“The thrill of pure, uncluttered driving excitement is back.”
For 1987, the Formula returned to Pontiac’s offerings after a six-year pause. The general messaging of the Formula was all the performance of the Trans Am, but with few of the Trans Am’s exterior add-ons and little of the interior comfort of the Trans Am GTA. At $12,413—about $36,600 in today’s dollars—the Formula was 14% less expensive than a Trans Am.
The Formula’s standard powertrain was the LG4 170 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor paired with a five-speed manual. The LB9 185 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with tuned port injection ($745) and the big dog B2L 210 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with tuned port injection ($1,045) were available options. The 5.7-liter engine required the four-speed automatic ($490).
Performance had improved steadily since 1982, yielding a zero to sixty times of about seven seconds. Mileage with arguably the sportiest combination (5.0 liter tuned port injection and five-speed) was 16 city/26 highway by the day’s standards (15/24 by 2025 measures), with the 5.7 liter/automatic transmission combination only slightly worse. With a smallish (approximately 16.0-gallon) fuel tank, a Formula owner with the base powertrain could expect a range of between 280 and 300 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Standard exterior and mechanical equipment on the 1987 Firebird Formula included a front air dam, a dome hood, a body color aero deck rear spoiler, a special performance suspension, power brakes, and P245/50VR16 Goodyear Eagle tires on Hi-Tech 16″ x 8″ aluminum wheels. Inside, reclining cloth front bucket seats, cloth rear folding seats, a Formula three-spoke steering wheel, a full-length console with instrument panel, complete analog instrumentation, side window defoggers, and a Delco AM radio were included.
Packages, Individual Options, & Production Numbers
By 1987, General Motors was finally figuring out the build complexity costs of tens or hundreds of individual options. Thus, packages came into play.
- The Formula Package I ($1,273) included body side moldings, air conditioning with Soft Ray tinted glass, a tilt steering wheel, and a Delco ETR AM/FM stereo with seek, scan, and clock.
- The Formula Package II ($1,842) included everything in Formula Package I plus cruise control, controlled-cycle windshield wipers, power windows, power door locks, and a deck lid release.
Individual options not included in either of the packages included a removable glass hatch roof ($920), a limited slip differential ($100), an electric rear window defogger ($145), and a series of radios ranging up to the “Touch Control” ETR AM stereo/FM stereo with seek-scan, search-replay/auto reverse cassette, graphic equalizer, and clock ($529).
Pontiac sold 13,164 Formulas in the 1987 model year, accounting for about 16% of overall Firebird sales (the base Firebird coupe was the best seller with approximately 47% of sales). Third-generation Formula sales would peak at 16,670 in 1989, and would never approach that total again.
The View From 2025
I believe the Formula‘s somewhat restrained looks (compared to the Trans Am) have aged well, and their comparative rarity makes them special.
According to Hagerty‘s valuation tools, a 1987 Firebird Formula with the base 5.0 liter V8 and the manual in #1/Concours condition is $25,600, with a far more normal #3/Good condition version going for $9,800. Late-1980s Formulas are sometimes available in the Hemmings Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer.
Make mine Flame Red Metallic, please.
Other eighties Firebirds I have written about include the 1981 Trans Am coupe, the 1982 Trans Am hatchback coupe, the 1985 Trans Am hatchback coupe, the 1986 SE hatchback coupe, and the 1989 Turbo Trans Am hatchback coupe. Someday, I’ll get to a base Firebird—I guess the question is what year.
Last updated November 2025.
Eighties Cars 