Once upon a time, the Trans-Am series was one of America’s hottest motorsports, pitting factory production cars in a series of brutal, fast-paced races across the country. Auto manufacturers and privateers battled month after month for Trans Am superiority. After their racing careers were done though, many of these old race cars just up and disappeared.
So the fact that this 1968 Pontiac Firebird with a long, successful, and well documented history has survived is a small miracle. Hemmings Auto Blog reports that this small sliver of racing history is now up for sale, offering a rare chance to own a bona fide Trans-Am race car.
According to the seller, this is the original TG Racing Pontiac Firebird race car in the Trans-Am series, though it began life as a Camaro prepped by Jon Ward for Trans Am racing. Jerry Titus, who jumped ship from Ford to Pontiac in 1969, purchased the car and raced it at both Kent and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Titus and co-driver Ward converted the Camaro into a Firebird and managed to win their class, while coming in third overall at Daytona. After that race Ward took the Pontiac campaigning in the Mexico Trans-Am series. Jerry Titus’s son Rick eventually tracked down and re-purchased the Firebird. He then had it completely restored and repainted the same livery that it wore in the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona. It’s definitely a famous car with an incredible story, and an incredible price tag. The asking price is $329,000, a huge sum to be sure. But cars like this don’t come up for sale everyday.