Why is it that artifacts for a future that never was can sometimes be cooler than the way history actually played out? Of course, there are exceptions to this, notably in the late ’30s and early-to-mid ’40s, but for the most part, physical predictions can be fascinating, even if they didn’t come true. Up for sale in France, this Firebird dubbed Pontiac One is more than a dream of a possible future, it’s a car linked to some seriously famous vehicles.
Pontiac One is a distant cousin of a wheeled American icon that’s largely off-limits to the general public, and it shares a link with a whole range of little cars enjoyed by those young and old. Yep, this strange-looking yet fully functional Firebird has a pretty neat backstory. As the listing states:
This Pontiac Firebird ONE is a unique prototype developed by Harry Bradley (GM’s star designer at the time) and built by Dave Crook (a renowned engineer poached by GM for this project) in the late 1970s.
Alright, so that may have been a little bit garbled by Google Translate, but there’s some interesting stuff going on here. Harry Bentley Bradley was a designer at General Motors from 1962 until 1966 who had roots in the hot rod scene. Known for secretly designing traditional customs alongside his main gig, he designed the famous Dodge Deora concept truck landed a gig at Mattel after leaving GM, where he’d go on to design eleven of the sixteen model cars in the original Hot Wheels lineup.
Bradley would continue to design custom cars, including the 1995 Weinermobile, and his impressive CV also included Pontiac One, this 1970 Firebird built by renowned custom car builder Dave Crook. While both Bradley and Crooks worked for GM at one time, this seems to be a true one-off show car, unshackled from mass production and built with a vision in mind. What’s the vision? According to the ad for this thing, a leap 30 years into the future.
Completely unique and custom-developed, this Pontiac was intended to be the vision of the future of the Firebird in the 2000s. The design is completely specific to this prototype with a very low beltline, an imposing rear evoking power and energy. The front end is a particularly complex aerodynamic style study and the interior is intended to be at the cutting edge of technology and comfort.
A Firebird for the 21st century, yeah? I guess history didn’t quite shake out the way people expected, seeing as how the Firebird exited production at the end of 2002, and that bird came drenched in bèzier curves and Axe body spray rather than an almost Syd Mead-like blend of past and future. Still, despite the two cars appearing about as different as a leisure suit and a pair of JNCOs, there are some parallels between this custom Firebird and the fourth-generation car that marked the end of the line. They’re both captivatingly low, they both feature absurd hood scoops, and space efficiency doesn’t seem to be a huge concern on either vehicle.
Still, there’s something mesmerizing about this Pontiac One concept, with its skirted rear wheels, its low-mounted faired-in headlights, and its blend of styling influences. There’s a bit of DeTomaso Pantera to the kick-up in the greenhouse, a bit of AMX/3 to the protruding front corners, yet still an unmistakable amount of Firebird, especially out back.
Interestingly, this is a fully functional vehicle, with a 350 cubic-inch V8 under the hood and an exceedingly normal GM automatic shifter in the center console. The Pontiac One is a truly outlandish feat of fabrication you can actually drive, which immediately makes it a cooler proposition than any pusher concept car that really only functions as a statue.
Now, this thing isn’t exactly inexpensive. It’s listed for €239,000, full-on supercar money. Given its 1970s mechanicals, it won’t turn or stop or go anything like the sheer amount of Ferrari or Lamborghini you can buy for nearly a quarter of a million dollars, but there’s a solid chance it’ll turn more heads. It’s the sort of wild custom you just don’t see anymore, and it’s a true piece of bespoke art. Plus, not only is it an incredibly cool piece of automotive history, how many cars can you buy that were penned by the man who redesigned the Weinermobile?
[Hat-tip to Pierre!]
(Photo credits: CarJager)
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I’m reminded of the Mach 5 from speed racer in the front. I could kind of sort of like the front and the taillights seem pretty cool I can’t really say I like this design. It is kind of just derivative for the sake of being different. I will say had they gone full Mach 5 I would be on board. Disclaimer I hate covered wheels.
This has ‘Harry Bradley’ written on it that you can see from a mile away. Love it.
Damn, I was onboard until I saw the underhood shot. No Quadrajet, no deal. 🙂
That little one barrel (I think?) carb looks almost comical on there, and given how shiny the rest of the engine is, it almost looks like it was bunged on there just to get the engine running.
If you look closely at the interior, it’s kind of the same effect. It was clearly built around a stripper-model Firebird of the era. The gauges, such as they are, are just the speedometer fuel gauge, and idiot lights. No tach, no auxiliary gauges in the blank panel (over where it’s signed by Dave Crook), no clock in the blank where better options packages would put it. A cheap aftermarket radio/tape player probably because it came with an AM radio or just minimal AM/FM radio. It’s just enough real car under the showpiece styling to be able to move around on its own. But it exists solely to wear the bodywork, nothing else.
i see a lot of citroen SM in this thing
This front end and the De Tomaso Pantera: separated at birth?
Reminds me a lot of the Chevy Astro 1 show car from 1967.
My first thought was Car and Driver’s analysis of the Subaru XT coupe. “The designer started making a normal car and then the peyote from lunch kicked in”
For extra amusement autocorrect originally said Norma car, which left me wondering what a Swedish bullet car would look like?
That hood is perfect for making humans into French Fries….
….is there one that slices and shreds too?
Looks like you could get pulled over for an illegal carolina squat without actually being squatted.
I wonder if in this era where efficiency is paramount for EVs if it may make sense to revisit back wheel covers.
indeed. Honda Insight did it.
I’m guessing it improves aerodynamics but I dunno if it does make enough of a difference.
For what looks not too far off from just a standard second-gen with the mother of all body kits, that sure is a lot of jellybeans to be asking for it, Popeye.
I’ll maintain that second-gen F-bodies are some of the classically satisfying designs of all time, but I’m probably biased.
I wonder if in this era where efficiency is paramount for EVs if it may make sense to revisit back wheel covers.
I’m guessing it improves aerodynamics but I dunno if it does make enough of a difference.
This thing has to be so much fun
This thing has to be so much fun to drive at speed. The steering must get lighter with each MPH until the front wheels are literally running on air. With a good headwind you could pretend you’re running the Mulsanne straight as the sky became all you could see. That’s what I thought immediately upon seeing the topshot.
I remember reading that the Pontiac engineers were delighted to discover that the ducktail spoiler on a second-gen creates 100 pounds of downforce at 100mph. However the front end was creating 100 pounds of lift at that speed. This is probably good since the typical Pontiac engine in these weighs, oh, about 4 tons.
I track a 1980 version, so yeah she’s a dance partner I’ve learned over the years.
I had a ’74 LeMans. That thing developed wind sock steering at anything over 100 mph. So scary.