The 1970 Trans-Am season turned five American pony cars into homologation specials. A team could not simply build a race car. Instead, the rules asked each maker to build a run of road-going versions first, and that is why these street cars exist.
Their racing records were very different. One make took the title, while others never reached the top step. Yet every one of them carried the series into showrooms that year.
Each entry below covers what the street car was and how its maker did on track. The production numbers come from the sources linked in each item.
1. 1970 Plymouth AAR ‘Cuda
AAR stands for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers team, according to Street Muscle’s profile of the car. Under the hood sat the 340 Six Pack, with an Edelbrock intake and three Holley two-barrel carburetors. Plymouth rated it at 290 horsepower. The car also got side exhaust that exited ahead of the rear wheels, a ducktail spoiler and a matte-black fiberglass hood with a scoop.
The Revs Institute says Chrysler built 2,724 AAR ‘Cudas in a five-week stretch in March and April 1970. By contrast, the race car used a de-stroked 303.8-cubic-inch engine making around 450 bhp. Swede Savage drove it in eleven races and took three poles, but his best finish was second.
2. 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A
Dodge built its own version on the Challenger body. Muscle Cars Illustrated counts 2,399 cars, with 1,410 automatics and 989 manuals. The Revs Institute gives the same 2,399 total.
The T/A also used a 340 Six Pack, rated at 290 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 345 lb-ft at 3,400 rpm. It also had side-exit megaphone tips and a matte-black hood scoop. In addition, it ran bigger G60x15 tires at the rear than the E60x15s up front. On track, Sam Posey finished third twice and scored eighteen points for Dodge, according to the Revs Institute.
3. 1970 AMC Javelin Mark Donohue edition
AMC came to the series with heavy hitters for 1970. Roger Penske’s team joined the program and brought Mark Donohue with it, autoevolution reports. AMC won three races, scored six podiums and finished second in the championship behind Ford.
The street car existed to homologate the rear ducktail spoiler that Donohue designed. As a result, AMC built 2,501 of them. The rules called for 2,500, so AMC built one more than it needed, Muscle Car Fan explains. Separately, autoevolution says AMC also built just 100 Trans-Am Javelins with a standard 390 V8.
4. 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302, the 1970 Trans-Am title car
Ford built the Boss 302 to take on the Camaro Z/28 in the series. Its 302-cubic-inch V8 carried a 290-horsepower rating, according to an RM Sotheby’s lot description. The same listing says the SCCA required at least 6,500 cars, and Ford built 7,014 for 1970. Car and Driver timed one through the quarter-mile in 14.9 seconds at 93.4 mph, RM adds.
On track, Bud Moore Engineering was Ford’s only factory team, with three yellow Boss 302s. Parnelli Jones won five races and the drivers’ title, Hagerty notes. Then George Follmer added a sixth win, and Ford took its third manufacturers’ title in the over-2.0-liter class.
5. 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Chevrolet conceived the Z/28 as a Trans Am racer for the road, according to Hagerty’s valuation team. The new 1970 car was more civilized, yet it got a 360-horsepower version of the Corvette’s solid-lifter LT1. Even so, Chevrolet built fewer than 9,000, compared with more than 20,000 the year before.
Jim Hall’s Chaparral team ran Camaros that year. In fact, Vic Elford won the ninth round at Watkins Glen on August 16, 1970, in Hall’s car, the Trans Am series’ own history records. Today, Hagerty puts an excellent 1970 Z/28 at $53,700 on average. Hagerty also reports an all-original 1970 car that sold for $110,000 at Mecum Indy.
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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.
