Throughout the 1970s, it was easy to see that there was a civil war going on within the confines of Pontiac. On one hand you had people who advocated for cars like the Bonneville, the Catalina, and the LeMans. These were upscale cars that didn’t dare tread on Cadillac’s territory, but didn’t slum with Chevrolets, either. Then you had the other side, the one that had been going strong since the early 1960s, the one that believed in horsepower and hell-raising. Throughout the first decade of malaise, Pontiac was the torch-bearer for power. They got hit in the horsepower realm just like everybody else, sure, but they were doing everything possible to keep some sort of excitement underneath the hood, even when it seemed like those in charge were hell-bent on leaving performance behind permanently.
Behold, the turbocharged 301-powered Firebird. When the 400ci Pontiac and 403 Oldsmobile engines were dropped for 1980, the turbo 301 stepped in to be the hot option. With a Garrett blow-through unit working a Rochester carb, though, it wasn’t quite what the advertisers would make it out to be. Low-octane fuels and a general lack of knowledge about turbocharging systems plagued these cars and others, like the turbo-four Mustangs of the same time period. But damn, did Pontiac know how to make it look good. 
This car has been fully restored, and the turbo is good for 14 PSI of boost according to the seller. Our thoughts: with some modern turbo tech upgrades and tweaks, there’s hope yet for a surprisingly beautiful final-form second-gen Firebird. Then again, why do anything to it if it runs as sweet as it looks?
Nice interior and the rear end looks nice, but my gawd those wheels are downright fugly. Guess you had to be a kid from this era to appreciate this slow, unreliable turd.