Project Salt Shaker

Clocking more than 267 mph, Banks Twin-Turbo Trans Am breaks Banks’ own 1981 record for World’s Fastest Passenger Car

1986 Banks Pontiac Trans Am World Record 260.212 mph. Clocking more than 267 mph (one-way), Banks Twin-Turbo Trans Am breaks Banks’ own 1981 record for World’s Fastest Passenger Car

Powered by a Gale Banks 1,400 horsepowered, twin-turbocharged 456 ci big block engine, and using Banks reverse deflector turbo pistons, camshaft and turbo valves, the Trans Am recorded an average speed of 260.212 mph. Still sporting stock power windows, tilt steering and functioning stereo, the Trans Am recorded a one-way blast of more than 267 mph – approaching an incredible 390 feet per second. The Banks Trans Am was the world’s fastest, stock-bodied passenger car on gasoline, eclipsing the 1968 Kehoe-McKinney-Banks Sundowner Corvette record by nearly 20 mph.

The Studebaker era ended for good at Bonneville with the Banks Firebird’s stunning 267 mph clocking. This is the first brutally fast passenger car record at the salt and the third in a row for Banks’ team.

Project Photo Gallery

Firebird 250 Salt Race

Firebird 250 Group

Firebird 1986

Firebird Salt 1986

Firebird exploded

Firebird underhood firsttime

Popular Mechanics Feb1987 cover

Popular Mechanics Feb1987 p78-79

Popular Mechanics Feb1987 p129

Firebird 250

Mas Rapido Project 250

Firebird - Pontiac Tradeshow

Latest News

1987 Banks’ Bonneville Trans Am displayed at GM Assembly Plant

Record-Breaking Pontiac Trans Am GTA Boosts Employee Morale The Banks Trans Am GTA, a Pontiac Trans Am modified for record-breaking speeds, became a symbol of employee pride at GM’s Camaro and Firebird assembly plant in Van Nuys, California. After achieving new land speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Trans Am was brought back to ...

Banks Trans Am Crushes Speed Record at 267 MPH! The Banks Power team joined forces with Pontiac and Popular Mechanics to create a record-breaking Trans Am. This powerhouse featured a monster 1,500 horsepower twin-turbocharged engine built by Gale Banks. After just three years of development, the Banks Trans Am obliterated the 1968 record of 201 mph. ...