• The 1977 Trans Am was made famous by the movie "Smokey and the Bandit" in which Burt Reynolds drove a black-and-gold Special Edition Trans Am to evade the cops). Although the movie made the Special Edition famous, there was also a regular 1977 Trans Am option.
  
  

Standard Trans Am

• With all the hype about the Special Edition Trans Am, people may forget about the regular Trans Am that was available in 1977. This stock Trans Am was part of the second generation that was produced from 1970 to 1981. Weighing in at 3,530 lb, the 1977 Trans Am came with a 400 cubic inch 6.6-liter, V-8 engine. It was a carbureted engine with an 8.0 to one compression ratio. The engine pushed 200 horsepower at 3,600 rpm and 325 ft-lb of torque at 2,400 rpm. The car was controlled by a four-speed manual transmission or an automatic transmission. The 1977 Trans Am could complete the quarter mile in 12.05 seconds.
  
  

Special Edition Trans Am

• The 1977 Trans Am SE or special edition was the same base car as the stock Trans Am. However, the SE came with a few different styling changes. Removable roof panels that were glass, known as t-tops, came on some of the SEs as well as aluminum wheels that were gold-colored. The SE also had golden stripes, emblems, and the famous golden phoenix on the hood. Golden inlays for the headlight spaces were also included on this car. The build number for the SE was Y82 and must be present on the build sheet in order for it to be a real Special Edition. Many copy-cat cars have been made and sold as Trans Am Special Editions that really were just the standard Trans Am.
  
  

Combinations

• A total of 68,745 Trans Am and Trans Am SEs were made in 1977. There were many different combinations that these cars came in. All cars with the L78 engine were paired with an automatic transmission. These cars included the standard Trans Am, the SE and the SE with t-tops. Cars with the L80 engine were also only paired with automatic transmissions. The L80 cars are the most rare because fewer of them were made in for all three options: the standard, SE and SE with t-tops. The 1977 Trans Am could also have the W72 engine. These cars came in all three options as well but some were paired with a manual transmission instead of the automatic. All three engines were 400 cubic inch V-8s.