SLP Firehawk

Road Test UpdateThe difference between a modified Pontiac Firebird and the SLP Firehawk can be boiled down to the cryptic notation of "R6V." And that's good, because while we're infatuated with the heady performance of "tuner" cars, owning one normally requires seeking out and dealing with one or more tiny firms, often located faraway, specializing in converting already fast cars into rocket ships. A further downside: Expect to pay cash for your tuner car or, at least, arrange your own financing.

To acquire an SLP Firehawk, on the other hand, just visit your local Pontiac store and specify the processing code "R6V" on the dealer order form. You can even finance the car's purchase price-which starts at $6495 above the Firebird Formula-through GMAC.

SLP (Street Legal Performance) Engineering has been producing Firehawks since 1992. This car has proven extremely popular: The '93 and '94 runs of 250 and 500, respectively, sold out. For '95, SLP is upping output to 1000 and offering the car in coupe, T-top, and convertible configurations.

Here's how a Firehawk is born: A customer orders the car through a Pontiac dealer and specifies the desired options, which includes just about any option combination available on a Formula. Then, the basic car is produced alongside regular Firebirds in GM's St. Therese, Quebec, plant and transported 10 minutes down the road to SLP's Canadian facility. There, SLP's workers replace the hood and the air induction system with a new twin-nostril hood to direct air into a low-restriction intake system. This boosts the LT1's peak power rating by 25 horsepower and 5 pound-feet of torque to pinnacles of 300 and 330, respectively. To maintain emissions requirements, SLP doesn't modify engine internals or fiddle with electronics.

A slightly stiffer front anti-roll bar is added to the suspension, creating a little more understeer to balance the increased go-power. Concurrently, shorter, lower rear control arms and a new Panhard rod are mounted in stiffer bushings to reduce wheel hop under hard acceleration. Next come five-spoke 17x9.0-inch aluminum wheels shod with the car's namesake 275/40ZR17 Firestone Firehawk SZs. (Since chassis flex is exacerbated by stiff sidewalls, the convertible is available only with stock-size 245/50ZR16 tires.)

Finally, SLP pastes on Firehawk logos and attaches a serial-number plate to the ashtray lid; that plus a Hurst shifter are the only changes to the cockpit. The car then reboards a GM transporter and heads for a Pontiac dealership.

Those of us who think too much power is never enough can also choose the stainless steel performance exhaust system, a $1199 option which features a 3-inch-diameter intermediate pipe and a freer-flowing muffler. SLP says this raises the power peaks by another 15 horsepower and 14 pound-feet, but it also moves both these summits higher in the rev range, so the benefit is little felt at lower rpms. With the exhaust system, the engine takes another 500 rpm to attain its new 315-horsepower peak, while the torque peak moves from 330 pound-feet at 2000 rpm to 344 at 4000 rpm. In moderate driving, the performance exhaust doles out just a bit more of the LT1's delicious rumble, but the noise increases substantially at full throttle.

Our test car, with the optional exhaust, scored 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds and covered the quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at 103.6 mph, virtually matching the acceleration of the 315-horse '94 SLP model we tested last year (March '94). Due to wheelspin, some of the extra power can't be converted into forward motion. Still, that's a noticeable jump over the fastest unmodified new-generation Firebird we've tested, which recorded a 5.8-second 0-60-mph run with a 14.1-second, 97.6-mph quarter mile. The Firehawk's performance is also virtually identical to that of a new Chevrolet Corvette, which costs about $10,000 more.