Page 221 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

to the Fiero “Sport Coupe,” which came with more favorable gear ratios and the availability of automatic and A/C. At the top, was the $9,599 SE model, which included the WS6 handling package and some interior trim upgrades.
While the novelty of a mid-engine car from one of the Big Three (the X1/9 was its only direct competition – and the MR2 wouldn’t appear until a year after its launch) was enough to get the Fiero on many magazine covers, it was actually able to hold its own, especially in SE trim. “We think Pontiac was wise,” wrote Road & Track at the Fiero’s press launch, “in concentrating on getting the basic car right; we found few serious objections to its concept or operation and welcome its addition to the ranks of affordably priced machines for enthusiast drivers.”
Daryl Hall and John Oates’ 1985 “Big Bam Boom” tour was sponsored by Pontiac to promote the Fiero.
Pontiac had planned to assemble about 100,000 Fieros in the first full year, with an upside of perhaps 150,000. Their optimism was rewarded with sales of nearly 140,000 in the first model year (along with a coveted Car and Driver “10 Best” pick) – clearly signaling that the idea of midengined sports car that spanned from an economical commuter car to a fun-to-drive, albeit underpowered, pseudo sports car was successful.
As early as the Fiero’s press launch, Pontiac mooted various alternatives to address its performance deficit. One was a 232-horsepower, 2.7-liter “Super Duty” version of the Iron Duke that powered the 1984 Fiero Indy Pace Car to over 138 mph (222
TOP: Detailed David Kimble cutaway image reveals the complexity of Fiero’s layout. Though it was an all-new architecture, reuse of existing “X-car” suspension and powertrain components reduced capital investment. ABOVE: Fastback GT model introduced in 1986 gave the Fiero an entirely new look and introduced a more powerful 2.8-liter V6 engine. A major suspension redesign in 1988 came too late to save the car.
km/h) during that year’s Brickyard race. Pontiac built 2,000 “Indy” replicas, sadly without the Super Duty engine to go with them, although interested buyers could order Super-Duty-specific parts at authorized dealers. Potentially closer to production reality was an aluminum block V6, that, with the SE’s already decent road manners, had the potential to give the Fiero legitimate sports car chops. Signaling that a shot of adrenalin was on the way, Aldikacti described the car to Road & Track as “good athletic raw material waiting to be trained for special uses.” And it wouldn’t be long before that training would start.
Pontiac Fiero
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