Four-barrel breathing and a hotter camshaft boosted the Sprint's six to 215 horsepower.Īlso used in Tempest Sprints, Pontiac's six-cylinder "cammer" engine was just a year old, generally promoted as much for performance as for its more miserly gas mileage.īilled as a "family sportster," the 326 Firebird carried a 326-cid V-8 with two-barrel carburetor (250 horsepower). The base edition, with single-throat carburetor, delivered 165 horsepower. Each was offered as either a hardtop coupe or convertible.īase and Sprint versions held a 230-cid overhead-cam inline six (exclusive to Pontiac). Literature, in fact, asked: "Which Firebird is for you?" The "magnificent five" list included base, Sprint, 326, 326 HO, and 400 Firebirds. Instead of being offered as option packages, the five Firebird variants were separate models, keyed to their engines. Like the cars themselves, Pontiac's marketing approach differed from Chevrolet's. Not until January 1967 did the ponycars finally start leaving the factory. Whereas Chevrolet's Camaro entered production at Norwood, Ohio, in the fall of 1966, no mention of Firebirds accompanied the announcement of Pontiac's 1967 line-up. To capitalize on that connection, the 1954 Motorama car appeared at the debut of its 1967 namesake. The name had previously been used on an experimental gas-turbine car that appeared at the 1954 GM Motorama - and on its successors of 19. Get details on the design process for the Pontiac Firebird on the next page To learn more about muscle cars, see: Despite the short development period, the end result was definitely Pontiac. Jack Humbert served as chief designer, assisted by Ron Hill. Mild sculpturing in rear quarter panels veered away from Camaro's more straightforward shaping. Out back, fluted taillamps blended into the rear panel. Up front sat a "classic" Pontiac split grille. Though sharing the Camaro's 108-inch-wheelbase chassis and bodyshell, the first Firebirds displayed a surprising number of distinctive features. And had Chevrolet not created a sport-focused Camaro to target the ripening "youth market," no equivalent Pontiac could have been produced. Had the Ford Mustang never been born, no Firebird would have joined the Pontiac fleet - and a Trans Am badge might never have adorned a Pontiac. This 1965 Pontiac Firebird mock-up borrows the Chevrolet Camaro chassis and bodyshell.įirebird engineer Bill Collins later admitted that the '67 was "just kind of inherited from Chevrolet all the Chevrolet sheetmetal and all the same exterior hardware except for the grille and taillamps." High-performance mavens at both Chevrolet and Pontiac could see one big bonus: the chassis could carry a mild-mannered six-cylinder engine, or hold GM's biggest V-8s.īecause Pontiac engineers and stylists didn't get a close look at the Camaro until well into its development stage, the production decision came too late to make the car strictly Pontiac. One difference: its coil springs were mounted on lower control arms instead of uppers.Ĭhevrolet's objective was to replace the rear-engined Corvair Monza as a sporty compact - but with a conventional front-engine/rear-drive layout. Camaro was similarly unibodied, employing a separate front subframe. What next? With a two-seater down the drain, a sporty four-seat model seemed in order - even if its basics had to be borrowed from GM's bread-and-butter division.Ĭhevrolet was well underway with its F-body "Panther" project (renamed Camaro by production time), based on the Chevy II chassis with 108-inch wheelbase. Even those corporate folks who weren't enamored of automotive muscle couldn't argue against sales that neared 100,000 in 1966 alone. With its 389-cid V-8 and optional Tri-Power carburetion, the "Goat" lured thousands of youthful drivers into Pontiac showrooms. That performance "rep" was etched permanently by 1964 with the debut of the GTO - the vehicle that helped to usher in the muscle car era.
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