Welcome The Bandit, The First Black and Gold Limited Edition To commemorate Pontiac's 50th anniversary a special black and gold limited edition Trans Am was introduced.  The car was painted all black with a gold matte hood bird and special German style lettering on the decals.  This car had stripes surrounding the wheel wells, over the roof , deck lid, and hood, around the tail-lights and rear spoiler, and around the front spoiler and grilles. Even the windows were surrounded with gold striping.  A special 50th Anniversary decal appeared below the Trans Am graphics on the lower fender.  The grille and headlamp bezels were also gold as were the honeycomb wheels.  Originally all the Limited Edition Trans Ams were supposed to receive Hurst Hatch roofs but problems with the roofs squeaking and leaking caused Pontiac to offer a hardtop as well.  In all, 643 T-Top Trans Ams were produced with an additional 1947 hardtops.  A rare bird is the 1976 LE with the 455 and Hurts T-Tops with only 110 produced.  A few of these cars were originally equipped with black chrome splitter exhaust extensions.  It is unknown exactly what percentage of cars received these but they are extremely rare since most cars reportedly got the standard chrome exhaust tips.
Updates to the Front End Styling For 1976 the rubber bumper strips were replaced with a smooth urethane bumper front and rear giving a cleaner, more modern look.  The turn signals were moved again, this time from the front grilles to the lower bumper.  The grilles themselves were revised with a honeycomb design replacing the horizontal slats.
T-Tops Originally the Hurst Hatch roof introduced on the Limited Edition was to become a regular production option on all Firebirds but the aforementioned problem with excessive squeaks and rattles along with leakage delayed the introduction of the T-Tops until the 1977 model year.
Formula Hood Scoops A new Formula hood was introduced in 1976 replacing the previous snorkel type that extended to the front of the hood.  The new hood featured dual air inlets about halfway down the hood and gently sloping upward in a curved design.  This hood would be a one year only design.  The new hood was made of steel rather than fiberglass as the 1970 to 1975 models had been.
The W50 Formula Appearance Package The stunning W50 Formula Appearance package debuted in 1976 on Goldenrod Yellow cars only and proved a huge marketing success.  Designed by John Schinella at Pontiac the car featured blacked out lower door trim with large FORMULA lettering across the door, blacked out grille and tail lamps, and blacked out hood scoops, all separated by brightly colored stripes.  The package proved so popular that Pontiac added 3 new colors after the introduction:  Carousel Red, Sterling Silver, and Cameo White.
455 The 455 returned for the last time in 1976.  The engine was no longer designated the 455 HO.  Engine call outs on the shaker scoop showed merely 455, although the engine was unchanged from 1975.
New Interiors Both the standard and custom interiors were redesigned for 1976.  The standard interior seats would remain virtually unchanged (except for minor alteration) until 1981.  The custom interior still featured horse-collar type seats but with a new pattern.  On the dash a new Rosewood appliqué was used on the dashboard on non-Trans Am models, replacing the African Crossfire Mahogany of 1975.
Esprit Spoiler You could finally get an Esprit with the optional Rear Deck Lid spoiler (option 562/D80).  Previously the spoiler was available on Firebird and Formula only and standard on Trans Am.
Formula Console The front console was now standard on Formula.
Body Color Rally II Wheels The Rally II Wheel could now be ordered with background colors matching the car's exterior color.  This was seemingly a subtle change in the option list but cars so equipped were striking in appearance.
Over the Roof Striping and Cordova Top Changes The D98 Vinyl Accent Stripe now extended around the windows and over the roof for a modern, dramatic look.  The Canopy Top (CBT/CV7), formerly called the Cordova top) now extended from the side window forward and could be ordered with the over the roof stripe.