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15 January 2010 - 16:00
Smokier and the Bandit
It's official: GM has consigned Pontiac - its so-called ‘athletic brand' that has been wheezing into obscurity over the last few years - to the scrapheap.
To those of you outside America - and, in truth, probably quite a few of you within America - this news probably bothers you as much as finding out that The Best of Alan Titchmarsh has finally been released on DVD.
But Pontiac's demise does spell the end for the admittedly very remote chance of the Trans-Am - the iconic muscle car beloved of Burt Reynolds and Michael Knight - making a glorious retro comeback.
Unless, that is, you go to the nice guys at Gearhead Performance, who'll cook you up one of these stunning retro-modern Trans-Ams using nothing more than a new Camaro, a lot of plastic and, er, a 900bhp twin-turbo V8. With that sort of power, you'll be able to perform a very literal reinterpretation of Smokey and the Bandit.
The original Trans-Ams, remember, were based around Camaros, so it's kinda historically accurate. Or something.
We can't help but wonder if, had Pontiac spent the last several years building cars like this instead of, say, the Torrent, whether it would have been sentenced to GM's electric chair...
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this is NOT a beautifull ....thing..
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In black, that would look better (See? http://www.gearhead-pg.com/showcar.php?car=transam_2010_3). But a very good effort from people who quite clearly care. The optional 900bhp Twin-Turbo V8 isn't very "historically accurate", mind.
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it is awesome
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radical, i was wondering if another company was going to do this, and i guess they did.
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radical, i was wondering if another company was going to do this, and i guess they did.
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Man i WANT one please
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I'm glad someone has decided to reincarnate what is a true American legend, even though it's based on a Camaro, which isn't a bad thing these days...If only the wheels were wider...
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....and this "true American legend" (the Camaro, at least) is built in Canada. Oshawa, Ontario, to be more precise.
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You can tell by just this picture alone(front rim) it's a mockup, cardboard cutout, or horrible photoshop attempt. That front end is butt ugly anyway.
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This is a hateful car. While the Camaro SS might pack a lot of power for only $30,000, it's suspension sucks, but it's a muscle car, so it's suspension is supposed to suck. With that in mind, the Camaro will never be a sports car, and is sentenced to forever being a redneck's wet dream.
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http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2009/11/sema-2009-lingenfelter-trans-am-debuts-in-vegas.html cleaner... imho
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How could GM kill Pontiac? I love those cars. If I'm honnest i'd rather have and old 80's trans-am in black
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I'm not sure why everyone seems to knock the handling capability of American cars. I actually drove a couple of Trans Ams back in the day. The turbo version (a la Smokey and the Bandit II), and the sleeker wedge-shapped model that followed (in 82, I believe). They handled beautifully, were fun to drive, and looked great!
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Pontiac is such a shame, so many cool nameplates died with the brand. G8, GTO, Boneville, Firebird, Trans Am. Cars that could have been great. A year or two late and a couple million dollars short. Getting pissed just thinking about it.
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Yeah, and the G8 never really lived long enough to make it's name well heard. A beautiful car, one which may have dragged Pontiac through the mess. This Trans-Am is a staggeringly good transformation for the Camaro, a la Bandi. You can almost see the Camaro underneath, but this is the way it always was... although I don't think I'd want to pay for the 900 bhp engine. Nice though the thought is. Just the plastics would work for me.
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The demise of Pontiac is definitely one of the worst points about GM's restructuring. Some of the cars will live on in Holden and Vauxhall, though. The VXR8 is basically a G8 GXP; and, even the new Chevrolet Caprice police cruiser is a revamped Commodore/VXR8/G8 GT. The G8 was such a great car that it's virtually vanished from the new and used car market in my area. I think it's a testament to the fact that GM was heading in the right direction; but, as someone already said: a few years too late, a few million dollars short.
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Better than a ferari. Because it isn't a ferari. Give euro-fags the bird with live axles and a stonking V8.
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Better than a ferari. Because it isn't a ferari. Give euro-fags the bird with live axles and a stonking V8.
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GM engineers confirm a Nürburgring 8:20 lap time for the Camaro SS ? but then used the experience to tweak tire compound and suspension settings to further improve steering and handling characteristics for when the production cars hit the showroom
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ewwwwwwwwwww
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perfect i love it
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it would be great if they changed the design by not using the same camaro's platform,.
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it looks stupid. I want a Pontiac Solstice with 900bhp
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then go play nfs, in this world, i don't think a FRONT-wheel drive car with 900bhp would work. Apparently there is something called "torque-steer"!!
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TopgearIRL commented on this article
15 January 2010
First comment...up Eire
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