This gorgeous 1989 Pontiac Trans Am GTA is an effigy of sorts to the original Smoky & The Bandit model, clad in jet black paint with gold emblems and mesh wheels. The GTA package is a compelling offering, with the WS6 suspension and 5.7L V8 as standard equipment. Other upgrades were mostly cosmetic in nature, but meaningful improvements over the standard car. The seller notes this one is a particularly unique example, noting it is just one of 259 with this particular interior, which features black cloth upholstery. Mileage is low at just 36,000, and the GTA is listed here on eBay with bids to $20K at the moment and no reserve.

The GTA was a looker, and I’d be a fan of this car even if it sported zero performance improvements over the base model. Black with gold is one of my favorite combos, and I love the tinted taillight panel featured prominently on this generation. The seller notes that some tasteful modifications have been added, including the awesome 17″ replica wheels of the original design which fill out the wheel wells oh-so-perfectly. Lowering springs have also been installed, along with a Magnaflow muffler and tinted windows. The GTA really does look sinister, and the stance is absolutely perfect, in my opinion. The original parts are included with the sale.

Now, I can’t say that the cabin truly blew me away in terms of appearance, but I do recall many of these GTAs had a saddle-colored cabin, so perhaps that’s where the rarity factor comes into play. In general, black on black was a hard combo to find in the late 80s as saddle, parchment, palomino – whatever you want to call it, it was tan – were all the rage. The cloth presents well, but black leather would be even better. The 5.7L V8 came standard with the automatic transmission, so you’re out of luck if you’re looking for the 5.7L with the GTA package and a stick. Still, this was a decently quick car regardless of transmission as the Big 3 began to emerge from the wilderness of the malaise era.

Here’s a personal sob story: I visited a junkyard over the winter that had this gorgeous white GTA in the recently-arrived inventory pile. I don’t know what was wrong with it, or why it was there; I also don’t know why in the hell I didn’t take a minute to find out what it could be bought for. Now, some yards won’t even consider selling a car once it’s inside the wire fence that surrounds it, but a car like this would have been worth asking about. I can’t tell you why I didn’t, other than it simply wasn’t on my radar as a car I was looking for (I sadly spent more time investigating a VW Corrado G60 with an automatic transmission – bleh.) Anyway, it seems like based on the bidding action here, I would have been wise to have attempted to buy it. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say….