1992 Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am: The Third Generation's Last, Smallest GTA

The third generation ended with the 1992 model year, this record's own overview states directly. The GTA's final run was 508 cars worldwide by the option printout, 234 of them exports, an 83.5% drop from 1991 the source itself calculates. MuscleCarClub's separate model table gives 25,219 Firebirds in all, a total this record's own production notes flag as carrying no GTA row of its own, split 21,423 base coupes, 1,265 base convertibles, 1,052 Formulas, 816 Trans Am coupes and 663 Trans Am convertibles.^1,2

Within the GTA's own worldwide scope, 385 carried the 5.7 L98 against 98 with the LB9 5.0 and 25 with the L03 5.0 TBI, and just 35 of the 508 were five-speed manual. This record's own key facts single out the rarest colors of that final run: only 22 GTAs were painted Yellow (52U) and 23 Bright Blue Metallic (80U), the two smallest of eight colors this record's own paint table carries for the year, out of the 508-car total.¹

This record's own unpublished leads section holds one figure explicitly not used: a Wikipedia claim that 1992 GTA production was 226 US and 48 Canadian cars, a combined 274-car total, held out because it is uncited and conflicts directly with the 508 worldwide, 234-export figure this record's own option-printout transcription carries as its production row for the same, final GTA model year.¹

A single Selling Facts booklet, issued August 16, 1991, priced the entire 1992 model year: $12,995 for the base Firebird, $16,695 for the Formula, $18,595 for the Trans Am, $19,865 for the Firebird Convertible, $24,365 for the Trans Am Convertible and $26,370 for the GTA, all manufacturer suggested retail including a $490 destination charge. This record's own price note on the GTA row states that this final-year price held despite a steep climb since 1987, and that sales were undoubtedly affected. Three engines are documented: the L98 5.7 TPI at 240 hp and 300 lb-ft, the LB9 5.0 TPI at 230 hp and 300 lb-ft, and the L03 5.0 TBI at 170 hp and 255 lb-ft, all three rated to the same net standard as compiled by MuscleCarClub.²

Paint on the GTA's last 508 cars ran from 22 Yellow and 23 Bright Blue Metallic through 49 Dark Jade Gray Metallic, 50 Arctic White, 59 Bright Red, 62 Brilliant Red Metallic and 97 Dark Green Metallic up to 146 in Black, the most common shade. This record's own interior table carries six trims from 42 Medium Gray leather and 59 Medium Gray cloth up through 80 Beige cloth, 102 Camel/beige leather, 111 Black cloth and 114 Black leather, the most common of the six.¹

What the record documents in full is the third generation's closing year on two different scales at once: a 25,219-car Firebird line across five body-and-model rows, and a 508-car GTA finale so small that this record can name its rarest paint codes by exact count, three engines, and a single price list that, per this record's own note, held through the whole model year even as the platform it capped was ending.¹