Was the best selling Trans Am of all time the last true muscle car?

Horsepower may have dropped from a decade earlier, but the 1979 Pontiac Trans Am still set an all time sales record. It was also the last Firebird to get the 400 cubic inch engine. But is that enough to agree with Hot Rod Magazine that called this car the last muscle car? This video looks at that claim and also asks the question why would Pontiac name a car after a racing series it hadn't won?

Published

February 20, 2026

Written by

Rick DeBruhl