I clearly remember a 15th Anniversary Edition Trans Am being displayed inside Marsh Pontiac’s small showroom on the Lincoln Highway in Ardmore, PA.
Published back in late 2020, the initial version of this post got more than the usual amount of facts wrong. I pulled it and believe I have fixed most of the issues.
“… leaves the also-rans even further behind …”
For 1984, Pontiac announced a special edition Trans Am to commemorate the Firebird sub-model’s 15th year.
The 15th Anniversary Edition was $14,188—$10,689 for a base Trans Am plus $3,499 for the package (about $44,600 in today’s dollars). It featured white paint with blue graphics that hearkened back to the original 1969 Trans Am. Other exterior components included the Aero Package and T-tops—both optional on “normal” Trans Ams. Mechanical features included the L69 H.O. 190 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, a special handling package, four-wheel power disc brakes, and P245/50R16 Goodyear Eagle VR tires (a size still readily available) on 16 x 8 inch white hi-tech turbo aluminum wheels.
As had been true in many previous Trans Am special editions, the 15th Anniversary Edition Trans Am featured Recaro front bucket seats—these had leather bolsters with cloth inserts. Other interior features specific to the special edition included a leather-wrapped formula steering wheel and leather shift knob. Standard equipment on all 1984 Trans Ams included sport mirrors, a rear deck spoiler, concealed tungsten halogen headlamps, rally gauges, a console, and power steering.
Only the top-of-the-line engine for 1984 was available with the 15th Anniversary Edition, but there was a choice of transmissions. A five-speed manual came standard, with an automatic being a $295 option. 0-60 times from various car magazines came in at around seven seconds—two to three seconds better than it had been just three years prior in 1982. Fuel economy ratings were 16 city/27 highway by 1984 standards (13/20 by today’s measures). With a smallish 13.3-gallon gas tank, a Trans Am owner could expect a range of 200 to 255 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Options, Period Reviews, & Production Numbers
Trans Ams (even special editions ones) did not come loaded in 1984—by the time the 20th Anniversary Edition came around in 1989, that would no longer be so. Exterior and mechanical options included Soft-Ray tinted glass ($110), an electric rear window defogger ($140), and a limited slip differential ($95).
Interior options included air conditioning ($730), power windows ($215), a power antenna ($60), and a Delco AM/FM stereo cassette with a five-band graphic equalizer ($590). Upholstery and trim options included six-way power seats ($215 each), a tilt steering wheel ($110), luggage compartment trim ($110), and cloth floor mats ($20 front/$15 rear). It wasn’t uncommon to see a 15th Anniversary Edition Trans Am with over $3,000 in additional options.
Reviews of the 15th Anniversary Edition were positive. Motor Trend stated that the updated Trans Am’s “5-speed’s shift linkage is merely the best we’ve seen from Detroit in years.”
Pontiac built a symbolic 1,500 15th Anniversary Editions—500 with the five-speed manual and 1,000 with the automatic. Those 1,500 were a small part of the 55,374 total Trans Ams made in the 1984 model year, with those sales less than half of 128,304 Firebirds sold (Pontiac sold a lot of base Firebirds). Both the Trans Am numbers and the overall Firebird sales marked an eighties peak for Pontiac, with only 1980 and 1982 coming close.
The View From 2025
15th Anniversary Edition Trans Ams do attract some collector interest. According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, all the money for a 15th Anniversary Edition Trans Am with the five-speed in #1/Concours condition is $38,000, with a far more normal #3/Good condition version with an automatic going for $12,900. These Trans Ams are often available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring A Trailer, and they sometimes show up at auction.
Make mine White, please—it’s not like I have a choice.
I evidently can’t help myself with eighties Trans Ams; I’ve also written about the 1981, the 1982, the 1985, and the 1989 Turbo. I have written about the 1986 SE, but I probably should write about the Formula at some point—perhaps even the base car.
Last updated March 2025.
Eighties Cars 
You forgot The UQ7 Sub package. Also not all 15ths were WS6 cars. They all however get all the WS6 goodies. Its weird I know but look into it on TGO. I can also verify this as my own 15th (Auto car), I have the build sheet. Lastly, the 84 15th was the first 80s TA to get the N96 16in wheels, later the 85-86 WS6 wheel, then Formula wheel before they changed the design.
Somewhat hard to fathom a special edition TA would come in at about average vehicle cost in today’s dollars (showing how vehicle cost has exploded in recent years).
It’d be interesting to see if anyone did an anniversary comparison test that year… 15th anniversary TA versus the 20th anniversary Mustang GT350… who wore anniversary white better lol
Thank you for your comment. I think the Trans Am won the 1984 contest, though the Mustang definitely wins the longevity context.