For today's drag-race special, we have this closely fought battle between two cars from the early 70s. Both these models were at the top of their game back in the day and you'll see why, in this stock head-to-head, that was staged during the annual PSMCDR at the Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton.

1971 Buick Gran Sport 455 Stage 1

In the green corner, we have this gorgeous Buick Gran Sport from 1971. The early 70s as you may recall was a time when we began to see stricter emissions norms come into force and as a consequence horsepower numbers did take a hit. Even with the optional Stage-1 package, the '71 GS 455 V-8 went from pushing out 360- to 345 ponies and 460 pound-feet of torque. The compression ratio on this thing was 8.5:1. It features a TH400 three-speed auto and 3.73 rear gears. The Buick tips the scales at 3,788 pounds.

1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 455 HO

The '71 Firebird had the biggest engine that Pontiac ever put in the Trans Am. Now the H.O. or High Output V-8 didn't suffer from the reduced compression ratios and power outputs as some of its competitors did at the time. Working within the new norms, the Trans Am still managed to produce 335 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque from the low 8.4:1 compression ratio. The Trans Am also features a three-speed suto with 3.73 rear axle ratios and tips the scales at 3,580 pounds.

The Races

The numbers between these two cars are pretty close, and their 1/4 times are also indicative of the same. Both cars took one round each, so there wasn't really a clear winner here.

Results

Race 1

13.04s @105 mph

13.15s @107 mph

Race 2

13.27s @105 mph

13.07s @107 mph


Final Thoughts

To be honest, with the Trans Am, being the sports coupe that it is, you sort of expect it to have stellar performance and Pontiac engineers sure did put in their best efforts to work their magic and retain the magic during those challenging times. But, the real surprise here has to be the Buick, which was essentially a luxury car with a performance package.