac into a new car showroom today, it wouldn’t look out of place. Not only does it present beautifully, but this interior also comes nicely equipped. It includes leather upholstery, air conditioning, power windows, power locks, a power driver seat, power mirrors, a tilt wheel, cruise control, and a premium AM/FM radio and cassette player with wheel-mounted controls. That’s all the comforts of home in a car that can boast serious performance credentials.
While most Trans Ams featured a V8 under the hood, the 20th Anniversary Edition followed a different path. Its turbocharged V6 engine is an evolution of the motor that saw great success in the Buick Grand National. This 3.8-liter monster churns out an official 250hp. However, as with the Grand National, many people believe that this figure is grossly underestimated. Bolted to the V6 is a four-speed automatic transmission, while power steering and four-wheel power disc brakes were an integral part of this package. Performance figures are legendary, with the Turbo Trans Am capable of demolishing the ¼ mile in 13.5 seconds before finding its way to 153mph. When you consider that the best a V8 Trans Am could muster at this point was a 15-second ¼ mile ET, it graphically proves that the Turbo Trans Am is no wimp. Given the odometer reading, it is no surprise to find the engine bay presenting so beautifully. The seller indicates that the car drives as well today as it did when it rolled off the showroom floor, with no vices or problems. He includes all of the original documentation and books as part of the deal.
When you consider the four-digit reading on its odometer, it is no surprise that this 1989 Pontiac Trans Am 20th Anniversary Edition presents so beautifully. It hasn’t had an opportunity to accumulate the wear and tear that can be a part of a car with thirty-three years under its belt. That raises the question of the owner’s BIN and whether it is realistic. If you use Hagerty and NADA as your starting point, it is right at the top end of what you may expect to pay. It also isn’t unprecedented, with a couple of recent sales results close to that figure. Considering its condition and mileage, the price could be justified if the right person comes along. Would you be tempted to park this classic in your garage?
To me it’s the number one, gotta have Trans Am. That steering wheel is the stuff of legends for an 80’s kid.
Agreed! Pontiac was ahead of most in this Dept!
Hmmmm,I was thinking I have vintage farm tractors with better steering wheels.Otherwise it’s a nice 🚗:-)
In hindsight the steering wheel hasn’t aged well lol
Love the Generals 3.8 turbo mill. Its super fast and rare, collectible etc.
But for me I’d sooner have the same year GTA with f.i 5.0 , 5 spd std , and it came with a 3.45 rear gear. Nice package.
Always liked the neatness of these but the interior is a bit too 80’s for me. The problem with paying top dollar for these low mileage cars is that you can’t drive them without destroying their value. You’d be counting the miles to every car show or worse still putting it on a trailer. What’s the point ? I’d rather buy a well cared for one for less money that has been used so that I could enjoy it with no worries.
Buy It Now price of $57k seems very high to me, but to put this in some perspective the average new car price was $45k in Sept 2021, which seems high to me as well. If one gets over $45k for a new car, then this 2300 mile ‘new car’ that is interesting may not be that hard to consider. Me? no of course.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/average-new-car-costs-price-increase/#:~:text=We're%20well%20into%202021,and%20Cox%20Automotive%20on%20Tuesday.
That’s how I have been looking at these clean low mileage dinosaurs, if it’s a like new car you need to “compare” it to today’s average vehicle cost. It’s a rationalization, but make the high asking prices somewhat easier to accept.
Never see any come close to the asking number on these. Very wishful thinking but the Black 87 Grand National still would pull the asking number and then some in a heartbeat with the same miles.They were faster then the GN because of the engine mods from Pontiac. I had one brand new and it clipped off high 12 second 1/4 mile times all day with better tires. Put a strip chip in it from Applied Technologies and went right down to low 12 second times. Fun car but it will never bring GN money.
Wow thats moving Keith. Factory 12s is a bullet. How did the transmission hold up and perform? Did it come w an auxiliary cooler from Pontiac ?
Yes the cars were set up pretty much with all the necessary coolers that would have been on the Buick GN. The GN Buick’s of 86 and 87 had the intake intercooler for cooler intake temps and that is when the highest power levels were achieved.The 89 Turbo Trans Am had the advantage of two years of Buick warranty issues to improve on this drivetrain.The big advantage was they (Trans Am) were way more aerodynamic then that shoebox GN. I had mine about one inch past the 165 top speed on the speedo. Guessing 185.The 3:27 rear gear was perfect for this car.I waited over 6 months for that car to be delivered to the dealer and enjoyed it a lot but had to move on to muscle cars of the heyday. The V6 sound is just not the true sound to my ears.
My 87 GN with a TE44 turbo, 42 lb injectors and a Terry Houston downpipe, adjustable fuel pressure regulator and a chip change ran 11:90’s on street tires all day. Amazing car. Always loved the 89 Turbo Trans Am’s!
I always thought the steering wheel on these was the ugliest one ever. I liked the simple one in my ’87GTA which had the horn button with a pic of the ‘bird.
Personal preference of course, but I would take one of these over a G/N every time.
Dwight from the office was right, this is a classic American Muscle car
Sick looks too, with the performance to back it up. Only thing I’d complain about is the price….which is something I say a lot about the price of classic cars these days.
I like but if I was going to drop $57k on a vehicle I would just buy a new truck. This is another one of those cars that I would probably drop the value on because I would be driving it and enjoying it not keeping it in a garage to just look at.
No talk about the wing. I had one of these a few years ago. They put metal into the wing to strengthen it and always craked the wing.A temperamental car never really idled very well just wanted to go!
I sold both Pontiac and Buick back in 89 . We were getting $5000 over for the Grand national .Even more for the 500 or so GNX .We had waiting lists. You could buy one in the $30s .But we sat on one of these in the showroom and let it go at a discount. Deftly spooled up nice. But liked the GNX much better. That McClarann set up was perfect.
That car has an awful amount of plastic.
If this were a 1978 Trans am fully loaded with 2300 miles, I could see it but not with this car. Very nice car. I hope he gets what he’s asking.
I don’t see what makes a 1978 Trans Am worth this kind of money. There is anything special about that car.