The 1989 Pontiac
Turbo Trans Am

The definitive history of the 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am — one of the most celebrated American performance cars ever built.

1,555Cars Built
250+Horsepower
13.5sQuarter Mile
1989Indy 500 Pace Car

Production

Originally conceived by Bill Owen of Pontiac, the 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am project was outsourced to PAS, Inc., an engineering firm led by Jeff Beitzel. Beitzel and his team did most of the TTA development work.

The V6 turbo engines were built by PAS at their 40,000 square foot City of Industry, California plant. From there, they went to GM's plant in Van Nuys, California to be installed into GTAs on the F-Body assembly line. The cars were then shipped back to PAS for final assembly, testing, and quality control.

1989 Pontiac Firebird lineup at Van Nuys Assembly Plant Turbo Trans Am on the Van Nuys assembly line

Incidentally, the GTA chassis were selected at random, thus there is no correlation between VIN number and production sequence number. The actual number of cars to be produced had ranged from 500 to 2,500 until GM finally settled on 1,500. In all, a total of 1,555 Turbo Trans Ams were manufactured.

Assembly line production at Van Nuys Firebird models on the production floor TTA production at Van Nuys, California
1,324T-Top & Leather Interior
187T-Top & Cloth Interior
24Hardtop & Leather Interior
15Hardtop & Cloth Interior
5Pilot (Pre-Production) Cars

Did You Know?

The five pilot TTAs were pulled off the Van Nuys assembly line without regard to color — they were not white. At least two of these pilot cars were sold to private individuals, making them extremely rare, non-white factory TTAs.

Features & Options

The 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am was offered as a complete package. Each was white with saddle (tan) interior, with T-tops and leather interior the only available options. Although other Trans Ams were available with a CD player, the Turbo TA was available only with a Delco ETR AM/FM cassette with graphic EQ and redundant steering wheel controls.

1989 Turbo Trans Am at a Pontiac dealership 1989 TTA on the Pontiac dealership showroom floor

Externally, the TTA closely resembles a GTA. The primary visual clues are Indy "Winged Tire" emblems on the ground effects panel just aft of the front wheel wells, and dual twin stainless-steel exhaust tips. Closer inspection reveals "Turbo" emblems on the front fenders, "20th Anniversary" emblems on the nose and B-pillar, and a "Turbo" insignia between the taillights.

Inside, a turbo boost gaugeTTA turbo boost gauge integrated into tachometer is incorporated into the tachometer face, and there is a "20th Anniversary" logo on the leather map pocket.

1989 Turbo Trans Am at Sawyers Pontiac dealership, Lansing, Michigan

The Owner's Kit

Special Indy Pace Car stickers were supplied for the windshield and doors — the cars were delivered without the stickers attached, leaving it to the owner to decide. Original Turbo TA owners received a special box containing the door and windshield stickers, a TTA keychain, cassette tape, letter of congratulationsPontiac letter of congratulations to TTA owners, and a leather owner's manual cover. There is a unique owner's manual supplement that came with the car. The Firebird service manual and TTA supplement can be ordered from Helm (publisher of GM service manuals).

Technical Highlights

What makes the 20th Anniversary Turbo TA so special is that it is a complete mechanical package, and not just some tape stripes.

Starting with the engine, Pontiac borrowed Buick's 3.8 liter (231 CID) V6 turbo powerplant from the fabled 1986-87 Grand National. Some differences exist between the TTA motor and the GN version. Different headsComparison of TTA and Grand National cylinder heads were necessary in order to squeeze the motor between the strut towers. These heads, adapted from the transverse FWD version of the 3.8 liter motor, have the added benefit of improved exhaust flow and combustion chamber design. Subsequently, different pistons were required in order to maintain combustion chamber volume.

