There was a Ferrari V12-Powered Pontiac Firebird created that seems to have been forgotten
- General Motors was looking to experiment with their Pontiac Firebird
- In the early 1970s, the company wanted the car to be more powerful
- But fifty years later, the concept has been all but forgotten
Published on Jul 29, 2024 at 9:21 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jul 30, 2024 at 6:20 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Some cars live on in memory – or infamy – while others are forgotten, like the Ferrari V12-powered Pontiac Firebird.
To recall this car, you’d have to throw your mind back to 1970.
It was a time of experimentation, and the car world was no different.
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The Firebird that time forgot
In 1970, Pontiac had just introduced the second generation of its Firebird.
But as is often the case, designers were already looking ahead to the next generation as the current one was being rolled out.
Pontiac wanted to make the car more powerful whilst maintaining a sleek silhouette.
With a V12 engine powering it, the car was so radically different from anything associated with Firebird that Pontiac branded it a ‘design concept’.
The Pegasus concept, as it would be called, was the brainchild of Chevrolet designer Jerry Palmer, who initially geared it towards Camaro.
It was presented to William Mitchell – the head of design at General Motors – who loved it, but not for Camaro.
At this point, Pontiac stepped in and developed a potential future Firebird.
The Ferrari 4.4-liter V12 has enough power, for sure, but 7,500rpm – revolutions per minute – was considered above acceptable for muscle cars at the time.
There was also the fact that getting power to the rear wheels was a challenge.
Other elements, such as the carburetor and the exhaust, had to be taken from the Ferrari system to handle the engine’s output.
As the Pegasus process developed, it was becoming more Ferrari than Firebird.
It lacked the Pontiac’s spit grille, and the longer snout was a departure from the Firebird design.
The end result of the Pegasus
Ultimately, the project failed because General Motors wouldn’t have given the go-ahead to a car that no longer had the essence of a Pontiac.
When all was said and done, this one-of-a-kind machine became Mitchell’s personal car which he would drive occasionally, even after retirement.
It would later be returned to the company and stored in the GM Heritage Center alongside other concepts.
Pontiac Firebirds certainly do have a legacy – just take a look at this one recently listed on Craigslist, which had one owner its whole life.
