It was available with the automatic transmission only and even required the “Rally Gauges with Clock” to drop from the standard items list for the Formula since the V-6 engine wasn’t available with them. Base price for the V-6 Formula was $7,765.23.
Rally Gauges with Clock became a mandatory extra-cost option with the optional V-8 Formulas in that same year. The next step up on the powertrain ladder from the standard V-6 was the LS5 4.3L (265 ci) two-barrel engine that was based on the 301 and cost $50 extra.
We’ve never seen a V-6 ’81 Formula. Was this edict reversed soon after it was announced? Did too few people buy them to have any of them survive today? Did they all get V-8s swapped into them somewhere down the line? We don’t know. If you have one or have seen or heard of one, let us know.