Pontiac fans love Hate the Turbo Trans Am, which used a 210-hp 301ci V8 and turbocharger to replace the brilliant 220-hp 400 used the previous year. While the horsepower was nearly equal, the performance wasn’t quite there. It would take a few more years for American cars to show the benefits of turbocharging.
Pontiac dropped the turbocharged 301 after 1981, but a turbocharged Trans Am reappeared in 1989, and this car also competed in Indy. This special model gave Buick’s turbocharged 231ci V6 a break after it was discontinued a year earlier. This 250-horsepower six-cylinder engine had 5 to 15 more horsepower than the 1986-87 Grand National, and it was probably almost identical except for the horsepower rating, but it had several different parts – such as the heads, intercooler, computer chip and pistons.
The 1989 Turbo Trans Am is a car that almost nobody loves: Pontiac owners don’t like cars with Buick engines, and Buick owners aren’t interested in driving Pontiacs. Buick owners should embrace the new life this engine gives them, because no Buick can handle this new era of muscle. It could be the sleeper hit of the turbocharged Buick world — a car that drives like a stink but handles like a Trans Am.
Join Muscle Car Campy as owner Tony Palese takes the car for a test drive and discusses how the Turbo Trans Am’s engine differs from the Grand National and GNX’s engines.
If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out the rest of Muscle Car Campy’s history.
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