This One-off Pontiac Supercar Had A Ferrari Engine Under The Hood

You whitethorn person seen this one-off Firebird before. Or should it beryllium Uccello Di Fuoco (Italian for "Firebird")? Perhaps Ferraribird? This car is truthful cool, each past automotive writer connected nan satellite wants to return a move penning astir it. And why not? It's General Motors fable Bill Mitchell's eventual early '70s automotive casserole: An American musculus car pinch Ferrari V12 powerfulness and nan styling of both. Behold, nan Pontiac Firebird Pegasus!

Pontiac (RIP) was GM's excitement division, aka nan 1 that focused connected capacity and kept musculus cars live agelong past their expiration date. Those astir responsible for Pontiac's hot-rod image are Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen, Pontiac's wide head from 1956 to 1962, and John Z. DeLorean, adjunct to Knudsen and main technologist Pete Estes earlier becoming main technologist himself successful 1961, past caput of Pontiac from 1965 to 1969. But nan Pegasus gestated aft they left, and this fever dream was calved under Mitchell, GM's vice president for design from 1958 until 1977. 

In 1970, Chevrolet stylist Jerry Palmer sketched a mashup of a Camaro and a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, and Mitchell became smitten pinch nan concept. Rather than fto Chevrolet usage it, Mitchell sprinted to Pontiac to trade this stunner. As explained to Motor Trend by retired GM creation VP Chuck Jordan, Mitchell wanted a "high-revving low-torque Trans Am." Was Mitchell saying that Pontiac screwed up nan overhead-cam-6 in nan Firebird Sprint? Was its 6,500-plus-rpm capacity not bully enough? Did it person half nan cylinders it should have?

Whatever Mitchell's logic was, he'd get his wish erstwhile Enzo Ferrari himself offered up a 352-hp V12 from 1 of his 365 GTB/4 "Daytonas." As for why, possibly Ferrari was still angry pinch Ford and wanted to thief create a Mustang killer? 

Now, you won't judge that automotive engineers successful nan '70s could perpetrate specified heresy, and please don't clasp this against Bill Mitchell, but unbelievably, this car almost sewage a three-speed automatic, which would person been little desirable than passing a kidney stone. Apparently Mitchell loved low-effort cruising capable to effort putting Maranello's champion successful beforehand of a transmission that still needed whale oil.

Thankfully, nan spin-happy V12 didn't overmuch attraction for nan automatic, proving engines tin person souls, and nan engineers went and recovered a five-speed shift-for-yourself gearbox from a Ferrari 365 GTC/4. While nan Pegasus didn't get nan Ferrari's shiny shifter gate, astatine slightest nan cogwheel lever was surrounded by immoderate beautiful tan leather.

(You'd deliberation this power-train instruction would person percolated done nan car industry, but no. Both Lamborghini and Ferrari some slapped automatics down their V12s correct from nan factory. Lamborghini offered Chrysler's Torqueflite arsenic an action for nan four-seat Espada [the highest-selling and longest-produced Lamborghini for galore years] and Ferrari fto buyers infest its 400i, a car truthful angular you tin trim yourself by staring astatine it, pinch a GM-sourced TH400.)

Apparently Bill Mitchell himself forgot his emotion of not shifting and beautiful overmuch made nan five-speed V12 Pegasus his personsl car. Who tin blasted him? Sure, it's not arsenic crisp arsenic a GTB/4 Daytona owed to Pontiac giving nan Pegasus a coagulated axle held successful spot by leafage springs and a comparatively portly 3,834-pound weight. At slightest it has a 4.10:1 differential to get it moving and Corvette disc brakes extremity it from moving. Mitchell loved taking Pegasus to events, blasting astir tracks arsenic a demonstration, past popping nan hood truthful group could ogle nan 12-cylinder sculpture.

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Thankfully, to make nan motor fit, nan underlying Firebird's framework didn't request extending. However, nan firewall did person to move backmost astir 9 inches. Squeezing nan motor nether nan hood besides necessitated bespoke headers, which were nary longer adjacent length, changing nan exhaust note.

Compare that to an existent Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona.

All this activity helped sphere nan underlying Firebird's cleanable proportions, and nan Ferrari-esque finishing touches elevated it to "sumptuous" territory. In summation to its elongated-scoop-eye headlights and pointed, oval grill, location are hood and fender vents, wraparound rear solid that subtly foreshadow the then-upcoming 1975 Firebird redesign, and a boattail rear pinch nary spoiler. Capping disconnected nan Italian American looks are genuine Borrani ligament wheels and Ferrari exhaust tips. 

The beauty is much than tegument deep, too, arsenic nan interior received an instrumentality sheet and gauge cluster from Ferrari. Everything is wrapped successful leather, including nan dashboard and the civilization headrestless seats. A shame it's rarer than nan rarest of nan uncommon Firebirds and spends astir of its clip conscionable resting in the GM Heritage Collection.

Pegasus' quality has changed somewhat complete nan years, astir noticably aft its refresh successful 2012. Originally, nan exterior overgarment shared abstraction pinch what seemed for illustration miles of golden pinstripes, but Ed Wellburn, past caput of GM Design, thought those pinstripes should vanish successful favour of a consecutive deep-red finish. What's little noticeable is nan subtle reshaping of nan chemoreceptor aft Bill Mitchell smacked it into a bridge. In a beautiful spot of irony, that mishap happened astatine Road America successful Wisconsin, and nan span wherever Pegasus had its impromptu rhinoplasty was Bill Mitchell Bridge.