Why GM's "Detuned" Muscle Car Terrified the Corvette Division More Than Any Competitor скачать в хорошем качестве

Why GM's "Detuned" Muscle Car Terrified the Corvette Division More Than Any Competitor

General Motors spent $300 million to shut down the assembly plant that built the Pontiac Firehawk. Fewer than 5,100 were ever made. The LS1 engine was allegedly underrated by 30 horsepower — the former Camaro Brand Manager reportedly confirmed it on an enthusiast forum, then went silent. Stock Firehawks ran 12.8-second quarter miles, within tenths of the C5 Corvette that cost $15,000 more. One owner beat a Corvette from a dig on the street with a bone-stock car. GM's response wasn't to celebrate — it was to kill the platform. The man who managed both the Corvette and Camaro brands wrote that there were "many reasons completely foreign to those not intimately involved within the auto industry" for the cancellation. He never elaborated. The GM executive who announced the closure retired after 49 years and hasn't spoken publicly about it since. SLP's chief engineer has vanished from the public record entirely. In 1997, only 29 LT4 Firehawks were built — a Corvette Grand Sport powertrain in a lighter, cheaper car. In 1996, just 41 left the factory. Today they sell for a fraction of their inflation-adjusted MSRP while the witnesses who know what happened inside GM are in their 70s and 80s. The truth is still buried in corporate archives in Detroit. Subscribe for more buried automotive history every week. #cars #musclecars #antiquecars ⚠️ Some images in this video are AI-generated for illustrative purposes where no original footage or photographs exist. All facts, quotes, and accounts are sourced from documented records, published interviews, and forum testimony.