The Race You Didn’t Know You Needed: 800 Horsepower Trans Am Battles LS V8 BMW M3

Welcome to the main event. In this corner, weighing in at 3,165 pounds, a 1970 Trans Am, this 10,000 RPM revving race car is a mean American machine capable of more than straight-line performance. In the other corner, a 1995 BMW M3 E36, weighing in at 2,700 pounds and boasting a Samsonas sequential transmission, a German race car ready to show off its straight-line dominance.

We’re accustomed to seeing upgraded streetcars that are loud and move well in a straight line, but very few of them deliver the whole package. Now, custom race cars? They provide you with everything necessary to move you from 0-60 in a ridiculously short period of time, but they can also catapult down a track, hit turns at high speeds, and showcase the engineer’s brilliance with ease.

Now, this incredibly engineered wicked hand-build Pontiac Trans Am certainly checks off all of those boxes and more. It found a worthy opponent to drag race against, which is a completely built time attack BMW E36 M3. The video from Hoonigan proves it.

The Trans Am was crafted by master fabricator, Riley Stair. This car produces an incredible 808 horsepower with its 400 ci LSX V8 engine. The engine is is capable of producing 10,000 RPM, which is insane. Did we mention how much we love high-revving V8s? All of that power is mated to a G-Force GF4A transmission. The car is super clean and made its debut at SEMA, but it’s also super fast.

The German competitor is a worthy opponent, producing 600 horsepower from its 7.3L LS V8. Although it lays down 200 less horsepower than the Trans Am, it weighs 465 pounds less. It may not seem like a lot, but every pound matters when it comes to racing. The car was designed for the track, but it can also hold its own in a straight line.

In the first pull, the Trans Am’s exhaust is so loud that the driver in the BMW admits he made shifting mistakes because he couldn’t hear his car. He had no idea when he needed to shift. It led to some additional and exciting runs, but who won? You’ll have to watch the video to find out. Spoiler alert – it’s close.