Well, to start at the very beginning, let's go back to 1985. This was the year that GM first introduced the 5.7L Tuned Port Injected 350 for use in the Corvette. This, the top of the line as far as GM high performance engines were concerned, would later prove to be the fire that lit the fuse behind the GTA. In the search for a faster Firebird, Pontiac engineers put their sights on the new 5.7L TPI engine rather than trying to further modify the current 5.0L LB9 Trans Am engine. For 1987, the Firebirds with the new 5.7L TPI engine would be known as GTA's, an upgrade option on the Trans Am's coded RPO B2L costing an additional $2,700. In late 1987 and 1988, Pontiac began marketing the GTA as it's own Firebird model rather than just an option on the Trans Am under the RPO code Y84, the old RPO code for the Recaro Trans Am's which were killed in 1986.

            The idea behind the GTA being it's own model of Firebird rather than just an option on the Trans Am, was that it would be the most luxurious model of Firebird ever. The GTA would have every option offered on the other Firebirds as standard equipment along with some additional GTA specific items such as special seats, a Notchback hatch in 1988, and steering wheel radio controls in late 1987 and 1988.

            Over the 6 years that the GTA was available, it would have some very exclusive distinguishing characteristics such as the, a convertible option, digital dash instrumentation, fully leather equipped interior, the base for which the Turbo 20th Anniversary Edition Trans Am were built upon, and even a station wagon concept vehicle which never made it into production.

            Unfortunately, 1992 saw the demise of the GTA with the introduction of the 4th generation F-Body's as the 1992 GTA's would be built only on a specialty order basis.

            The GTA had many other distinguishing characteristics such as the word "PONTIAC" on the drivers side headlight being gold, the metal grill in the front of the hood having a gold patina to it, and of course the GTA only Ultimate seats. GTA's also have their own Pontiac specific badging consisting of a nose emblem and fender emblems saying GTA TRANS AM and emblems of the Firebird logo on the sail panels.