Is a 2023 Honda Accord Really Faster Than a 1995 Trans Am? – Let’s Find Out!

It’s pretty crazy how fast automotive technology moves. One day, 300 hp makes you the king of the road and the next, common sedans and pickup trucks are making that much horsepower, if not more.

This might lead one to wonder if a muscle machine that was top-tier back in the 90s could compete with a very common sedan of 2023. In order to get to the bottom of it, our hosts at The Fast Lane Car put together a couple of machines that couldn’t be any more different.

In one lane, we have the king of the 90s, a 1995 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The machine is rated for 305 hp thanks to a 5.7 L V8. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, if you had one of these things, you were sitting pretty. However, over time, sports cars have gotten a lot more potent and 300 hp just wouldn’t turn very many heads in a modern muscle machine.

Therefore, the idea this time, is to compare the king of 1995 to a brand new Honda Accord in a performance throwdown. To add insult to injury for the Pontiac, the Accord in question is a hybrid. At 204 hp, the four cylinder front wheel drive hybrid comes in at about 100 hp less than its competition here albeit with electric torque down low that’s sure to help erase some of the gap. It’s also a bit heavier as a sedan than the coupe it’s going up against.

In order to see if the old school muscle machine still has something in the tank, it will go up against the Accord in a variety of different tests. Among these tests, we find a quarter mile drag race, 30 mph roll race, 60 to 0 braking test, and even a slalom of sorts to see how these machines handle.

Below, we get to see if the Trans Am can withstand the test of time or if an environmentally friendly hybrid now has what it takes to outperform this beast from the 90s.