Car Spot: 89 Pontiac Trans Am Pace Car

20th Anniversary Special

Before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway made the Corvette its official Indy Pace Car in 2004 there were a variety of brands that provided vehicles for the race. Pacing the 73rd Indianapolis 500 on May 28, 1989, was the 1989 Pontiac Trans Am, the subject of this week’s spot.

1,554, were built not only to commemorate the twentieth year of Pontiac’s flagship ponycar. The only modifications performed on the pace cars used on the track were the installation of strobe lights, two-way radios, and other safety equipment. Also, ABC equipped it with cameras and microwave antennas to utilize newly created in-car race cams to give the television audience a view of the race at track level. Three-time winner (1968, 1975, 1981) Bobby Unser, drove the car that day.

The Anniversary car looks much like the ’89 GTA. On the front-right and lower-left rocker panels toward the front of the doors are the “Indianapolis Motor Speedway” emblems. The “Turbo” emblems are located on the front fenders and taillight panel, and the “20th Anniversary” emblems are on the nose and sail panels. There were around 150 of the cars made specifically for the events surrounding the race and hauling VIPs around. These cars were later sold to GM employees and the public. They all came with the T-tops and leather interior. Additionally, each car has a prominent dash plaque proclaiming the build sequence, the turbo boost gauge on the dash cluster, and “20th Anniversary” insignia on the passenger-side dash map-pocket.

Pontiac created an F-body-based supercar that followed in the performance footsteps of the G-body Regal T-Type, Grand National, and GNX programs. While Pontiac engineers wanted to use an all-aluminum V-8 but that never happened so the 3.8L Intercooled Buick Turbo V-6 engine was chosen. With 250 hp it was capable of going 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and had a top speed of 153 mph.

RELATED Spot: I found a Buick Grand National

What are they worth now? You’d think a lot, right, with only 1,554 made? Surprisingly not a ton of money with get you into one of these. Hagerty values one in Fair condition at $22,600, Good condition at $34,500, Excellent condition, at $51,300, and Concours, at $68,500. Not a lot of cash to own a piece of history.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about this spot. I have lots of others on our site so go and check some of them out. Come back next Friday for another one of my spots I’ve found on my travels along with some it its history. Have a great weekend.