Pontiac Pegasus

[Xander Wildeisen]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/40293/that-time-gm-stuck-a-ferrari-v12-in-a-pontiac-firebird-and-called-it-a-concept-car

[Guest]

I really enjoy seeing these concept type cars from decades past.

This one just screams Bill Mitchell.  He was a powerful force back in his day and had the juice to "have it his way" right or wrong and regardless what the designers may have felt. 

He was notorious for adding garish bling against the better advice of the visor-wearing, pencil wielding draftsmen.  For instance, (and famously) designer Larry Shinoda fought him furiously on the final design points of the new for 1963 Sting Ray.  Mitchell insisted on a few gaudy items like the big shiny fake grill hood panels, which served absolutely no purpose, except to blind the driver with glare on a sunny day.  The rear split window was also his brain child.  He said it would look like the tail of the stingray, while Shinoda argued, reasonably, that it would immediately look dated as rear split windows had fallen out of vogue some 20 years earlier.  It rendered an already vision-challenged back light, utterly useless.   In the end Mitchell had it his way for the debut of the new Corvette but to the designer's delight, these brassy additions were dumped the following year making for a much cleaner looking car.

Bill Mitchell certainly brought something to the table for GM and especially Chevrolet.  He was not afraid to push the envelope.  Without him things may have stayed much more sedate.  But I always picture him as the reincarnation of one of those third world dictators who wear a uniform covered in medals, braiding, sash, sword, pistol, bandolier and a slightly too large hat.

This Pontiac Pegasus (or Pigasus as the hog-snout hood scoop has branded it) is simply an homage to his unabashed ego.

Cheers, Greg

 

[plymouthcranbrook]

Well this is the first I have ever heard of this. And am I impressed. What a concept. If it could have been made affordable and if GM(and Pontiac) had gotten to it before the Insurance companies had started to make HP cars unaffordable I would bet they would have sold enough to make it a great niche car.

[Studemax]

I remember that thing.... not fondly.

[John348]

1 hour ago, GregLaR said:

I really enjoy seeing these concept type cars from decades past.

This one just screams Bill Mitchell.  He was a powerful force back in his day and had the juice to "have it his way" right or wrong and regardless what the designers may have felt. 

He was notorious for adding garish bling against the better advice of the visor-wearing, pencil wielding draftsmen.  For instance, (and famously) designer Larry Shinoda fought him furiously on the final design points of the new for 1963 Sting Ray.  Mitchell insisted on a few gaudy items like the big shiny fake grill hood panels, which served absolutely no purpose, except to blind the driver with glare on a sunny day.  The rear split window was also his brain child.  He said it would look like the tail of the stingray, while Shinoda argued, reasonably, that it would immediately look dated as rear split windows had fallen out of vogue some 20 years earlier.  It rendered an already vision-challenged back light, utterly useless.   In the end Mitchell had it his way for the debut of the new Corvette but to the designer's delight, these brassy additions were dumped the following year making for a much cleaner looking car.

Bill Mitchell certainly brought something to the table for GM and especially Chevrolet.  He was not afraid to push the envelope.  Without him things may have stayed much more sedate.  But I always picture him as the reincarnation of one of those third world dictators who wear a uniform covered in medals, braiding, sash, sword, pistol, bandolier and a slightly too large hat.

This Pontiac Pegasus (or Pigasus as the hog-snout hood scoop has branded it) is simply an homage to his unabashed ego.

Cheers, Greg

 

 

Bill Mitchell looks like he is wearing a costume from a Batman Movie

[Hudsy Wudsy]

1 hour ago, John348 said:

 

Bill Mitchell looks like he is wearing a costume from a Batman Movie

For a brief moment I thought it was Bill Murray.

[8E45E]

I also remember seeing it in magazines circa 1973.  I wondered how anyone could see those taillights!

 

Story has it, the car was also a test bed for mating a Ferrari V12 to a TM400, which was ultimately offered on the 400i later in the decade.

 

Craig

[alsancle]

My take away is the stock Firebird styling was pretty good if this is what it looks like "improved".   If you were a professional designer,  wouldn't this bother you?

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by alsancle (see edit history)

[bryankazmer]

The front reminds me of the Daimler SP250.  No one facet is bad, but the overall effect is not good.

[Restorer32]

Front end reminds me of a Carp.

[padgett]

a) looks like a Corvair glovebox.

b) anyone remember when C&D put a OHC Pontiac engine in an E-type ? Of course as someone who has "40 psi at 3,000 rpm" hardwired in my brane can understand the desire for something reliable.

[John348]

5 hours ago, 8E45E said:

I also remember seeing it in magazines circa 1973.  I wondered how anyone could see those taillights!

 

Story has it, the car was also a test bed for mating a Ferrari V12 to a TM400, which was ultimately offered on the 400i later in the decade.

 

Craig

 

Sorta makes a lot of sense looking back at things now. GM was working with Cosworth on the Vega project, and Mazda with the Rotary engine for the second gen H body cars. 

Edited May 5, 2021 by John348 (see edit history)

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, John348 said:

 

Sorta makes a lot of sense looking back at things now. GM was working with Cosworth on the Vega project, and Mazda with the Rotary engine for the second gen H body cars. 

Was GM actually going to work with Mazda on a Rotary?  I do remember when GM bought their own licensing rights from Felix Wankel to develop a version of it for use in what became the H-body cars, possibly a next-generation Corvette, and then license it to AMC for the Pacer.  Of course the very poor fuel mileage stalled the sales of the rotary by the mid-seventies.  https://www.automobilemag.com/news/xp-987-gt-two-rotor-corvette-mid-engine-chevrolet-corvette-history/

 

Craig

[Guest]

That is correct Craig.  They called it the Four Rotor.  It never came to fruition but they built a prototype and had dealer brochures printed.  Sorry for the poor image quality.

 

 

[John348]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

Was GM actually going to work with Mazda on a Rotary?  I do remember when GM bought their own licensing rights from Felix Wankel to develop a version of it for use in what became the H-body cars, possibly a next-generation Corvette, and then license it to AMC for the Pacer.  Of course the very poor fuel mileage stalled the sales of the rotary by the mid-seventies.  https://www.automobilemag.com/news/xp-987-gt-two-rotor-corvette-mid-engine-chevrolet-corvette-history/

 

Craig

 

They were planning on installing it in the Chevrolet Monza in 1975, with the hope of a departure of the failures of the Vega. Instead they opted for the tried and true Chevy V-8 (I don't know why they used a 262 inch V-8)  plus the V-6 and the Iron Duke.  The driveline tunnel is higher on the 75's to accommodate the anticipation of the higher center line from the rotary engine

 

There was a lot of joint ventures in the works at that time, let's try to forget the LUV pick-up trucks. 

 

I might have made a mistake, I just presume Mazda when ever I think of Rotary engine. Here is a photo of the emblem over the trunk lock of the car that never was built.

 

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by John348 (see edit history)

[TTR]

What a waste of perfectly good engine. 🙄

 

13 hours ago, Hudsy Wudsy said:

For a brief moment I thought it was Bill Murray.

... auditioning for a role of a pimp ? 😳

[padgett]

Remember working on a HEI with a fuel pump for the projected rotary at Delo Remy c.a. 1973. Most cars were going to get a dual rotor. Remember being told that the reason the V8 spark plugs in an H-body were so hard to reach was because the engine compartment was configured for the rotary.

 

Dredging a bit now but think the reasons it got cancelled was MPG and emissions (is essentially a 2-stroke).