As the 1970s drew to a close, Pontiac had firmly established itself as the premier performance division of the era and even though Pontiac made it look easy, these were actually troubling times for the auto industry and the U.S. as a whole. Engineering a performance car in those years was generally a “style over substance” situation, where bright stripes and decals were placed on a vehicle with little to no additional hardware. Pontiac had the vision to realize that the performance era, like the decade itself, was coming to a close and one last push was needed to supply the needed hardware to their beloved Trans Am. Knowing that production of 400 Pontiac engines was scheduled to cease after 1978, PMD stockpiled a small supply of engines for limited 1979 production. The PWH-coded engine was distinguished by the “T/A 6.6” decals on the 'shaker'  bonnet (automatics received a “6.6-Litre” decal) and based on the earlier and stronger 481988 block casting, it featured a special camshaft and slightly higher 8.1:1 compression for a rating of 220 bhp at 4,000rpm with 320lb.ft of torque at 2,800rpm. It also used a Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburettor and dual-outlet exhaust with decorative splitters. The fifth character in the VIN received the engine designation “Z.”

This particular Firebird was supplied new to Rosenthal – Hayman Pontiac Inc. 1625-31 Prince Street Alexandria VA 22313 in 1977, landing on UK shores during 2014 and has clearly been well and truly cosseted not only whilst here but in the States also. Finished in Brentwood Bronze Metallic, with a complementing Buckskin interior, this mighty Firebird is fitted with the 400Ci 6.6-litre V8 coupled to a 4-speed automatic gearbox and is supplied with a plethora of paperwork including the order and build sheet, factory/dealer invoice, Pontiac maintenance schedule and an owners' operating manual. The car was optioned heavily from new at a cost of $5,713 with at least 31 lines ticked including things like C49 rear window demister, N33 tilting steering wheel, A01 soft-ray glass, N98 Rally wheels and Y90 custom trim.

In more recent times this classic coupe has had a complete stainless custom exhaust system fitted at a cost of £1,000, the rear axle was rebuilt and up-rated (£2,000) and the suspension re-bushed at over £1,000. Out on the open road this mighty beast is said to perform extremely well with plenty of power when required with nice short gearchanges and a sublime V8 'soundtrack' emanating from the custom exhaust system. Guided sensibly, this huge slice of Americana is sure to find a welcoming new home.