Words: Tommy Parry Photos: Barrett-Jackson
Banks’ Twin Turbo Trans Am is something of a legend in hot rodding circles. Not only was this car meteorically-quick some thirty-odd years ago, it offered a level of civility that modern muscle cars would respect. For the time, it was an incredible package, offering brutal speed, some comfort and an inimitable look that still appears fresh thirty years later.
The car needs to be given some context for the youngsters unfamiliar with the state of the muscle car in the earlier eighties. Still hampered by the oil crisis, big companies couldn’t quite build brawny muscle cars like they used to, and many of them were a far cry from what they are today and what they were in the late sixties. In fact, the most powerful engine option for an ‘82 Trans Am - their 5.0-liter LU8 - made a measly 165 horsepower. Therefore, the fact that this understated Trans Am made over 800 horsepower must’ve made it some sort of freak.
That power came from an upgraded Chevy 350 with two turbochargers strapped to it. Gale Banks, the man who helped give us the Grand National and those wonderful turbocharged Volvos of the nineties, was known for his turbocharger wizardry back in the eighties. With a desire to challenge the contemporary supercars from Europe with domestic machinery, Car and Driver wrote a rather large check to ensure Banks had the funds to build a machine that would push the 200-mph mark.
The 5.7-liter V8 was sourced from a Chevy truck, and with four main bearings, a Holley 800 cfm, four-barrel carburetor, two massive Rajay E-Flow turbos, LT1 heads, TRW pistons, a forged steel crankshaft and a massive exhaust, the V8 chucked out an incredible 611 horsepower at the rear wheels. This level of power was enough to carry the 3.500-pound Trans Am to 204 miles an hour on a strip of public road outside of LA.
Yet the appearance of Banks’ car suggested a near-stock Pontiac, albeit with a few modifications. To improve upon the coefficient of drag, Banks added Pontiac’s aero kit, the flatter hood (from the contemporary base model Trans Am) and the expanded front air dams for a subtle but purposeful appearance. This lowered the Trans Am’s drag coefficient from .32 to .30.
Under the skin, there were a few tweaks to improve airflow, too. Drag was not the only thing plaguing the car’s attempts at 200 miles an hour. Underhood temperatures were fierce at first, and to remedy them, Banks increased underhood air flow and redirected it with special ducting, as well as adding a custom, high-flow water pump.
The flash footwear helped too - the 16” Centerline wheels and Goodyear VR50 tires were the only obvious indication of modification here. Incidentally, the wheels, tires and suspension upgrades made to Banks’ car allowed it to hit 1.0 G on the skidpad. In other words, this monster was far from just a dragster.
Inside, the car was quite simple, but still plush, and quite a comfortable place to be, with Recaro KRX bucket seats, VDO gauges and plenty of power amenities. Yet it didn’t look quite like the cockpit some would assume it’d have. Instead, it looks period-correct with just a few subtle upgrades integrated neatly; namely, the VDO gauges hidden within the factory gauge cluster for some suggestion of performance.
Part of this car’s success came from the way in which it could deploy its power without much fuss, even with the tire restrictions of the times. Through a twin-plate Borg & Beck 5-speed and a Doug Nash gearbox, the V8 sends its power through a specially-balanced driveshaft onto a Ford 9" 2.47:1 rear end custom fitted to the TA chassis. Of course, the shift times and wheelspin limit the slow-speed acceleration; the car hits sixty in 5.9 seconds. However, given a long stretch of blacktop to exploit all 611 horsepower, the aerodynamic Pontiac will hit 204 miles an hour, and look very stylish doing it.
Unfortunately, it went up for auction a few years ago, but hopefuls can rest knowing the car was, as of 2014, still in immaculate shape.