Pontiac was once one of the kings of the muscle car world and arguably was on top during the 1960s. American manufacturers produce all sorts of vehicles, but they are most famous for their muscle cars.
The 1970s were an exciting time for muscle cars, primarily because the decade’s oil crisis severely impacted their performance. But a few excellent cars did slip through the net.
This list contains some of the best Pontiac muscle cars of the era. Bar a couple we have included from the late 1960s, all of these came from the 1970s, and they are also all scarce.
1977 Pontiac LeMans Can-Am T/A 6.6
The 1977 Can-Am T/A is one of the rarest Pontiacs ever produced, with the manufacturer only making 1,335 units in total. However, the cars were exceptional, as the company used up parts and components that were going out of series to produce them.
Power came from a 6.6-liter Pontiac V8 that produced 200 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. Its appearance didn’t scream muscle car, but that is precisely what it was. Time has largely forgotten the Can-Am T/A 6.6, making them even rarer.
1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Of course, one of the most famous Pontiac muscle cars of all time is the Firebird Trans Am. And the 1969 Firebird Trans Am is one of the rarest of them all. It was the first Firebird ever to bear the Trans Am name and served as the top-spec trim level for the Firebird.
Each of them was in a gorgeous Cameo White livery, with Tyrol Blue tripping all the way down. Power came from an L74 400 ci V8 that produced 335 horsepower, although many believe the actual power figure is much more than that. A Ram Air IV upgrade pushed the official horsepower up to 345. Pontiac produced just 697 of these Firebirds.
1973 Pontiac Trans Am SD-455
The 1973 Pontiac Trans Am SD-455 was unveiled right as the muscle car market started to decline. While not as powerful as some of the models from years past, the SD-455 was still more than worthy of the muscle car name.
Incredibly, Pontiac was only able to build 252 examples before the 1974 model year, with those themselves also incredibly rare. Power came from a 310 horsepower engine, although later EPA restrictions would bring that figure down to 290.
1973 Pontiac LeMans GTO 455
As the 1970s dawned, the Pontiac GTO was limping into a rather feeble retirement. It wasn’t its fault, however, thanks to the worldwide gas crisis sucking any life out of what was once one of the world’s great muscle cars. Horsepower and torque figures were now meaningless to the public.
But in 1973, the GTO did try to go out with a bang. Pontiac produced the GTO 455, which featured a 7.5-liter V8 under the hood with 250 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque.
1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible
The remarkable 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible is, without a doubt, one of the rarest Pontiacs ever made. The company built just 17 of these in 1970, and it’s perhaps no surprise that in early 2023, one of these sold for a staggering $1.1 million, making it the second-most expensive Pontiac ever sold after the one-off 1954 Bonneville Special Motorama Concept Car.
Power came from a 370 horsepower 400 ci V8 engine, and just looking at it, we can see why it’s one of the most sought-after Pontiacs ever built. It’s an absolute monster and one of the last great Pontiacs before the oil crisis took hold.
1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air II
There are still plenty of Pontiacs available that are rare enough to be enticing but cost less than $1 million. The 1968 Pontiac GTO Ram Air II is one of those, with the company only ever building 246 examples. Of those, 199 had a four-speed manual transmission; the rest had an automatic.
Despite its strengths, the Ram Air II was very short-lived, with the introduction of the Ram Air III in 1969. If you want one of these in good condition, you could pay as little as $22,800, but the price could rise to $100,000.
1977-1979 Pontiac Macho T/A
The 1977-1979 Pontiac Macho T/A is one of the few Pontiacs of the 1970s that defied the decade’s gas crisis. The Macho T/A was indeed striking, and Pontiac produced 200 in 1978 and another 125 in 1979 for a total production run of just 325 cars.
Power came from a 6.6-liter V8 engine and a 6.6-liter turbocharged V8, which produced between 220-235 horsepower and 320-480 lb-ft of torque. These were a significant upgrade over the very early 185 horsepower Pontiac 400 V8 engines.
1973 Pontiac GTO 455
The sad thing about the 1973 Pontiac GTO 455 was that it was a downgrade over the previous model years. The tightening emissions regulations and shift in the market changed Pontiacs plans, fitting the GTO with its standard 455 engine.
This came in place of the newly developed SD455, and instead, the GTO 455 produced 250 horsepower, a far cry from the muscle car’s glory days. Yet it was a rare breed, with Pontiac only ever producing 544 of them.
1971 Pontiac LeMans GT-37 LS5
The striking 1971 Pontiac LeMans GT-37 LS5 was one of the last Pontiacs before the gas crisis really began to take a stranglehold. In fact, what made the GT-37 LS5 even better was Pontiac’s desire to make it less expensive than some of the earlier versions of the muscle car.
The GT-37 was a stripped-down GTO, a GTO-lite, yet that didn’t mean it skimped on power. Under the hood, it had a 7.5-liter V8, producing 335 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque, meaning it was just as powerful as a fully-fledged GTO.
1963 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty Lightweight Coupe
Pontiac built just 14 examples of the epic 1963 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty Lightweight Coupe, arguably the company’s first high-performance vehicle based on one of its series-production models. The Catalina Super Duty Lightweight was a lighter, drag-strip-oriented version of the full-size Catalina that was also theoretically still street-legal.
The car would earn the nickname “Swiss Cheese” Catalina. It underwent extensive weight-saving treatment, including drilling holes in the frame rails and stripping features such as sound insulation and carpets. Power came from the Pontiac race-bred 421 ci 6.9-liter Super Duty V8 that produced 405 horsepower.
1971 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible
Like the previous model year, the 1971 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible is one of the rarest versions of the Pontiac GTO ever made. Pontiac produced just 17 of these 1971 GTO Judge convertibles, all of which had the Ram Air IV engine package.
A few styling tweaks differentiated it from the 1970 model, and this model year was also the final for the Judge. Tightening emissions regulations and lower buyer demand gave Pontiac no choice but to drop the muscle car. It did, though, produce 335 horsepower, more than quite a lot of muscle cars from the decade.
1970 Pontiac GTO Judge H.O. 455
The Judge package for the Pontiac GTO reached its peak in 1970 with the Judge H.O. 455 model. Pontiac was only going to offer it for the 1969 model year, but just prior to the gas crisis, it decided it would do so for 1970 and, later, 1971.
Pontiac built just 14 examples of the Judge H.O. with the high-output 455 ci V8 under the hood. This 7.5-liter V8 produced 360 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque, and it came just after General Motors had lifted its 400 ci engine restrictions on intermediate cars.
2004 Pontiac GTO W40
The final fling for the Pontiac GTO came in the mid-2000s, and one of the strongest and rarest versions of the GTO came in 2004. This was the GTO W40, sold only in 2004, at a time when the relaunched GTO was just a rebadged Australian Holden Monaro. Yet even with its excellent LS1 and LS2 V8 engines, buyers failed to be drawn to the 2004 GTO.
The W40 was a special 40th anniversary of the GTO model, yet it too failed to sell like the standard version. Pontiac only ever produced 794 examples, and those numbers don’t reflect just how good the 2004 Pontiac GTO really was.
