1972 Pontiac Firebird Drag Races 1970 AMC AMX, Can You Guess Who Wins?

A 1970 version, this AMC rocks a 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 under the hood. It wasn't impressively powerful for 1970 at 325 horsepower, but it delivered a massive 430 pound-feet of torque. This specific car comes with a four-speed manual transmission.

The race below shows the AMX lining up at the Christmas tree against a 1972 Pontiac Firebird TA. Most muscle cars lost their oomph after 1971, but this Poncho is not one of them.

Fitted with a 455-cubic-inch (7.5-liter) V8 loaded with high-performance internals, this Firebird roars to the tune of 300 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of twist. Yeah, it may seem like it's not as powerful as the AMC, but keep in mind that these figures are of the net variety. In a fair comparison, it may actually pack a bit more oomph than the AMX.

Just like the AMC, the Firebird also features a four-speed manual transmission. And it's quite the rare bird, too, since Pontiac built only 458 examples in this configuration for 1972.

All told, you might be tempted to believe that the Pontiac will win this race at the Mid Michigan Motorplex dragstrip, but the result is somewhat surprising. The Firebird wins the first race rather narrowly, crossing the line only 0.01 seconds quicker, but the AMX returns with faster sprints to take the overall win.

The AMC pulls a 12.93-second run in the second race, leaving the Firebird almost a full second behind. The gap becomes even bigger in the third encounter, with the AMC running more than a second quicker.

Before you hit the play button below, keep in mind that these cars compete in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race series, which allows modifications to the drivetrain. This footage was recorded at the 27th annual running of the event in September 2021.