Other changes include a cross-drilled crankshaftTTA cross-drilled crankshaft, larger 12 fin/inch GNX-style intercoolerTTA GNX-style 12 fin/inch intercooler (replacing the Grand National's 10 fin/inch design), specially-designed stainless-steel headersTTA stainless-steel headers, higher-pressure Bosch 237 fuel pressure regulator, and a recalibrated engine control module.

The Real Horsepower

Although Pontiac officially rated the engine at 250 HP, in reality it developed an honest 301 HP on the GM dyno. The generally accepted explanation for the underrating is GM's unwritten rule stating no passenger vehicle shall have a higher horsepower rating than that year's Corvette — which was rated at 255 HP in 1989.

The Turbo TA came with the rare 1LE racing brake packageTTA 1LE racing brake package, which upgrades the front discs to 12-inch police rotors, Corvette twin-piston aluminum calipers, and semi-metallic pads. These brakes are virtually fade-proof, and were installed to legalize the 1LE package for Firehawk endurance racing. The rear discs were also increased to 12 inches in 1989 and use Corvette single-piston calipers. All brakes are of a quick-change design — pads can actually be changed in 30 seconds.

The only mid-year change made during the entire production run was a redesigned turbo inlet tube. The redesigned plastic tube was more durable and had a clamping rib on either end to keep the hoses attached more securely.

Glass vs. Lexan T-Tops

In March 1989, GM switched from glass to Lexan (plastic) T-tops across all F-bodies in order to save weight. However, the Lexan tops had severe problems with scratching and cracking, and GM had to replace most of them under warranty. During the 1990 production run, GM switched back to glass T-tops after the widespread issues.

Indianapolis 500 Pace Car

The 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am had the honor of being selected as the Official Pace Car of the 73rd Indianapolis 500, held on May 28, 1989.

1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am — Official Indy 500 Pace Car TTA Indy 500 Pace Car on track

The three cars which did pace car duty were the first in the history of the Indianapolis 500 to do so with no performance modifications whatsoever. The only changes were the usual safety equipment required by Indianapolis Motor Speedway (including a five-point seat belt harness), pace car lighting, and television-related equipment.

Strobe lights were installed into the front fog lights, front turn signals, and side marker lights. An additional set of strobesTTA pace car strobe lights between spoiler and decklid was inserted into the space between the spoiler and decklid. The rear windows were changed to ones with no defogger grid, so the rear-facing ABC television camera would have a clear view of the track behind.

TTA Indy 500 Pace Car close-up Turbo Trans Am at Indianapolis Motor Speedway James Garner with the 1989 Indy 500 Turbo Trans Am Pace Car

Festival Cars

In addition to three pace cars, an additional 162 "Festival" TTAs were at Indianapolis for VIP and parade duty. All festival cars had T-tops and cloth interiors. Approximately 100 festival cars were sold to GM employees at the fixed price of $25,854.83 — no negotiation, no choice of car. These buyers received cars with anywhere from a few hundred to 7,000 miles.

As for the three pace cars, one now resides in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, another is in the Pontiac collection, and one was presented to race winner Emerson Fittipaldi. Emerson loves his Turbo TA — when asked about it he grinned: "It's a FAST car!"

Emerson Fittipaldi with the 1989 Turbo Trans Am Pace Car

Media Comments & Publication List

The automotive press responded to the TTA with tremendous enthusiasm. The vehicle's exhilarating acceleration was popular with journalists and road testers:

"A drive in this killer Pontiac is the most fun you can have with your clothes on."

— Ron Grable, Motor Trend

"Drop the pedal at speed and it's instant tunnel vision, building, as only turbo-surge can, towards... 150 mph..."

— Kevin Wilson, AutoWeek

"The TTA's 250 horses seem much stronger than run-of-the-mill horses."

— Mark Grable, Motor Trend, March 1989

In all, the TTA was featured in dozens of articles, reviews, and road tests. The following comprehensive publication list was compiled by Ron Kristin.

