This 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Super Duty 455 (Lot #1275) was one of four on this year’s Scottsdale docket.

The Clean Air Act and resulting emissions requirements in the early 1970s effectively put an end to the muscle-car era in America. Automakers moved away from the powerful engines of the past and focused their efforts on more fuel-efficient models – with the exception of Pontiac, that is.

The hand-assembled Super Duty 455 engine was originally destined for GTOs and Firebirds. This example is from Lot #1060, a 1974 Trans Am Super Duty that was on the 2016 Scottsdale docket.

Pontiac was known as the “Excitement Division” of General Motors, and they weren’t about to give up easily – especially in 1973, when they had the new hand-assembled Super Duty 455 engine at their disposal. Harkening back to Pontiac’s racing engines, the Super Duty was originally destined for GTOs and Firebirds, but a few SD 455 engines made it into Firebird Trans Ams in 1973 and 1974. The result was impressive: Car and Driver magazine tested one and proclaimed it the “last of the fast cars.”

With all federal emissions and safety regulations coming into full effect, the Trans Am Super Duty was discontinued after the 1974 model. However, according to Jim Mattison – president of Pontiac Historic Services (PHS) and a member of the Barrett-Jackson team of automotive experts – the model helped anchor the Pontiac brand and carried it forward in the remaining years.

This 1973 Super Duty (Lot #1275) is one of only 252 produced and is in the highly desirable Brewster Green color.

There were no less than four Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Super Duty 455s on the docket for the 45th Anniversary Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale – one from 1973 and three from 1974. “I consider them to be highly collectible cars,” said Mattison. The 1973 model that was offered (Lot #1275) is the rarest of the quartet, being one of only 252 produced that year. Fully documented by PHS, it is finished in its original one-year-only and highly desirable color of Brewster Green, was ordered new without the “Screaming Chicken” hood decal, and features factory air conditioning with an automatic transmission.

This 1974 Super Duty (Lot #1060) has been meticulously restored.

In 1974, only 943 of the 455 Super Duty Trans Ams were produced, with 731 featuring automatic transmissions and factory air. The three 1974 examples that were on the Barrett-Jackson docket were among those 731. They included Lot #1060, which has been meticulously restored to factory specifications and is a matching-numbers car utilizing many NOS parts. It is finished in the correct coat of Cameo White, is decorated with correct Trans Am call-outs and is crowned with the famous hood decal.

The famous “Screaming Chicken” decal is just one of the features of Lot #1144, another 1974 Super Duty that was on the 2016 Scottsdale docket.

Another 1974 model that rolled across the block was Lot #1144, which also boasts the famous bird on its hood. At the time of auction, there were just over 58,000 miles on the clock of this matching-numbers car, which still has its original interior and original sheet metal. It is PHS-documented, and even has the Window Sticker and original Pontiac Division Build Sheet.

PHS documentation and the Window Sticker accompanied this 1974 model (Lot #1131) .

The fourth Super Duty featured on the Barrett-Jackson block was Lot #1131, resplendent in dark blue with a white interior. There’s no bird decal on the hood of this beauty, but it did come with PHS documentation and its Window Sticker.

These surviving Super Duty Trans Ams represent Pontiac’s passion to keep the muscle-car era alive. The lucky bidders who went home with one of these now own important pieces of automotive history.

For the sale prices of each of these vehicles, click on the individual links in the article above.