With declining horsepower, 1971 marked the end of the musclecar era. new anti-pollution requirements, high insurance rates, and higher mileage goals did not help matters either. Pontiac did bend to the pressure by dropping the compression ratios, but they showed some guts by shoving their biggest engine ever, the 455, into the Firebird.

On the outside the Firebird's were mostly a carry-over from the previous year. This was mainly due the late release in 1970. With only a minor trim changes, it is hard to distinguish the Firebird from the previous year. Even with only minor changes made visually, the total production was up for the year. One notable change was the addition of, a one year only, "dummy" vent on the front fender on all Firebirds but the Trans Am. The rally II wheel also received a slight change as well. A new option was poycast honeycomb wheels, the first production composite wheel.

Under the skin there were only small changes. New more modern High-back bucket seats. New colors were added as well. A rear console was also offered as an option, which is considered a rare option today.

The biggest news for 1971 was under the hood. For the first time engine horsepower was rated both in net horsepower and brake horsepower. Chevy supplied the in-line six for the base Firebird, which only put out a 155 hp or 110 nhp. The luxury model, the Esprit could be had with the 350 V8, rated at 250 hp, as standard equipment. Also available was the 2bbl 400 V8 that produced an additional 15 hp more than the 350 V8. The Formula could be had with the 350, 400, 455 V8 engines. There were a number of new extras offered for all three Formulas. They included a rear deck lid spoiler and a special version of the optional Y96 Ride & Handling package that included honeycomb wheels.

The Formula could be optioned out with not one but two different 455 engines. The first was the 455 4bbl that produced 325 hp with 455 lbs-ft of torque. And the second was the 455 HO, which was standard in the Trans Am. The 455 HO was rated at 335 hp or 305 nhp and had a staggering 480 lbs-ft of torque.

The Trans Am was the least changed from 1970. And if you include the wheels, the only change was that standard equipment was switched from Rally II wheels without trim rings to the honeycomb wheels. The only other change was the engine dress up kit was now an option and a smaller 17 gallon fuel tank.

Copyright © 2005 Pontiac Power
This Home Page was created Tuesday, April 22, 1997
Most recent revision Wednesday, May 14th, 2003