When classic 1960s muscle car prices blew up in the 1980s, ’90s and ’00s, few people cared about the emissions-strangled machines that followed them.

But the fact that someone just paid a staggering $440,000 for a 1977 Pontiac Trans Am that left the factory with just 180 hp (183 PS) proves there’s serious money to be made in malaise-era metal.

We wrote about this particular Trans Am last week in the run up to its appearance at Mecum’s Harrisburg sale, but for the benefit of those that missed it, the car is a black Trans Am of the style popularized in the Burt Reynolds movie, Smokey and the Bandit.

Optioned with the Y82 pack that included T-tops, plus gold wheels, dash and pinstriping, it’s more desirable than a regular T/A, but it doesn’t have a famous owner (Reynolds’ own ’77 sold for $495,000 in January), doesn’t have the high-performance W72 engine or manual transmission, and isn’t even particularly rare in production terms as Pontiac built 6,030 examples.

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What makes it rare in real terms, and quite possibly unrepeatable, is the 14.8 miles (24 km) it has covered since new. And it’s that detail, plus the unrestored showroom condition, that persuaded someone to pay far more for the black ’Bird than other bidders handed over for these traditional big-money Detroit classics at the same auction.

1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda – $181,500

Hemi Cudas are like gold dust, particularly ones with only 16,875 miles (27,200) on the clock, but this Cuda got dusted by the gold-trimmed Trans Am, which is certainly the only way a factory-spec 1977 Firebird could outrun an original Hemi.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427 – $297,000

This stunning final-year C2 Corvette roadster has the monster three-carb, Tri-Power 427 V8 that makes 435 hp (441 PS) and is hooked up to the compulsory (but still extra-cost) four-speed manual transmission. Almost 3,800 C2s got the L71 motor that year, but there can’t be many survivors that have a mileage as low as this car’s 7,285 mile (11,700 km) odometer reading.

1968 Shelby GT500KR Convertible – $236,500

This Mustang’s 57,500-mile (92,500 km) odo reading is in taxi-cab territory compared with the Trans Am’s, but it’s still tiny by the standards of most 54-year old cars. This isn’t any old 54-year old car though. It’s a 1968 Shelby GT500KR, and one of only 518 convertible versions built for 1968, but it couldn’t get within $200k of the box-fresh Firebird.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Fuelie – $253,000

Another C2, but this time a coupe with the one-year-only split rear window design and the top-performing 360 hp (365 PS) fuel-injected 327. This Sebring Silver ’63 is a multiple-time National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) winner and one of the most coveted C2 configurations, but it didn’t come close to matching the Trans Am’s $440k sale price.

1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro – $285,000

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Don Yenko turned out 30 Camaros in 1969 equipped with the COPO 425 hp (431 PS) 7.0-liter L72 V8 and three-speed automatic transmission, and this is one of only six painted in eye-popping Daytona Yellow. It’s muscle car royalty, but it couldn’t top $300k, let alone $400k.

1953 Chevrolet Corvette – $407,000

This pretty Polo White 1953 Corvette is number 202 of only 300 examples built in the sports car’s first year of production and has covered only 6 miles (10 km) since a complete restoration. V8 power wasn’t on the menu until 1955, but the Blue-Flame Six and obligatory auto ’box’s performance probably isn’t much worse than the emissions-choked Trans Am’s.

1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans AM SE – $71,500

And finally, if you just wanted a smart, restored Y82 Trans Am, and one you can actually use, rather than keep locked up in a climate-controlled bubble, there was a second SE at the same auction that looked like a relative snip at under $72k.