1995 Street Legal Performance Firehawk #304
I first saw a Firehawk during a MotorWeek episode on PBS in 1993. I immediately knew I had to have one of these limited edition monsters. There are no silly ground effects on this baby to weigh it down. It's all pure power, from it's 17 inch Firestone Firehawk SZ-50 tires on up. It grabs onto the road and stays there! I actually found this on a Pontiac lot, brand new with 3 miles on the odometer. It's definitely a driver's car, and can blow any Mustang GT or Cobra away. Rated top speed is 160 MPH. It's fully loaded with the optional free-breathing exhaust that added 15 horsepower. What can you buy for $30,000 that out-accelerates most Ferraris, Porsches and the LT-1 Corvettes?
"So what?" you say, "it looks like any Firebird." Look deeper, under the skin. For that matter, look at those two mean, air-breathing inlets on the hood. You could order Ram Air on stock '98 and '99 Formulas and Trans Ams, but it took SLP Engineering to pioneer it on today's generation Firebirds back in 1993. What's different from a stock '95 Formula, which the Firehawk is based on? Lots. A fiberglas hood, convex rather than concave like standard '93 through '97 Firebirds, covering a new Corvette-based air filter assembly that adds 25 HP over a stock Formula. Italian-made 5-spoke ROII 17 x 8.5 inch aluminum wheels, which are a half-inch wider and and inch larger than stock rims, paired up with super-low Firestone Firehawk SZ-50 z-rated tires that live for corners and acceleration. Try $250 each just for the tires! Firehawk exterior graphics and a dash plaque engraved with the car's build number. My car is equipped with the optional custom performance exhaust, which added 15 HP to Firehawk's already potent 300, and presents a deeply-satisfying rumble. The Performance Exhaust System starts out with a 2.5" Y-pipe off the exhaust manifolds which is welded onto the single OEM catalytic converter under and slightly in front of the passenger seat. That hooks up to SLP's stainless steel cat-back system which is composed of a 3" intermediate pipe, freer flowing muffler, and a pair of 2.5" tail pipes which exit under the bumper on the driver's side.The optional SLP suspension was not available in '95 T-Top models due to concerns about body rigidity. Traction control was added in '96.
My 'Hawk is equipped with the following:
Automatic Transmission with 3.23 Ratio Performance Axle and Limited-slip Differential (Posi-Traction)
T-Tops with removable shades
Graphite Leather Interior
AM/FM Cassette / 10 Speaker / Steering Wheel Controls on Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
Cruise Control
Optional SLP Performance Exhaust
Power Seats
Chrome Wheels
Rear Defogger
315 HP Decal On Hood
Firehawk Custom Floor Mats
Completely stock; non-modified for collectable status. All options available for 95 Firehawk with T-tops, except for new Firestone Firehawk SZ-50 tires.
"... this car flies like someone scorched its tail feathers. Tap the gas and it's gone. The acceleration figures we measured are worthy of a Guinness record: 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, and through the quarter mile in 13.5 at 103.MPH. That spots the Firehawk at an attractive place on the Pontiac speed-per-dollar scale: the top. This is not the sort of performance you'd expect from a mere 25-horsepower increase. Possibly, SLP's Ed Hamburger is using larger than average horses or has buried a few other changes in the powerplant." - Motor Trend magazine, July 1993, about the 1993 300 HP Firehawk
Some related links of interest:
Firehawk Association of America
Edmunds.com: F-Body Swan Song; 2001 Firebird Firehawk and Camaro SS
Maplehawk: A Canadian Firehawk Site
by
slp, slp engineering, firehawk, pontiac, firebird, formula, Motor Trend, corvette, mustang, trans am, ferrari, porsche
