European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 14, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday july 14,1988 the stars and stripes Page 13 trans am Sta is real fire breather  up Auto writer Detroit the Pontiac trans am has earned a solid reputation As one of Detroit s hottest modern Day muscle cars and now Pontiac has breathed even More fire under the trans am s Hood. The lat est and most powerful version is dubbed the Sta a name that immediately brings to mind the legendary to a mid sized Pontiac credited with igniting the muscle car craze Back in 1964. Under the trans am Sta s Louvere Hood is a 5.7-liter v8 engine that pumps out 225 horsepower at 4,000 rpm through what Pontiac Calls tuned port fuel injection. That s up 10 he from last year. Unfortunately the five Speed manual Gearbox is not offered in the Sta be cause of pm s inability to keep one from disintegrating under the engine s Power. So a four Speed automatic is the Only Way to go. All Gas Are shod with 10.5-Inch disc brakes All around a special performance suspension and fat p245-50vr Good year Eagle tires on 16x8-Inch Gold col ored aluminium wheels. A full Range of amenities Are also Stan Sta the ultimate firebird trans am. Dard on the Sta air conditioning Power windows door locks and mirrors cruise control and an am pm stereo cassette with a second set of controls nestled in the Center of the leather wrap Ped steering wheel. Gone Are the screaming Chicken Hood decals that adorned the hoods of earlier trans ams. Instead the Sta has tastefully subdued lower body faring a wraparound rear spoiler and discreet Sta fender badges. That makes it just about the sleekest the Audi 200 Quattro Turbo at  Audi in first trans am year leads with 4 wins in 6 races while on the subject of the Pontiac trans am Sta reviewed today on this Page it s appropriate to note that the German Audi 200 Quattro Turbo is leading the Field in this year s trans am racing championship. The current Campaign Marks Audi s first year in trans am Competition. The trans am series run under the auspices of the sports car club of Amer Ica a Cawas founded in 1966 and itis one of the oldest continuing championships in american racing. In six of the 14 trans am races run Sotar this year the Audi 200 Quattro Turbo has won four. The american Driver Hurley Haywood has taken the Check ered Flag twice for Audi at Dallas an Detroit while German Drivers Hans stuck and Walter Rohrl have one Victor each stuck in Cleveland and r6hrl at the new Street circuit in Niagara Falls,, the other two wins have gone to american Drivers Paul Gentilozzi Olds Mobile Cutlass at Long Beach Calif., and Willy t. Ribbs Chevrolet Camaro at Sears Point Calif. At the moment Haywood a two timely mans Winner is leading for the 1988 Iran am driving title. In Haywood stuck and Rel hrs the Audi firm easily eids the Best driving team stuck a for Mer world sports car Champion and also a two time Winner at be mans while Rohrl is famous for both racing and rally skills. Rohrl has won the world rally driving championship three times. Among other leading makes contesting this year s series Are the German made Mercury xr4ti, Chevrolet Camaro Buick regal Oldsmobile Cutlass Pon Tiac trans am Chevrolet Corvette Nis san 300 Zyx Turbo porsche 944 Turbo and Ford thunderbird. The Audi 200 Quattro trans am Turbo racing car features permanent four wheel drive and a 5-Cylinder, 2.1 liter Turbo engine that turns out 510 horsepower at 7,500 revs. While Audi has won the pikes Peak Hill climb twice in Colorado and has won the . Rallying championship with the american John Buff Tim at the wheel it is the first time that the German firm has entered a major american racing series on a regular basis. Trans am racing Well attended and also featured on nationwide Cable sports television is giving Audi the exposure it was looking for when it first decided to. Go racing in America. Randy Barnet Auto columnist looking firebird since this body style arrived in late 1981. The Sta evaluated for this review Cost $19,713 As tested including a $414 destination fee. The Sta s Interior reflects a slow but effective evolutionary process. While the Basic design carries on into its seventh year virtually unchanged the Sta is blessed with some of the Best front seats in an american car with automatically inflatable Back and Lumbar supports. The rear seats however Are As useless As Ever although they do fold Flat to open up some respectable cargo space. The sport suspension and 16-Inch wheels give the Sta a washboard ride with the occupants feeling every bump in the Road but the Sta holds the Road As if it were Riding on rails. Steering and braking Are up to Par under All but the most extreme situations. But the car s 3,530 Pound weight and rear drive layout can definitely be Felt during spirited driving. Acceleration is Quick Zero to 60 Mph in a Shade Over 7 seconds and throttle response is immediate. The Sta s fuel mileage is directly re lated to the weight of the Driver s right foot. About 16 mpg around town 25 mpg on the open Road. The fit and finish of the test car was Good except for the paint which had an Orange Peel texture rarely found in this age of Clear coat High tech finishes. The Sta could be Pontiac s hottest trans am Ever maybe with the exception of the first one which debuted in limited numbers in 1969. Since then it has earned a Well deserved reputation. For full details and special military prices on the Pon Tiac Sta trans am and other trans am models prospective buyers should Contact general motors sales representatives at the cafes new car sales Points on the various bases in Europe some fast action at a past truck grand prix in Germany. Is photo truck grand prix to feature fun Speed and dese smoke it s not often that one can witness wheel to wheel truck racing on a grand prix circuit but this week end More than 100,000 fans Are expected to make the annual Pilgrim age to the Nair Burgering to see their favorite monsters in action. The 3rd annual International adar truck grand prix of Germany which will be staged Friday through sunday is a German american festival As much As it is anything else. While the truck Drivers All come from european nations most members of the audience arrive dressed in american Cowboy costume and the musical entertainment is strictly country Western. Even the German language advertise ments for the truck grand prix feature a lot of English with action Power fun and music part of the pitch. The adar organizers also Point out that More than 30 hours of country Western music will be featured. During our visit to the 1986 truck grand prix the racing was close and fun to watch. The Only problem involved momentary blindness from the Clouds of diesel smoke when the trucks roared off from the starting line. But once the smoke cleared the spectacle made it All worthwhile. Truck racing started in America was introduced to Europe in the nether lands and is now run on a european championship basis in several coun tries Germany among them. The Lead ing Drivers Are from Britain and swe Den. The majority of the 80 trucks entered Only the cabs Are used for Rac ing Are from Renault Volvo British Leyland Ford cargo and Ford Louis Ville m.a.n., Bedford and Ivreco. Automobile races for opel Lotus cars Renault Alpine turbos and Ren Ault 5s Are also on the three Day pro Gram which goes daily from about 9 . To Midnight. To reach the curb urging take the Koblenz Trier autobahn exit at us men curb urging and follow signs to the track Only a few Miles away. Adult tickets Good for All three Days Cost 45 Marks about $25 while youths from 13 to 18 pay 25 Marks about $14with children under 12 admitted free. On a single Day basis adult tickets Cost 20 Marks about $11 for Friday 25 about $14 for saturday and 30 about $17 for Sun Day. Youth tickets Cost 10 Marks about $5.50 for Friday 13 about $7 for saturday and 16 about $9 for sunday.