Vehicle Description
Rare 6-speed convertible Firehawk. Two owners, 49,714 original
miles, unmodified. Unusual color combination (one of two silver
6-speed convertibles). Runs and drives great, clean CarFAX. Awesome
piece of Pontiac muscle for the true enthusiast.When Pontiac went
looking for some extra excitement for the Firebird in the 1990s,
they tapped SLP (Street Legal Performance) to build a
special-edition Firebird called the Firehawk (which was named after
the race series sponsored by Firestone and their eponymous tires).
By the time this 1999 example was built, the operation had been
folded into GM proper and the Firehawk was a top-of-the-line
performance package built by the factory. For you numbers guys out
there, these are really rare cars; in 1999, only 719 Firehawks were
built, only 418 had the 6-speed manual transmission, only 40 of
those were convertibles, and only 2 of those were Bright Silver.
Rare is subjective, but regardless of the numbers, these cars are
seldom seen in public. This particular Firehawk has had just two
owners from new and has never been used as anything other than a
fair-weather cruiser. The factory paint is in excellent condition
and remarkably, the Firehawk package was pretty subtle?the Ram Air
hood, special wheels, and the 'Firehawk' decals on the doors was
the only way to see what was stalking you. Maybe that's why they
weren't more popular; like the ZR1 Corvette, perhaps there wasn't
enough show to match the improved go. Whatever the reason, you're
not going to see another one of these at the local cars and coffee.
The Charcoal leather interior is also in fantastic shape. There are
almost no signs of use except for some very minor wear on the
driver's outer seat bolster, which is all but unavoidable.
Otherwise, it presents extremely well for being 25 years old and
we're guessing the back seat has never even been used. As the
top-of-the-line Firebird, just about everything was standard,
including A/C, power windows, locks, mirrors, and seats, cruise
control, a full set of gauges, and a powerful AM/FM/cassette stereo
that still sounds great (a CD player was one of the few available
options). All the gauges are operational, the windows zip up and
down, and the six-speed manual transmission racks through the gates
effortlessly thanks to a Hurst shifter that was part of the
Firehawk package. Overhead there's a fully lined power convertible
top that's far nicer than something in the Firebird's price range
has any right to be, and it stows neatly under a semi-rigid boot
that gives the car a clean look. There's also a decent trunk out
back that makes this a more practical car than you'd expect.SLP
found a bit more horsepower for the 5.7-liter LS1 that was lifted
from the Corvette. With a few tricks, it was on par with the
'Vette's 345 horsepower and a commensurate amount of torque to make
it legitimately fast. And if the past 25 years have taught us
anything, it's that the LS1 is virtually indestructible. This one
runs like it should and is completely unmodified, so nobody has
been abusing it on the track (which is really what it was designed
to do). Thanks to modern engine controls, it starts easily, idles
properly, and just goes about its business without a second
thought. It's easy to forget this is a 25-year-old car that now
qualifies as an antique! The 6-speeds action is light and clutch
take up is easy so even if you're not running hard, it asks for
very little from the driver. The suspension has numerous upgrades
as well, but none of them make it harsh. No, it's not a luxury car,
but for a muscle car with a live axle and giant tires, it works
rather well. The SLP exhaust system has a pleasing growl that makes
the Firehawk stand apart from its more ordinary siblings but never
gets annoying. And you can see with a glance underneath that this
car has never seen inclement weather?there's surface scale on some
of the bare metal parts, but everything else is quite fresh with
most of the factory markings and decals still intact. Those
gorgeous 17-inch alloy wheels are unique to the SLP cars and carry
correct 275/40/17 Firestone radials.Documentation includes the
original owner's manuals and booklet, the SLP Firehawk supplement,
plus the original keychain and wallet.With Pontiac long gone, cars
like this Firehawk remind us that the Excitement Division was still
able to pull a rabbit out of their hat once in a while. Limited
production, improved performance, and great looks all add up to a
very collectable F-body. Call today!Harwood Motors always
recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any
vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.
