The early 1980s was a tough time for fans of American muscle cars. With increasing government regulations and high fuel costs, many manufacturers were focusing on small, efficient cars rather than high performance. However, enthusiasts still had an insatiable need for speed, and this led a small custom coachbuilder known as Knudsen Automotive to develop something truly radical. The 1984 Pontiac Tojan was an 800+ horsepower twin-turbo supercar based on the Pontiac Trans Am which hit a staggering top speed of 206 miles per hour. Not only was it faster than the legendary Ferrari F40, it broke the 200mph barrier several years earlier and for a fraction of the cost.
Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions
The Story of the Pontiac Tojan
At first glance, you might think the Tojan is some sort of one-off kit car, but it was actually officially sanctioned by Pontiac. The brand was trying to catch the world's attention and stay true to its "We Build Excitement" tagline, so leadership wanted something more potent and exotic than a regular Trans Am.
With this in mind, they signed a deal with Knudsen Automotive. Knudsen was a Nebraska-based custom shop known for building 1930s-style retro luxury car conversions for 1980s GM vehicles under its brand Baroque Motorcars. For the Tojan, they recruited designer Harry Bentley Bradley to create an aggressive widebody version of a third-gen Pontiac Trans Am. Bradley had previously worked as an automotive designer for GM and Hot Wheels.
With its flared fenders, ultra-wide wheels, and wedge-shaped body, the Tojan seemed reminiscent of a Ferrari 308 or Lamborghini Countach (especially the latter with the optional rear wing pictured above).
With all this aggressive styling, Knudsen and Pontiac knew the car needed more power to back it up. So, they called Gale Banks, the founder of Banks Power and one of the world's leading experts on turbocharging. Banks helped them put together a Chevy small block V8 (ironically, a marine engine designed for boating applications) with forged internals and a twin turbo kit. The result was tuned to 800 horsepower and was said to be capable of as much as 900 at full boost.
Above: Toward the end of the car's production run in 1991, Knudsen built three black and gold "Knightmare" special edition Tojans.
The first Pontiac Tojan was tested and driven to an astonishing 206 miles per hour, making it the world's fastest production car at that point. Three years later, Ferrari released the F40, which topped out at 201mph. The 1990 Lamborghini Diablo only made it to 202mph. The Tojan truly offered world-beating performance for its era.
Unfortunately, only one Tojan (the first prototype) would ever receive this special 800hp Banks twin-turbo setup. It was deemed too costly for the mass market, so all subsequent Tojans featured an off-the-shelf GM 305ci or 350ci small block V8 and TH700-R4 automatic transmission.
Buyers could select an optional B&M supercharger to bring power to 400hp, but it had no chance of propelling the car to 200mph. As a result, the Tojan was perceived to be watered-down and not especially appealing given its starting price of $22,000, about 40% more expensive than a Trans Am with the same powertrain. Fully optioned with a supercharger, a Tojan might have cost as much as $62,000 — that's $187,000 in 2024 money!
Knudsen reportedly sold only 136 Pontiac Tojans between 1984 and 1991, but surviving examples are still surprisingly affordable at auctions, selling for $20,000 or less with low miles. If you're looking for an obscure piece of GM history and a throwback to the 1980s, a Tojan could be a lot of fun as a project car... especially if you put a twin-turbo V8 under the hood as originally intended.
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