While 22% larger mufflers take the edge off this engine’s once raucous exhaust note, without losing its distinctive small-block sound. Optional all-speed traction control now helps keep the tail in line during daily driving. Out on the street, the revamped suspension delivers, dare we say it, a comfortable ride, and that’s a far cry from the spine- pounding feel of last year’s car. Trans Ams also benefit from a new solenoid-based Bosch ABS, and GM’s Electronic Brakeforce Distribution system that balances brake pressure front to rear during non-panic situations. The upgrades include larger discs at all four wheels, as well as new calipers and beefier pads. While specially developed Goodyear 275/40-series tires on 17-inch alloy wheels deliver impressive grip in both dry and wet.īraking has also been upgraded, stopping the Trans Am from 60 in an average of only 104 feet. The latest WS6 handling package features re-valved shocks for more bounce control, and greater high speed stability on coarse pavement. The Trans Am is a heavy hot rod that’s easy to manage in corners. Stirred along by the standard, but stiff, 6-speed manual transmission and a new, smoother clutch. Power off the line was as gut wrenching as ever, but with peak torque at four grand, passing power was especially strong. And a quarter-mile that flashed by in 14 seconds flat at 100 miles per hour. Which translates to a 0-to-60 time of only 5.5 seconds. Torque output is a crushing 335 pound-feet, at a mid-range heavy 4,000 rpm. Code named the LS1, this J-body-only version of the Corvette’s 5.7-liter all-aluminum small-block pumps out 305 horsepower. Which connect, via the new one-piece welded exhaust system, to the biggest, baddest, Trans Am V8 since 1970. While the back end carries new honeycomb tail lights, round back-up lights and oval-shaped exhaust tips. The deeply dished-out door panels remain unchanged, but heat extractors have been added to the front fenders. It features a more muscular twin-nostril hood, and deeper fascia with new headlights, fog lamps and turn signals. And it shows! Its shark-like features are even more menacing, thanks to an all-new front end. Substantially revised for 1998, this back alley bruiser is more aggressive than ever before. Well, if they have, then how do you explain the latest Pontiac Firebird Trans Am? So with its biggest competitor offering less in the way of competition, have the troops at Pontiac lost their will to fight? While GM, especially Pontiac and their brutish Trans Am, stuck to the tried-and-true, Ford opted for a more refined approach, and to many enthusiasts, conceded the factory hot rod crown. But that changed when the current generation of pony cars arrived a few years ago. For decades the battle between Ford and General Motors to build the hottest pony car seesawed back and forth, with neither side holding the advantage for very long.
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