What an absolute monster!
The Pontiac Firebird is an iconic piece of pony car history. Originally thought of as a kind of sister car for the Chevrolet Camaro, the Firebird eventually graduated into one of America’s favorite pony cars. This was largely pushed forward by the reputation gained by the Pontiac engine department. Years of building some of the nation's greatest engines and dropping them into lightweight sports and muscle cars had built the GM, but more specifically Pontiac, name from the ground up. Two of the most popular generations of the Firebird include the second-gen and the fourth-gen. This is because the second generation was all about being loud and stylish and the fourth generation focused on speed and the utilization of the GM LS1 V8 which was a drastic improvement over the last generation due to the six-bolt main.
Today we're going to focus on one particular example of the second-generation firebird. This incredible Trans Am was built by an insanely skillful mechanic. That master of mechanical art is Gregg Hamilton, the lead mechanic for Ken Block and the Hoonigan team. That's right ladies and gentlemen, one of the world's greatest muscle cars built and driven by one of the world's greatest mechanics. What more could you ask for?
The car itself is a wicked 1971 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Under the hood is a 5.3-liter V8 that Gregg had pulled from a Chevy Tahoe out in a junkyard. This Garden variety LS engine is also equipped with upgraded heads and a gigantic blower. Besides the engine, this car is holding onto a crazy superpower usually reserved for Japanese cars and SUVs. We're talking, of course, about an all-wheel-drive system. The suspension system is a mish-mash of Corvette and custom parts and the braking is all Corvette. You’ll notice a GT-R badge on the rear of the car, this is because the car has many parts from a Nissan GT-R. This is an incredible car made by an incredibly talented mechanic and we hope to see it again soon.
