1971 Pontiac Trans Am

1971 PONTIAC TRANS AM LARGELY CARRIED OVER
The ’71 Trans Am was carried over from the 1970 largely unchanged, with minor trim and detail changes, and countless upgrades mandated my new federal smog and safety regs. But the big new for 1971 was the availability of the 455 V8. Until 1970, GM had a mandate of its own that no midsize GM car could have any engine larger than 400 cubic inches (with the exception of the Corvette, of course), but that was lifted during the 1970 model year, opening the floodgates to a whole raft of big, big blocks. The new 455 came in two forms in the 1971 Pontiac Trans Am, the 325-horsepower L75, and the “HO”-version the LS5 with 335 horses. The 1971 Pontiac Trans Am came standard with the L75, with the LS5 being the only optional engine. The LS5, also known as the “455 HO” also came with Ram Air VI.


1971 Pontiac Trans Am SPECIFICATIONS

Production,

Base Firebird

Firebird Esprit

Firebird Formula

Trans Am

Wheelbase

Length

Width

Height

Track, front

Track, rear

Weight

V8 ENGINE OPTIONS

400ci V8 w/1X4bbl

400ci V8 w/1X4bbl

455ci V8 w/1X4bbl

455ci V8 w/1X4bbl

PERFORMANCE

345hp 455 V8

23,021

20,185

7,802

2,116

108.0 in / 2743 mm

191.6 in / 4867 mm

73.1 in / 1870 mm

50.2 in / 1276 mm

61.3 in / 1556 mm

60.5 in / 1537 mm

3,197 lbs / 1450 kg

265 hp / 400 lb/ft

300 hp / 400 lb/ft

325 hp / 455 lb/ft

335 hp / 480 lb/ft

Zero-to-60mph = 5.9 sec

1/4-mile = 13.9 sec @ 103 mph