Pontiac sadly went out of business in 2010, but the company holds a special place in the hearts of muscle car fans. Pontiac started the whole muscle car craze in the first place with the GTO, and during the Golden Era of the muscle car, the company was shifting hundreds of thousands of popular models, such as the Firebird, with customers flocking to showrooms. But not every option was ticked by the masses, with some specs remaining incredibly rare. Often these cars command huge prices in recent times too, once forgotten but now highly sought-after. We decided to look at the 10 muscle car options that (almost) no one ticked when new.HotCars used respected sources such as Hagerty.com and Hemmings.com for production figures for specific trims, packages, and options discussed in this article. The entries are ranked from least rare to rarest in this list. 1997 Firebird Firehawk Units produced: 29 Bring A Trailer The 1997 Firebird Firehawk is an incredibly rare and interesting option for the venerable Pontiac muscle car. The '90s might not seem that noteworthy for American muscle, but the Firehawk kept the flame alight for the genre. The fourth-gen Firebird was offered as a Firehawk, the result of a collab between GM and SLP (Street Legal Performance), arriving with a range of goodies such as an LT1 mill, a lightweight composite hood with functional ram air scoops, and Corvette cold air induction. The '97 Firehawk Had A Unique Engine Bring A TrailerHowever, in 1997, the Firehawk was offered with the LT4 V8 from the Corvette Grand Sport, with 330 horsepower. This would be the only year for this package, and just 29 buyers ticked that box in the Pontiac dealership, according to Hagerty, with the Firehawk disappearing in 1998, before returning with an LS1 for 1999. 1992 Pontiac Formula Firehawk Units produced: 25 Mecum The 1992 Formula Firehawk was an ambitious model for Pontiac. For starters, it was developed with Street Legal Performance Inc, a company that was just a few years old at the time, but would be offered in Pontiac dealerships with a warranty as a cheaper version of the techy Corvette ZR-1 that had been co-developed with Lotus. The Firehawk Option Took The Firebird Into ZR-1 Territory Mecum Using the "Regular Production Option B4U," customers could buy one for $39,999 (or $51,989 for the R Package that featured 4-piston Brembo brake calipers), which was around $30K cheaper than the 'Vette. The Firehawk came fitted with a 5.7-liter Chevy V8 with upgraded connecting rods, forged-steel crankshaft, and lightweight cast pistons, along with a free-flowing intake system. Power is channeled through a Corvette 6-speed transmission, and the Firehawk will race to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. So, did would-be ZR-1 owners flock to the Firehawk? Not exactly. Press reviews at launch said that 250 were to be built, but in the end, just 25 (or maybe 26) were sold, according to Hemmings. 1973 Pontiac Firebird Formula SD-455 Units produced: 43 Mecum There were rumors in the early '70s that the Firebird would be canned, with some areas of management thinking that the focus should be moved away from the fading performance car genre. Thankfully, the legendary sports car survived, and even in 1973, when a lot of cars were having their power cut drastically, the Firebird offered something exciting to enthusiasts. The SD-455 Had Decent Power For 1973 MecumThe Firebird could be fitted with an almost competition-spec 455-ci V8 named the Super Duty as a 310-horsepower option on both Trans Ams and Firebird Formulas. Not many people ticked the Firebird Formula SD-455, with just 43 made in 1973, according to Hemmings. 1971 Pontiac GT-37 (L75) Units produced: 15 If a burly muscle car can ever be called a sleeper, then it's probably the Pontiac GT-37. This was the muscle car for those who didn't want to be drag raced by every teenager at the stop lights, with a far more subtle appearance than many performance cars (Pontiac GTO Judge, we're looking at you). The GT-37 Was A Muscle Car Sleeper The GT-37 was a basic T-37, with added Rally II wheels and hood pins, starting with a 350-cu-in 2bbl engine coupled to a standard floor-shifted three-speed transmission. For 1971, the GT-37 was offered with the explosive 455 HO (high output), but in a fairly lightweight package, with a four-barrel carburetor and number 66 heads. Output was rated at 325 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque. While 5,015 people ticked the 350 L30, says Hemmings, just 15 GT-37s rolled out of the factory with the L75 option. 