Pontiac Firebird History
Pontiac's iconic pony car (1967–2002) — home of the Trans Am, including the black-and-gold 'Bandit' car.
Photo: “1969 Pontiac Firebird” by Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0. Cropped to 16:9.
The complete year archive
Every model year
Browse the Pontiac Firebird year by year, or narrow the archive by generation, body style, engine, and highlights.
- Model years
- 36
- Generations
- 4
- Archive span
- 1967–2002
Photo: “1969 Pontiac Firebird” by Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Photo: “1979–1981 Pontiac Firebird” by Alexander Migl / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Photo: “1993–1997 Pontiac Firebird” by Captainpisslord / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain. Cropped to 16:9.
History
Launched in February 1967 on GM's new F-body platform, the Firebird was Pontiac's pony car — a more upscale, more powerful sibling to the Chevrolet Camaro, offered as a coupe and convertible.
Across four generations the Firebird became a performance and pop-culture icon, above all through its Trans Am package: the black-and-gold 1977 Special Edition starred in Smokey and the Bandit and turned the car into a phenomenon.
The final fourth-generation cars used the LT1 and then LS1 V8s, with the WS6 Ram Air package on top, before production ended on August 30, 2002 alongside its Chevrolet Camaro F-body sibling.
Generations
First generation · Coke-bottle pony car
Pontiac's F-body pony car, launched mid-1967 as a more upscale sibling to the Chevrolet Camaro, in coupe and convertible forms. The Trans Am performance package arrived for 1969.
Second generation · Long-running '70½–'81 F-body
The long, swoopy second-generation F-body — the iconic Firebird era. Home of the screaming-chicken hood decal and the black-and-gold 1977 'Bandit' Trans Am that made the car a pop-culture icon.
Third generation · Aero F-body
A lighter, sharply aerodynamic redesign with pop-up headlights and a large hatchback glass; fuel injection arrived during the run and the convertible returned for 1989.
Fourth generation · LT1/LS1 F-body
The final Firebird — rounded composite-panel styling, the LT1 (1993–1997) then LS1 (1998–2002) V8 in the Trans Am and Formula, and the WS6 Ram Air package. Production ended August 30, 2002.
Famous Firebird variants
The nameplates that define the Firebird — each with its own cross-year history, engines, production, and collectibility.
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Browse by body style
Related models
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Find a scale model of the Pontiac Firebird
Search Amazon across available years, colors, and scales. Exact releases vary, so confirm the listing before ordering.