photos by: the author and Hawks Motorsports
The Resurrection of a 1990s EFI F-Body Legend
Mind blown. Awestruck. Slap-jawed. Those are all of the experiences I had when I first saw the final product of the new Hawks Motorsports Firebird Firehawk continuation cars. Unveiled at Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) in Chicago this November, pretty much the premier muscle car car show in the Midwest, it shined, when it was unveiled on the first day of the event.
Now before we dig deep into this thing, let’s reflect a little.
Quick History
Back in 1991-92, SLP Engineering and Pontiac had reached an agreement to take a very small amount of Formula Firebirds (and ultimately, one Trans Am convertible) to the next level by offering a one-off, performance-focused model. Dubbed the Firehawk, the emphasis was pure performance; increased horsepower, handling, braking, and grip. It was a car that shined on the drag strip (low 13s was very possible with the Competition Package), but also could handle its own on a road course against the stiff competition from overseas.
The original plan was to build a total of 250 cars, all in red, but a handful of other colors actually slipped through the net and out of the SLP headquarters. A total of 27 cars were ordered between the two model years, and each one was specifically numbered 1-27 (although 25 were ultimately built — cars #8 and #25 were cancelled).
The Firehawk moniker would live on through the fourth-gen run of Firebirds, and even applied to the G8 a few years later, but after Pontiac had closed its doors, that was it for the Firehawk name. These cars, and their later successors, would be seen as the premier modern Firebirds of their time as Pontiac, Firebird, and car collectors in general all have a soft spot for these things.
Rebirth
However, one particular man wasn’t so willing to let go so easily, or quietly, and his name is Bruce Hawkins.
The owner and founder of Hawks Motorsports in Easley, South Carolina, Bruce is one of the biggest F-body and 3rd-4th Gen Firebird enthusiast and collector in the country. To him, it’s not just his business, it’s his passion. Bruce has been known to own a few of the original cars, and we even featured one of them HERE in a story a while back.
This deep-rooted love and admiration for the cars festered in his soul for years, until it got to the point that he needed to shine through enough to put his own mark on the car. To him, it’s his very own way of leaving his mark in the industry, and the history of Firebird as a whole.
But before it gets confused with, “Oh, he just copped someone else’s idea and is trying to gain some notoriety by taking some ’91-92 Firebirds, and dolling them up to simply look like the original cars,” you might want to think again, and think hard.
These are considered continuation cars, legit ’91 and ’92 Formulas and Trans Ams (including convertibles), that are getting the full-on treatment using modern engines, drivelines, brakes, and current aftermarket suspension hardware. Where the original cars were very competitive to the best OEM vehicles for the time, these continuation cars are far more powerful, much faster, and are offered in a total of three stage packages to suit your taste, needs, and budget.
There’s even a drag-pack this go-around, for those you a bit more street and strip focused!
The Stage 1 entry-level car is 600hp, for instance. That tuned-up LS3 not enough? Cool, then bump it up to the Stage 2 with 700hp, thanks to the 7-liter LS7. Still “not it?” OK, then 1200hp, from the Stage 3 is the hot ticket for you! Oh, to complement the 1200hp on-hand, is 1100-lb ft of torque. This is made possible by a custom-built, 427 cubic-inch LS equipped with a Kong Performance 2650 supercharger, plus all of the fixin’s.
Keep in mind, that this car will still weigh significantly less than that Hellcat your buddy just bought, with nearly twice the power and with much more exclusivity and prominence. Hellcat? Shoot, this is supercar level performance in a third-gen Firebird wrapper. Helping shed some unwanted heft, is the carbon fiber Formula/Firehawk, hood and carbon rear deck spoiler — a Hawks exclusive — that comes with the Competition Option Package.
“Oh, OK, so the car is basically a third-gen with a ton of power, and a few ounces of fat trimmed out?”
Well, it is a third-gen with a ton of power, but it also has a fortified, purpose-built TREMEC Magnum F 6-speed manual transmission and the rear axle (Hawks customs-built 8.8, that’s stuffed with a LSD) to handle it. Oh, and the suspension isn’t a simple OEM 1LE upgrade, either. It’s the latest aftermarket-type hardware, complete with adjustable and tubular components that will help the car launch off the line better, and help keep it planted in the corners. This is a highly capable, and competitive, streetable race car.
As we mentioned earlier, the brakes are upgraded with specifically specified for Firehawk, from Baer Brakes. Six-pistons calipers, should do the trick just fine, thank you.
So what does this cost, you’re probably asking? Well, it’s not cheap, but then again, any car that’s purpose built, and essentially, hand-built never is. The cost of entry for Stage 1, is $99,995.00 and it climbs from there for Stage 2 and Stage 3. If you want the Competition Package, that’ll bump the price up just a hair under $20,000. For reference, the Competition Package includes:
- Double-adjustable coil-over suspension
- Recaro driver and passenger seat
- Simpson driver and passenger 5-point harness
- Baer 6-piston Extreme XTR R-spec, forged monoblock, tumbled, anodized, front brake calipers
- 14×1.30 72 Vane R-spec 2-piece, cross-drilled slotted, zinc-plated rotors that are cast directional
- Rear seat delete
- Carbon fiber hood
- Carbon fiber rear spoiler
Make no mistake, this car is the real deal, and then some! The history, soul, essence, and approach is very much accurate to the original car. First, they’ll honor the amount of cars that will be produced; only 25. Each are numbered to their respective build. The car we were introduced to while at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals was Pilot Car: 1, for example. Secondly, even the wheels that are being used aren’t some out-of-place modern multi-spoke wheel or something borrowed from a newer car — these are wide, 18-inch versions of the original Ronal R-15 17s that were on the old cars.
The idea is, to take what the original formula (pun intended) brought to the table, modernize it, improve it, and then take it to the extreme. In fact, that’s a perfect way to look at this car. It should be called the Firehawk-E, for “extreme.” It’s utterly astonishing what Hawks Motorsports have created here. Oh and we almost forgot; SLP’s vey own Reg Harris, and Pontiac Historic Services’ (PHS) Jim Mattison, have both endorsed these cars. PHS will in fact include them in the Pontiac Historical Registry, to boot. How cool is that? You can get the full rundown on these cars, the specs, the hardware, and much more by visiting 92Firehawk.com today!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
