2017 Firebird revealed at the Detroit auto show – photos

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The Detroit auto show reveal of the 2017 Pontiac Firebird concept confirms what we suspected all along: The strategic shadows that hid much of the car in preview photos concealed a clean, 2+2 fastback coupe. Though Pontiac claims there's no plans to put the 2017 Firebird car into production as shown, it's a tantalizingly plausible glimpse of where the automaker could go. And we like it.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've been teased by a rear-wheel-drive 2017 Firebird fastback concept from Pontiac;  So, this is an idea that the American automaker has been kicking around for awhile.

But the 2017 Firebird looks more or less assembly line-ready once you filter out all the usual concept car flourishes like the radical, vertically stacked headlamps flanked by brake-cooling ducts, strange A-pillar vents and an interior that's just a little too futuristic to trust today's drivers with. We can see the Firebird's prominent fender flares.

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Firebirdpontiac.com

New Pontiac Firebird concept (2017) first official pictures

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What is this 2017 Firebird all about?

The 2017 Pontiac Firebird  is a 2+2, front-engined coupe powered by a 311bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine taken from Pontiac’s racecars. That makes it substantially more powerful, with its 197bhp, the 2017 Firebird is focused on being a proper driver’s car.

Hence, the 4.26-metre long 2017 Firebird coupe has been designed to weigh a mere 1315kg in production form, runs double wishbone suspension front and rear and doesn’t even have a radio. ‘The soundtrack comes from the engine and out of the exhaust,’.

What’s the idea of the design, and what would this 2017 Firebird cost?

 ‘Our whole approach has been to do something very simple and pure, but new looking,’. ‘It’s a very simple shape, so that was our thinking’. If it makes production, the 2017 Firebird will be cheaper than the Trans Am, which starts at 35k. The 2017 Firebird would run a modified version of the Trans Am platform. ‘We’ve got to make it lighter and smaller to capture the essence of this concept, but I think it’s do-able,’.

So is this a production-viable concept?

Most of the 2017 Firebird is production viable, apart from the stacked LED headlights, which are too low for US regulations, while the viability of the see-through A-pillars hasn’t been evaluated either. Yet it’s not a pipedream or crazy concept. ‘We always imagine it [2017 Firebird a concept] on the street,’ says Pontiac president, ‘and that’s the same with this car’.

The Detroit reveal was the first time Pontiac’s board has seen the 2017 Firebird. ‘We have not done any feasibility on it, but my gut feeling is there’s nothing about it that’s not possible.’ It’s expected that the 2017 Firebird will be in showrooms in late 2016 if it’s given the green light for production.

FirebirdPontiac.Com

FirebirdPontiac.Com

FirebirdPontiac.Com