You remember. It was back when Burt had hair. It was disco biscuits. It was gold chains. It was when the musclecar looked like a hangover and ran like a flabby balloon. It was way form over function by then, but that didn't seem to matter to thousands of hip young buyers who signed their lives away for a car that rascally he-man Burt, via Smokey and the Bandit, had ostensibly revived from the nearly-dead.
Thirty years down the road, Burt's got hair again and is still going strong and making movies. Year One has collaborated with the image of his virile self to resurrect the aura and produce the Burt Reynolds Edition (BRE) Trans Am. The idea was a car that maintained the visual appeal of the original '77 SE Trans Am as used in Smokey. The other half of the equation was to elevate the entire package in terms of performance, driving, and all the right stuff inside. The mission would also offer the opportunity to correct all the bad things about the original TA.
"While it was important to maintain the heritage of the original so that anyone who saw it would immediately recognize the car as a 'Bandit,' we also wanted the entire package to be modern," Year One's Keith Maney says. "This is why we've updated the lighting, flush-mounted the glass, and updated the graphics package. The performance side of the equation was simple-we wanted to build the ultimate second-generation F-body using the best stuff currently available."
At the time of this writing, all we have is subjective input, nothing documented. The car had yet to be tested or instrumented on an open track, but by all inputs to the seat of our pants, Year One accomplished its mission in spades. Naturally, the fun-ticket tariff is high. Very high. So high you've really got to want one bad. As it sits, this representative of the Ban-III level BRE TA was a breezy $175,000 (consider that the entry-level Bandit is $130K). Pretty exclusive territory no matter how fast you're running. What other four-wheel icons could you covet for that kind of cash? All right, it's not really about value, it's about exclusivity. Maybe money can buy love after all.
Whether motivation comes from...
Whether motivation comes from a leading-edge dry-sump LS7 427 producing 515 or 605 hp, or a monster 650hp 540 Pontiac with a Canton road race oil pan and Accusump system, there will be no quibbling about how much jump the Ban III has. Shaker hood funnels genuine ambient intake air.
"Visually, we think we've succeeded, although style is very subjective," Keith says. "Performance-wise, the car is amazing. Great power, tremendous grip, decent ride, and a comfortable interior."
Let's start at the beginning and see where all that money goes. Because maintaining the Trans Am heritage is absolutely vital, all cars begin as an original so that the VIN and title are for a TA, not a glorified Firebird. There are three levels of excitement in which to wallow. The second and third stages are delineated by Ban II and Ban III; the first stage is Prototype 1. It retains the factory leaf-spring suspension. It will be special order only. Ban II is a max-use mainstream ride and romps on a tube sub-frame, tubular control arms, a four-link rear suspension, and coilover shocks. Engine choices range from a 430hp or 550hp 461ci Pontiac, a 500hp LS2, or a 600hp version cozying up to a Rootes-type supercharger. Tranny options include the Tremec TKO or an automatic overdrive. Rolling stock is comprised of 18x10 and 18x12 wheels and 13-inch rotors all around.
Ban III cars are standard with a 515hp LS7, a 605hp dry-sump version of same, or a 540ci Pontiac pushing 605 hp (an aluminum cylinder block and fuel injection are optional). Both versions get big disc brakes, honkin' fat BFG or Michelin rubber on special Year One billet hoops, and various chassis and body enhancing bits.
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