Performance: Before we talk about performance, we need to take into account the fuel crisis of 1973 and 1979 that led to very strict laws governing cars and engines. During the reign of the '82 Recaro, efficiency and fuel economy were the buzz words of the day. Due to a complex web of interrelated issues, this general era (late 70s, early 1980s) was, and remains to this day, the worst time to be a musclecar since the mid-1950s, when V8 musclecars first became popular. This chart illustrates how severe the problem really was for 1982. Even GM's Corvette supercar with its 350 V8 was rated at only 200 horsepower. Considering all the incredible restrictions placed by the government on manufacturers in 1982, and considering engine / transmissions disagreements between Chevy & Pontiac which led to very limited drivetrain options, the performance they managed to squeeze in is quite amazing. The engines listed below won't go down in the history books as the best performers, but they kept musclecars alive for the time being and we thank them for that.

All 82 Recaros came standard with WS6 or WS7 performance package so traction and handling of curves etc. on the road is comparable to that of a Porsche or Ferrari, and cars even more exquisite and expensive than that. WS7 denoted the code for performance package with everything WS6 had except rear disc brakes. Mine thankfully came with WS6, as did all others I have come across.

The coefficient of drag (CD) is a measure of aerodynamic properties of a car, and the lower the better. Zero would be no friction at all. On the 82 Trans Am it is an amazing 0.32, making this body style the most aerodynamic one GM had ever tested and produced at the time (and much better than the Camaro sister car). Even today, that CD is not far from cutting-edge.