1963 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty "Swiss Cheese" Units produced: 14 Mecum The Swiss Cheese option for the Pontiac Catalina sounded like a regional special down at the local burger restaurant, and it was certainly just as tasty. The name refers to a drastic measure of weight saving for the Catalina, with approximately 120 holes drilled throughout the frame, with the lower part of the bottom frame rail removed, resulting in metalwork that looked like the well-known holey dairy product. The finished car weighed around 3,300 lbs. The Catalina Had Some Drastic Weight-Saving Measures Mecum To shave off a few more pounds, the drag special Catalinas were fitted with an aluminum hood with fiberglass bracing, aluminum front fenders and bumpers, along with the brackets and radiator support. The mill under the hood is the Super Duty 421 V8, rated at 405 horsepower and 425 lb-ft. 1963 Super Duty Tempest Units Produced: 12 Mecum Auctions Pontiac Motor Division was gunning for the NHRA's Factory Experimental class with its 14 lightweight Super Duty Tempests (two prototypes plus 12 production cars). The cars were designed specifically for drag racing, with high compression, dual quad-equipped 421 CI Super Duty engines mated to bespoke rear-mounted 4-speed auto gearboxes. The Tempest Super Duty Packed More Than 400 Horsepower Mecum Output was rated at 405 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque, although rumor had it that these cars were significantly more potent. To save weight, the Super Duty featured aluminum front sheet metal and brake drums, and lightweight windshield glass, with the bumpers even acid dipped to save weight. Interestingly, of the tiny number produced, Pontiac also built six station wagons too. 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP SLP Firehawk Units produced: 9 Bring A Trailer The end of the 2010s were bitter-sweet times for Pontiac fans. While the company was on its last legs, the products it was bringing to the market were some of the best, with a thoroughly contemporary take on the classic muscle car genre. The G8 had arrived in 2008, and if it looked familiar, you'd probably been on holiday in Australia in the last year or two. The G8 was largely borrowed from Holden, GM’s Australian arm, but that was no bad thing. The GXP models were proper V8-powered muscle sedans, coming with a 415-horsepower LS3 engine and the option of a six-speed Tremec manual gearbox, making it a serious sleeper car. For Almost $20K, Customers Could Go Full Firehawk Bringatrailer But anyone who thought 415 horses was a bit tame, for $18,995, the customer could get a Firehawk version courtesy of SLP, with a Magnuson supercharger bolted on. Output increased to 500 horsepower and 489 lb-ft of torque, but in the end, just nine people opted for the package, says Hagerty, with 20 going for GT Firehawks. Pontiac went out of business in 2010. 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible Auto Units Produced: 7 via Mecum The Pontiac GTO Judge, a package named after a skit on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, may have been about fun paint jobs and graphics, but it was deadly serious when it came to performance. The 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV came equipped with the L76 400 Ram Air IV V8, pushing out 370 horsepower and 445 lb-ft of torque. The Auto Convertible Sold In Tiny Numbers via Mecum But while the wild Judge is one of the most sought-after muscle cars on the auction circuit in 2025, one version at least wasn't exactly a big seller when new. Just 17 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertibles left the factory, with just seven of those optioned with the 400 Turbo Hydra-Matic 3-speed automatic transmission (the other ten naturally had a manual). According to Mecum Auctions, just 12 of those 17 are still thought to be left in existence. No wonder, when an Orbit Orange version of this drop-top Goat went on sale in 2023, it fetched a cool $1,100,000. 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible Units Produced: 5 RM Auctions While the Ferrari GTO is the world's most valuable car – with one selling for $70 million at auction – the Pontiac that borrowed its name doesn't quite reach those dizzying heights. But one GTO certainly commands Ferrari money, and is significantly rarer than the Ferrari GTO (the Italian firm built 36 250 GTOs). There Are Just A Handful Of Judge Ram Air IV Convertibles RM Sotheby'sThe standard 1969 GTO Judge came fitted with a 366-horsepower 400-ci Ram Air III engine, but for an extra $332, customers could choose the Ram Air IV option. This is thought to have been very conservatively rated at 370 horsepower, but thanks to an aluminum intake, new heads, and a hotter cam, it likely produced a lot more. Of more than 72,000 GTOs built for 1969, just five units were bought as Judge Ram Air IV convertibles, and all are four-speed manuals. 1969 Pontiac Trans Am Convertible 4-Speed Units produced: 4 Mecum The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am arrived in 1969 without much fanfare and with hardly any takers. Strange to think that the Trans Am would become a cultural icon, starring in Smokey and the Bandit, and would be sold until 2002, when most muscle cars had been relegated to the great scrapyard in the sky. The Drop-Top Trans Am Is One Of The Rarest Muscle Cars Of All Time Mecum The Trans Am came with a 400-cid V8 as standard and the choice of either an auto or 4-speed manual, and was available in coupe or convertible body styles. Just eight were built for 1969 as a drop-top, before the convertible body style was eliminated from the 1970 F-body platform. Of those, just four were optioned with a 4-speed manual transmission, making them ridiculously rare. But, if you really want to get down to the rarity value, the car pictured was sold by Mecum Auctions and is the only one in existence fitted with the code-217 Parchment Custom interior.Sources: Hagerty.com; Hemmings.com