Major Articles & Test Reports
  • AutoWeek, May 1, 1989 — Speedway Rocket Sled
    0-60: 5.5 sec
    "The rush as the car shot from legal highway speeds to 'you're going to jail, son' reduced us to giggles once."
  • Car Craft, December 1988, Vol. 36 No. 12, pp. 94-95, 97 — 1989 20th Anniversary Pontiac Trans Am
    0-60: 5.4 sec, ¼ mi: 13.5 @ 103 mph
    "We feel its performance has set the high-water mark for the decade."
  • Car & Driver, October 1988, Vol. 34 No. 4, p. 81 — '89 New Cars — Pontiac Trans Am Quick Test
    "...the turbo anniversary model (rated at 245hp but probably putting out more like 270) should be the quickest TA in the lineup."
  • Car & Driver, June 1989 — 20th Anniversary Pontiac Trans Am
    0-60: 4.6 sec, ¼ mi: 13.4 @ 101 mph
    "This is a car for muscle-car mavens, pure and simple."
  • Hot Rod, November 1988, Vol. 41 No. 11, pp. 90-91, 93 — 20th Anniversary Trans Am: Pontiac's Excitement Package
    0-60: 6.0 sec, ¼ mi: 14.21 @ 97.8 mph
    "With all the power and handling you could ask for in a production performance car, it definitely qualifies as one of the absolute best buys of '89."
  • Motor Trend, March 1989, Vol. 41 No. 3, pp. 50-52, 54, 55, 58 — Pontiac 20th Anniversary Trans Am
    0-60: 5.4 sec, ¼ mi: 14.18 @ 95.8 mph
    "A drive in this killer Pontiac is the most fun you can have with your clothes on."
  • Popular Hot Rodding, March 1989, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 62-64 — King of the Hill
    "It is with little doubt one of the finest super cars we've ever had the privilege to drive."
  • Road & Track, January 1989, Vol. 40 No. 5, pp. 92-94 — Pontiac Turbo Trans Am
    0-60: 5.3 sec, ¼ mi: 13.9 @ 99.5 mph
    "...this 20th-anniversary rocket can't decide whether to pace at Indy or enter."
  • Turbo & Hi-Tech Performance, May 1989, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 40-43, 63 — White Heat — Pontiac's Turbo GTA: The New Pace In Performance
    0-60: 4.89 sec
    "...we took a leisurely drive...overall performance was to say the least...impressive."
Other Major Articles
  • AutoWeek, May 15, 1989, Vol. 39 No. 20, pp. 26-28, 30 — Lapping Up Indy History
    "Touring the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum and getting there in a Trans Am Turbo pace car both qualify as blasts from the past."
  • Cars Illustrated Special Edition, Modern Musclecars, Vol. 4 No. 3 — Turbo Trans Am
  • Corvette Fever, October 1989 — TTA vs. '89 Vette
    Vette gets stomped, but remember whose magazine it is.
  • High Performance Pontiac, December 1989, pp. 16-18 — GTO vs. GTA Shootout, Who's the Boss?
    ¼ mi: 13.74 @ 101.8 mph
  • Motor Trend, June 1989, Vol. 41 No. 6, pp. 42-47, 50, 54 — Flat-out Fastest American Cars II
    TTA does 162 mph at Arizona Test Center.
  • Motor Trend, November 1989, Vol. 41 No. 11 — Bang for the Buck
    0-60: 5.11 sec, ¼ mi: 14.18 @ 98.86 mph
    TTA takes top honors in points after six phases of testing among seventeen cars.
  • Muscle Car Review, October 1988, pp. 62-67 — Turbos and the King
    "Mid-range acceleration is stunning...Step on the gas, turbo spools up...yea, what a rush! What a car!"
  • Muscle Car Review, July 1989, pp. 24-26, 57-59 — GNX vs. Turbo Trans Am Shootout: Boost-Bird vs. Bad-to-the-Bone Buick
