The 1979 Pontiac Trans Am had quad rectangular headlamps in the front that were separated by recessed housings. There was no grille; rather, they had horizontally ribbed lower grilles that went into twin slots below the bumper area. On the outer end were clear park/signal lamps.
The only body style option was a hardtop coupe, though several models were available including the base, Esprit, Formula, Trans Am, and Trans Am Limited Edition. Pricing began at $4,830 and rose to over $10,500 for the Limited Edition models. The base engine was Buick's 231 cubic-inch (3.8 liter) V-6 mated to a three-speed manual shift gearbox. They had power steering and FR78 x 15 steel-belted radials.
Esprit models had wheel covers, sport mirrors and additional body moldings. In total, 30,853 Esprit examples were produced. Formula models sold for just over $6,000 and total production reached 24,851. Powering the Formula models was a 301 cubic-inch V8 mated to an automatic transmission. They had power brakes, black-accented grille, non-functional twin hood scoop, and rode on P225/70R15 blackwall SBR tires. They also had Rally II wheels with trim rings, and a console.
Trans Am models were powered by a 403 cubic-inch V8 with four-barrel carburetion and mated to a four-speed manual transmission. They also had power brakes, air dam, rear spoiler, chrome side-splitter tailpipe extensions, and 'shaker' hood. In total, 117,108 examples were produced.