1989 Pontiac Trans Am Turbo Pace Car - Indy Meets Daytona

Pontiac's TTA was the brainchild of Bill Owen at PMD, but the contract to outfit the TTA engine was given to PAS Engineering in Van Nuys, California, and the work took place in its 40,000-square-foot City of Industry facility. Once completed, the engines were shipped back to GM, installed in the cars, and then returned to PAS for a brief period of testing and quality-control checks before they were offered to the public for sale. Jeff Beitzel, who was the president of PAS, had his personal 20th Anniversary TTA (one of the 1,555) sent to ASC and made into a convertible. Today it's rumored to be owned by a private collector.

From the outside, the Anniversary car looks much like the '89 GTA. Of course, the TTA was available only in white (paint code 40) and options were limited to T-tops and leather interior. On the front-right and lower-left rocker panels toward the front of the doors are the "Indianapolis Motor Speedway" emblems. The "Turbo" emblems are located on the front fenders and taillight panel, and the "20th Anniversary" emblems are on the nose and sail panels. According to Jim Mattison at PHS, "My records show that 150 cars were sent to the Indianapolis Speedway for the event. However, a higher total count of TTAs may have been in attendance due to the possibility that Pontiac company cars were driven in by the key folks from PMD." Each of the 150 festival cars that ushered VIPs around Indy had their car number (assigned for the festival, not the production number) on the rear bumper cover behind the license plate. These cars were later sold to GM employees and the public.

Unlike the Buick GNX that has a prominent dash plaque proclaiming the build sequence, the TTA's interior accoutrements include only the turbo boost gauge on the dash cluster and "20th Anniversary" insignia on the passenger-side dash map-pocket. Of particular note to the true Pontiaddict are the spark plug wires of the TTA, which are embossed with the 20th Anniversary logo. This is the only Pontiac anniversary model to be outfitted as such.

Carter still maintains the original dealer 20th Anniversary key chain, embossed wner's manual and a letter of congratulations from PMD.

With a paltry 30,000 miles logged over the past decade and a half, Carter's Turbo Trans Am lives a true South Florida retirement lifestyle any northeasterner would envy. "The TTA was originally an investment vehicle that I really started to enjoy driving, and I only paid $12,000 for it," he said. It was a Florida car all of its pampered life as it was purchased in nearby Deltona in 1999. Suffice it to say, the limited production of these cars, their pedigree, and the rarity of documented low-mileage ones (like this one), make them coveted yet affordable collector's items. Carter's Turbo Trans Am has garnered two notable awards at the 1999 and 2001 West Palm Beach Autorama shows. For now, he is content to hold onto his beloved Trans Am.

For a brief moment, Daytona and Indy came together thanks to this pace car and the wrangling it took to get it on the oval. Though it only lasted a short time, it made the hair stand up on the backs of our necks thinking about the history that both places and this Pontiac represent, and we have the photos and this story to remember it.

Special thanks to Jim Mattison of Pontiac Historic Services, HPP contributors Don Keefe and Chris White, and www.89tta.com for insights toward the completion of this feature.

Pace Car Production
According to PHS's own Jim Mattison, in a memo dated June 21, 1999, Carter Chaplin of Boynton Beach, Florida, owns the 484th unit produced. The PHS memo categorized the 20th Anniversary production totals for Carter as well.

Note: Preproduction cars were mostly colors other than white.

Pace Car Performance
The official PMD media release on the '89 Turbo Trans Am lists the following statistics: