Recreating a legend is a risky proposition. Legends become legends for a reason, after all. That being said, the chance to update a car as significant and well-known as the second-generation Trans Am SE cars is one most any designer or enthusiast would relish.

The Burt Reynolds Edition Trans Ams are primarily an evolution, or an update, on an already strikingly handsome automobile. When the basic package is so good, all it takes is a few modern touches to make the car current. One area everyone agreed on was that certain elements of the original design had to stay, although updating them would modernize the car. The challenge, of course, is updating and subtly changing the car without losing the original flavor. We think they succeeded dramatically.

The images in the Design gallery show the changes done to the body. The highlights, of course, are the composite front headlamps, the recontoured fender flares, the flush-mounted glass and the LED tail lights. The graphics package has also been updated, and goes along with the idea of modernizing while maintaining the original theme.

View the Design Gallery

Plenty of people were involved in the design of the Burt Reynolds Edition Trans Am, particularly Kevin King and Burt Reynolds. But ultimately the finished product was the responsibility of the Chief Designer, Phil Brewer. Here he answers a few questions about the design of the car.

What were your first thoughts when given the task of designing the Burt Reynolds Edition Trans Am?
PB: I knew it would be a challenge trying to give a fresh look to a car with such a strong following and distinct appearance. We wanted to build a car that was unique enough so everyone knew it was a Burt edition when it showed up, but still maintain the heritage of the original ’77 SE.

As you went over the original car, what did you see that needed changing, and were there some things that had to stay original?

PB: The basic design of the car is very good, the overall shape of the car didn't need any help. It’s a great design and still looks good today. Most of the things we wanted to do was update the areas of the car that made it look dated. The wheel and tire size are obvious, but I also felt the glass mouldings, the four square headlights and the amount of pinstriping dated the car too much.

The original 2nd generation Firebird designers did such a good job with the clean shape of the fastback glass and how it almost disappeared into the shape of the body. I thought the pinstriping on the SE cars highlighted bumps and transitions on the car the original designers where trying to make invisible.  So, we didn’t use most of the pinstripe and made new glass that would flush mount into the body. We are now using some striping only on the areas of the car that need to be highlighted. We decided not change the shape of the nose or tail other than adding some lights and smoothing a couple of areas.

The large hood bird is an icon on ‘70s Trans Ams, what did you want to do in this area?

PB: The hood bird was an area that we gave a lot of thought. I looked at Trans Ams through the years and tried to spot a natural progression of the bird design. That helped me determine the shape of the bird and its wings. I also felt the entire graphics package, of which the bird is the major component, needed to be toned down a bit – it needed to be more subtle. Ultimately, we decided that we could actually make the bird bigger than the original, but also make it more subtle by keeping it mostly matte black on gloss black, with gold highlights. We also covered the entire back of the hood in matte to make the shaker more prominent.

Wheels and stance play such a crucial role in the look of any car, what were you after on the Burt Reynolds Edition?

PB: Stance is very important for a performance look, and of course modern performance cars need plenty of rubber on the ground. To get the look we were after, we knew going in that we would have to alter the car a bit to make everything work. We went with a modified tubular subframe for tire clearance up front, and we mini-tubbed the rear to create room for the substantial rear wheel/tire package. Coil-overs on all four corners allow us, and ultimately the customer, to fine-tune the ride height. As for the wheels, the Snowflakes on the original are a big part of the car’s heritage – something we wanted to keep. But, of course, we needed modern sizes. After looking at virtually every performance wheel made, we decided to make our own billet aluminum wheels that were as close to the original Snowflake design as modern forgings and CNC processes would allow.

Was Burt Reynolds involved in the design process at all?

PB: Definitely, if his name was going to be attached to the car, we wanted his input of the finished product. Burt was very helpful in helping us decide what to keep, and what to modify on the new car. He had very strong opinions about certain elements of the car that needed to stay – like the hood bird, for example. Of course, we all wanted to keep the bird!

Any final thoughts on the car?

PB: I realize the car may be a little too updated for some enthusiasts, many would simply prefer a restored car with a wheel change. But our idea was to maintain the heritage and the inherent beauty of the original car while updating some of the more anachronistic elements. There’s a fine line when doing that. But for someone who prefers a fresh look that maintains the feel and heritage of the original while delivering supercar level performance, this is the car for them.