Pontiac Firebird Firehawk

Firebird Firehawk at a glance

How a tuner car got a Pontiac option code

SLP, short for Street Legal Performance, offered its modified Firebird to the public in late 1991, and The Autopian names Ed Hamburger as the man who wanted a Firebird faster than most exotic cars of the day. The arrangement was unusual for General Motors. Buyers ordered a Formula from a Pontiac dealer with Regular Production Option B4U; the car left the Van Nuys, California, plant for SLP's shop in Toms River, New Jersey, where it was rebuilt and then delivered through the dealer. Pontiac and SLP showed the car at the Boston World of Wheels in the first week of January 1992.

Old Cars Weekly breaks down the 1992 sticker: US$19,242 for the Formula and US$20,753 for the Firehawk street package, a total of US$39,995. SLP planned 250 cars. Only 27 were ordered and 25 built, eight as 1991 models and 17 as 1992 models according to LSX Magazine, before the third-generation Firebird ran out. Wikipedia records 21 cars in red, with the rest in aqua, white, blue and green; eleven had the Competition package, three had aluminium blocks, one had T-tops and one was a convertible.

The 1991-1992 Formula Firehawk

SLP rebuilt the 350 with a forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods, lighter pistons, its own cylinder heads, intake and exhaust. The rating was 261 kW (350 hp) at 5,500 rpm with 529 Nm (390 lb-ft) at 4,400 rpm, and a 6,000 rpm redline. LSX Magazine gives 268 kW (360 hp) for the same engine. Power went through a ZF six-speed manual and a Dana 44 rear axle with 3.54:1 limited-slip gears to 17 x 9.5-inch Ronal wheels.

The Competition package, US$9,995 in 1992 per Wikipedia and LSX Magazine (Old Cars Weekly quotes US$9,905), turned the car into a club racer. It added 13-inch cross-drilled Brembo brakes, an aluminium bonnet, a roll cage in place of the rear seat and Recaro racing seats with Simpson harnesses.

The Autopian, in a 2026 retrospective, describes a punishing ride and tramlining on public roads, and points out that a Trans Am or GTA cost about half as much with more refinement.

LT1 Firehawks, 1993-1997

The fourth-generation Formula of 1993 gave SLP a stronger starting point. The 1993 Firehawk, option R6V, had the LT1 with 224 kW (300 hp) and 447 Nm (330 lb-ft), against 205 kW (275 hp) for the standard Formula. Its identity came from a functional twin-inlet bonnet over its own air box and 17-inch Firestone Firehawk tyres. For 1994 a US$1,199 Performance Exhaust raised output to 235 kW (315 hp), and a US$1,599 Bilstein suspension became available. The SLP conversion cost US$6,495 in 1995, US$500 more than in 1993 and 1994.

In 1995 T-top coupés and convertibles could be ordered as Firehawks for the first time, and 102 convertibles were built that year. Old Cars Weekly quotes a 1995 six-speed coupé with the performance exhaust at 4.9 s to 60 mph and 13.5 s at 103.5 mph. For 1996 the exhaust became standard and the cars gained rectangular driving lamps in the front scoops and the Trans Am's tall rear wing, except on convertibles. In 1997 SLP built 29 Firehawks with the LT4 engine and 246 kW (330 hp).

LS1 Firehawks and the final run, 1999-2002

No Firehawks were built for 1998. The 1999 car returned with the aluminium LS1, 244 kW (327 hp) and 468 Nm (345 lb-ft), and with the Trans Am as a base for the first time: of 719 cars sold, 613 were Trans Ams ordered under option WU6. The package cost US$3,999 on top of a Formula or Trans Am in 1999. Ratings rose to 246 kW (330 hp) in 2000 and 250 kW (335 hp) in 2001 with the LS6 intake.

For 2001 SLP added a tenth-anniversary edition: black Trans Am coupés and convertibles with gold 17-inch wheels and gold stripes, 123 coupés and 16 convertibles. Cars built after August 2001 for the 2002 model year received the High Flow Induction System and 257 kW (345 hp). SLP's 2002 brochure lists Bilstein suspension, an optional 1LE set-up with double-adjustable Koni dampers, an Auburn limited-slip differential, a composite bonnet with scoops and heat extractors and a claimed 0.90 g, with a three-year or 36,000-mile warranty. The WU6 package cost US$4,300 in 2002. When the F-body ended that year, the Firehawk ended with it.

Firehawk today: what to check

A Firehawk is defined by its option code and paperwork as much as by its parts. The 2002 brochure states that a car without the WU6 code is not a Firehawk, and that SLP content could not be added to a WS6 Firebird.

• 1991-1992 cars: 25 official cars, all on the Formula, most in red; LSX Magazine mentions a 26th car outside the official count.
• 1997: Firehawk.org counts 116 cars, FirebirdFever 145 including the 29 LT4 cars, so the year's total is uncertain.
• From 1999, a Trans Am Firehawk is far more common than a Formula Firehawk: LSX Magazine counts 406 Formula Firehawks for 1998-2002.
• The Autopian (March 2026) puts recent sales of 1991-1992 cars at around US$30,000 to US$40,000.

Ford's factory answer of the same years was the Mustang SVT Cobra, while Saleen worked the same tuner-to-showroom route with the Mustang. The Firehawk's base cars are covered in the Firebird Trans Am hub and the fourth-generation Camaro shares its F-body, while the Pontiac Firebird guide and the Pontiac catalogue list the rest of the range.