    After some warm-up, the GNX takes round one and two — but "By the time class racing rolled around, Lee Gordon had gotten the hang of launching the Pontiac. He rolled over the competition — including the GNX — to win his class."
  • Muscle Cars, November 1989, Vol. VII No. 6, pp. 52-54 — GTO vs. GTA Shootout
    ¼ mi: 13.74 @ 101.8 mph. 1965 389 Tri-Power GTO 4-speed vs. a TTA at Englishtown. The classic GTO was no match.
  • Road & Track Special Series, Supercars, August 15, 1989, pp. 80-83 — High-Boost T/A Turbo — Great White Snark
    0-60: 6.50 sec, ¼ mi: 14.80 @ 104.3 mph
    Pontiac Engineering takes the Turbo TA one step further: Corvette six-speed, GNX ceramic turbo, and other goodies — 178 mph top speed.
Brief Mentions
  • AutoWeek, October 24, 1988, Vol. 38 No. 43, pp. 24-25 — The Best and the Brightest
    Best second car for Buick GNX owners.
  • Car Craft, October 1988, Vol. 36 No. 10, pp. 46-47 — The Hot 89's
  • Car Craft, January 1989, Vol. 37 No. 1, p. 14 — Press photo; announcement as pace car.
  • Guide to Muscle Cars, April 1989, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 26-31 — Birthday Bird, Trans Am Celebrates Its 20th!
  • High Performance Pontiac, December 1989, pp. 4-6, 19-22, 26 — Visit to PAS with Scott Kelly and Jeff Beitzel. Pictures of convertible and 3.8L HO that goes 181 mph with a six-speed.
  • Hot Rod, October 1988, Vol. 41 No. 10, pp. 51-53 — Performance '89
    Two photos of hardtop pilot model.
  • Hot Rod, January 1991, p. 54 — Silver State Classic Challenge III
    TTA with buckled hood. Blew off intercooler/intake hose, ran out of gas, and still ran a 118.96 mph average!
  • Popular Mechanics, October 1988, Vol. 165 No. 10, pp. 64-65 — Sweating the Details — Detroit '89
    "If the 5.7 V8 is a Mustang-fighter, what do you call the GTA with the turbocharged V6? Mustang-killer!"
  • Popular Mechanics, January 1989, Vol. 166 No. 1, pp. 57 & 116 — Motown Muscle
    "Unlike the supercars of the pre-OPEC era, the TTA is a balanced machine, with brakes and handling to match its awesome power."
  • Motor Trend, January 1989, Vol. 41 No. 1, p. 35 — Press photo; announcement as pace car.
  • Motor Trend, November 1990, Vol. 42 No. 11 — Top Ten Car Investments
    "The '89 Turbo Trans Am Indy Pace Car was General Motors' dream car of the '80s."
  • Motor Trend, Special Collectors Edition — 100 Years of the Automobile in America, p. 179
    Picture of '89 TTA with original '69 Trans Am.
  • Muscle Car Review, June/July 1994, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 28, 30-31 — Trans Am 25th Anniversary
  • Road & Track Special Series, Guide to the All-New 1993 Pontiac Firebird, pp. 19-20 — "Best performing Trans Am was the 1989 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am...5.0 sec 0-60 mph, 100+ mph in the quarter, top speed over 160 mph."
  • Turbo & Hi-Tech Performance, Best of, 10th Anniversary Issue 1985-1995, pp. 8, 46-47 — 0-60: 4.98 sec. Lists GNX as the most significant production turbo car with honorable mention to the TTA.
Individually Owned TTAs in Print
  • Car Craft, August 1996, p. 104 — Tech Talk
    ¼ mi: 12.0 @ 118 mph. John Meyers' 12-second TTA.
  • High Performance Pontiac, June 1996, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 22-26 — Modified Madness
    Herb Powers' TTA takes top honors at Englishtown. ¼ mi: 12.5 @ 109.42 mph
  • High-Tech Performance, December 1995, Premier Issue, pp. 38-40, 68-69 — Welcome to the Jungle
