One Of The Rarest Pontiac Trans Ams Is Up For Sale. Is It Worth The Price Tag?
Introduced in 1970, the second-gen Firebird had such an amazing design that Pontiac rode it all the way into the 1980s, and it never once looked dated or even remotely uncool. The Trans Am performance trim was such a hit that it was available on the Firebird from its 1969 debut until 2002, when Pontiac sadly discontinued the iconic muscle car. The 1977 Trans Am, made famous as Burt Reynolds’ ride in Smokey and the Bandit, is a fan favorite, but there’s nothing quite like the raw power of a pre-Malaise Era car, and there’s a pretty special one up for auction on Bring a Trailer. A 1970 Firebird Trans Am 400 Ram Air III four-speed is live and taking bids with only a few days left before closing. This is a relatively rare car, and it’s almost spotless, plus it has a few tricks up its sleeve, so there’s the potential for this Firebird to soar.
There’s nothing wrong with a first-gen (1967-1969) Firebird, but its look was stuck in the 1960s school of design, while the second-gen fully embraced the Golden Age of American Muscle, with a jaw-dropping style. Featuring a short decklid and hood for miles, the ’70 Firebird also had a bold, wide stance that made it both sexy and brutal at the same time. The BaT auction car is a 1970 Firebird Trans Am finished in Polar White with a blue hood-to-trunk stripe and shaker hood. 1970 was before the full-hood “Screaming Chicken” decal, but this car does have a Firebird, albeit a small one, in front of the hood stripe as well as “Trans Am” decals on the rear and front fenders. The car was refurbished in the early 1990s, but never had a full-blown restoration, so it’s kind of a survivor car, and from the looks of it, is in outstanding condition.
This is a numbers-matching car that is exactly as described by the body tag, so its originality is not in question. It’s equipped with a 400ci Ram Air III V8, and we will get into that in more detail shortly, paired with a four-speed manual transmission. Normally, a blue vinyl interior is pretty hideous, but on this car it is mandatory and would look weird in any other color. With bucket seats, a Formula steering wheel, Hurst shifter, and deluxe gauge cluster, including a 160 MPH speedometer, the interior of the ’70 Trans Am is both appropriate and flawless. Rounding out the standard equipment, the car has 15-inch Rally II wheels mounted with BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires. There’s nothing to complain about with this one, and there’s nothing not to love about it either.
GM’s cap on engines over 400 cubic inches for intermediates mercifully ended in 1970, and while the 455 V8 was available for some Pontiac models, the Firebird was left out of the Super Duty sweepstakes. It’s actually kind of ironic considering the Trans Am would literally own the 455 for years after, but it was the 400 in 1970. The BaT auction car has the 400ci Ram Air III, rated at 345 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. The Ram Air IV is more desirable because it’s so rare, but performance-wise it produced only 25 more hp, and realistically, both engines were underrated. The Ram Air III got the ’70 Trans Am moving from 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and down the track with a 14.1-second quarter-mile ET. Some anecdotal evidence claims a bone-stock ’70 Trans Am Ram Air III hit 13.9 seconds, but it is well documented that a little wrenching would get this car into the 13s.
Because the Trans Am is so iconic and ubiquitous, people assume Pontiac made boatloads of them, and for some years that’s true, but in 1970, production was limited to just 3,196 units. 88 of those were equipped with the 400 Ram Air IV, which is why they are exceptionally rare, but the 3,018 that left the factory with a Ram Air III makes them quite rare as well. For our auction car, it is finished in Polar White, which puts it in rarer territory as only 2,150 cars were sprayed with it in 1970. Then, about half of those were equipped with the more desirable four-speed transmission, so there’s just over 1,000 of them, which is definitely a rare bird. There’s a pretty good chance that not all 1,000 or so cars still exist today, so this really could be a unique ride.
The BaT Trans Am comes with some great documentation like dealer invoices, window sticker, and even the dealer key tag, but the real star of this auction lot is its odometer. Amazingly enough, this ’70 Trans Am only has 9,498 miles and just 4,000 since it was refurbished in 1992. That speaks to serious discipline in putting so few miles on a car this remarkable and enjoyable to drive, but it may pay off when this auction closes. As more or less a survivor car, with documentation, low mileage, and great condition, this Trans Am has all the ingredients for a big payday on the auction block. Of course, the seller may have an insane reserve, so this one might have to reload and try another day.
What’s a ’70 Trans Am Ram Air III Actually Worth?
According to Hagerty, a 1970 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with a 345-horsepower 400 Ram Air V8 has a value range from $37,993 for a fair condition project car to $116,663 for a Concours condition showpiece. The BaT Trans Am is not in Concours condition, but it is survivor-esque, which oftentimes makes it more valuable. J.D. Power says this car has a high retail value of $101,300, but it doesn’t specify if that price is for the Ram Air III cars or all engines combined. Looking at what previous auctions have yielded for the ’70 Trans Am might help give us a good idea of what’s in store for the BaT car. There have actually been two Ram Air III cars that broke into the six-figures: $107,800 in 2026 for a Lucerne Blue car and a Polar White beauty that sold for $121,000 at Mecum Kissimmee 2024. That top-seller is a low-mileage ride as well, so the BaT auction car has some achievable aspirations.
As of this writing, the Bring a Trailer ’70 Pontiac Trans Am Ram Air III has a bid of $33,333, with five days until it closes. Clearly, that number is going to go up, and we’re hoping it skyrockets, because this really is a special set of wheels. That brings us to the premise of this piece and that’s whether this car is worth a massive price tag, like into the $100,000 sphere. It’s relatively rare and completely spectacular, so yes, it’s absolutely worth it. As time passes, there’s only going to be fewer of these cars, and there’s a zero percent chance that this ride will ever depreciate in value, which makes it a no-brainer for someone with the means. The only issue we have, and it’s the same with any big-money classic muscle car, is that at some point they become unenjoyable. When a car is worth an extreme amount of money, it’s no longer a daily driver, but amazing classic rides like this need to be out and about, looking cool and turning heads.
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