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As insurance surcharges and emissions rules were strangling the muscle car era, Pontiac quietly built one final genuine performance engine: the SD-455. Hand-assembled with race-grade internals and installed in a Firebird lineup that had nearly been canceled, fewer than 300 examples were built for 1973. Read on to find out why enthusiasts still consider it Pontiac’s best-kept secret.
MotorWeek’s 1985 Retro Review pits a Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z, and Pontiac Trans Am against each other in a head-to-head that now doubles as a time capsule — sticker prices around 10 to 12 thousand dollars, barely 200 horsepower, and a carbureted-engine punchline that’s become a running joke in the comments. Watch to see which of the three came out on top, and why Pontiac fans still mourn its absence.