    Roger Grotyohann's TTA vs. Chevy 406 vs. 5.0. ¼ mi: 11.96 @ 113 mph
  • High-Tech Performance, July 1996, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 40-45 — Blower Madness
    Mike Strobl's TTA. ¼ mi: 13.47 @ 102.937 mph
  • Muscle Cars, November 1989, Vol. VII No. 6, p. 55 — One Step Beyond!
    Ed Kozinski's TTA running consistent 13.2s with upgrades from ATR and a test pipe.
  • Turbo & Hi-Tech Performance, July 1996, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 42-45, 80, 82-83 — Plain-Wrapped Pavement Pounder
    Bill Sakes' hardtop 9-second streetable TTA. ¼ mi: 9.891 @ 139.79 mph
Advertisements
  • AutoWeek, May 29, 1989, Vol. 39 No. 22, pp. 32-33 — The Magnificent Seven
    Center 2-page spread with the entire '89 Pontiac line including Turbo GP and TTA, in front of the winner's circle at Indy.
  • Car Craft, June 1989, Vol. 37 No. 6, pp. 74-75 — Two-page Goodyear Eagle ad showing rear ¾ view of TTA. Same ad also run in 1989 Indy 500 program and yearbook.
  • Car Craft, July 1989, Vol. 37 No. 7, pp. 102-103 — "Both of these special, limited edition Pontiacs leave the factory on just one make of radial tires." With Turbo Grand Prix.
  • Car & Driver, May 1989, pp. 150-151 — The Magnificent Seven
  • Sports Illustrated, Swimsuit Issue 1989, p. 118 — "The 20th Anniversary Trans Am. The Only Modification It Needed To Pace The Indy 500 Was A Decal." The infamous ad of the car sitting on the track — notably, not even an automobile-related magazine.
Other Publications & Newsletters
  • GSX-tra, March/April 1994 — How the TTA Compares to the 1986-87 TRs, by John Pearcy
  • GSX-tra, July/August 1994 — GNX vs. TTA — Benchracing — Idle Thoughts, by Rich Lasseter
  • GSX-tra, March/April 1996, p. 4 — Article on Bill Sakes' hardtop 9-second streetable TTA.
  • WinStorm Advisor, Winter 1995, pp. 1-2 — Production numbers and TTA article.
Books
  • Firebird Buyer's Guide by John Gunnell (Motorbooks International), pp. 192-196 — Covers 1967-1992 Firebirds. Summaries of magazine articles, specs, and the only publication to mention the two convertible TTAs that PAS made using Camaro parts.
  • Firebird & Trans Am 1967-1994 by Bill Holder and Phillip Kunz (Motorbooks International), pp. 100-104 — Good photos including close-ups of spark plug wires and engine compartment.
  • Firebird: Pure Excitement From Pontiac by James M. Flammang (Consumer Guide), pp. 74-75 — Photos of rare hardtop with cloth interior (1 of 15).
  • Pace Cars of the Indy 500 by L. Spencer Riggs (Speed Age Inc.), pp. 246-250 — Covers all pace cars from 1911 to the TTA in 1989.
  • Indy 500 Pace Cars (Consumer Guide / Publications International), pp. 192-193 — Vivid color pictures including TTA in pit lane, Emerson Fittipaldi, and festival cars at start/finish line.
  • Standard Guide to American Muscle Cars, edited by John Gunnell (Krause Publications), p. 271 — Supercar source book 1949-92.
  • The World's Fastest Cars by Gabbard, Robson & Consumer Guide (Publications International), pp. 206-211 — 0-60: 5.3 sec, ¼ mi: 13.9 sec. Photos from Indy and tach with turbo gauge.

Publication list compiled by Ron Kristin. Revised 2/11/1997. Special thanks to Jim Palecek, Dave Folmer, Darrin Kremer, Jay Arrigo, Kris Kristin, and Scott Mueller.

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