WEBMASTER NOTE: I know that this test isn't very long at all.... not to mention a bit short on info. But so far it is the only article I have ever run across where the original Firefox GTA was actually driven and reported on by automotive journalists. I'll keep on looking for any additional reports on this legendary car.....

It was noon when the mammoth enclosed car transporter from General Motors pulled up to the narrow, winding driveway off a quiet back road in northern Mississippi. The trailer rig — emblazoned with billboard-sized C-P-C Engineering logos on its flanks — opened up like some magic box, revealing the precious cargo inside. As the driver pulled levers, the roof raised on hydraulic struts, ramps lowered, and access doors slid open. Each of three cars rumbled to life and was backed down onto terra firma. The final three of the 12 vehicles for Late-Model Performance 2 had arrived.

"Our January ‘89 cover story, "Late Model Performance", took an in-depth look at what aftermarket firms were doing to wring more performance out of late-model iron. We aimed for a broad cross-section of performance trends and thinking. The article examined a variety of price/ performance ratios, and their complexity - and we also considered how well the overall package worked, both on the street and at the dragstrip. It was quite a variety — everything from and LS-6 Camaro to a twin-turbo Lincoln Mark VII LSC.

While this encore showdown is titled "Late-Model Performance 2", it differs somewhat from our January ‘89 story. We’ve seen how the aftermarket part makers approach performance, but it got us to thinking.... How ‘bout the folks that actually design the cars in the first place? What would they do? What would a Camaro engineer build?

The normal development cycle of a factory vehicle often requires the creation of prototypes to test the very limits of that given platform or design. So, in addition to aftermarket performance companies, we asked several car manufacturers to bring something unique to Memphis Mo-torsports Park, the site of our testing.

The ground rules were quite simple. Participating vehicles must be 1982 or newer domestic cars or trucks shod with D.O.T.-legal rub-ber. Since they would be driven several miles over public roads, vehicles must be street legal with mufflers and tags. We would give special note to those vehicles that retained catalytic converters and low vehicle emissions. Cars would be delivered to R.H.S. Managing Director Ivars Smiltmek’s beautiful Mississippi home, where his wooded and remote five acres sport a fabulous 60 X 100 garage complete with a hoist. Here we would photograph the undercarriages and technical modifications, and store the vehicles overnight prior to driving them to the Memphis Motorsports Park the following day.

Memphis had some of the nicest spring weather imaginable. Track temperatures ranged from 65 to 750F, with a 5-to-8 mph headwind. Track manager Eric Woods graciously offered us the run of the beautiful 2-year-old Motorsports facility for the entire day.

- The final lineup of vehicles was impressive. Chevrolet brought out a 509 cid Camaro and a 454 LS-6 Caprice police car. Pontiac’s entry was a hopped-up 350 TPI GTA. From California, Shelby brought out Carroll’s personal project Dakota powered by a 360 V-8. A sleek 160-mph Thunderbird SuperCoupe was Ford’s entrant. John Lingenfelter brought three vehicles with him from Decatur, Indiana: two very different late-model Corvettes and a frighteningly quick Firebird Formula 350. Mark Heffington of Hypertech demonstrated their Power Chips on one of his three rare GNX’s and did back-to-back comparison testing on a V-8 Camaro. And RHS decided on a low-key approach with personal vehicles, entering Ivars’ ‘88 Corvette roadster and Comp Cams employee Mike Bowen’s ‘82 Mustang GT. A total of one dozen performance champs, no two alike.

Each vehicle here has a story to tell and lessons we can learn. Obviously, many of the factory experimental cars cannot be reproduced by the typical street enthusiast, so prices and part numbers do not apply. Instead, we have tried to explain why the factory engineers have modified a part or system a particular way. The cars built by the aftermarket firms all have parts and pieces available from various suppliers, so you should be able to duplicate them. Just order the parts and duplicate the performance. This is the true goal of the tests. We may have seen the future, and it looks like a heck of a lot of fun. See ya next year!

Built By:
PROTOTYPE AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS
Farmington Hills, MI
for Pontiac Motor Division
General Motors Corporation

MODIFICATIONS:
350 TPI V8, PAS-modified throttle body, runners, intake, EPROM, Edelbrock
Tubular exhaust system, ZF Corvette 6-speed, 10.5:1 compression ratio.

- "Prototype Automotive Services (PAS) development engineers Gregg Palm and Greg Anderson came out to Memphis with a Firebird GTA. PAS does a lot of contract development work for the car manufacturers. (They’re the folks who assembled all 1550 1989 Turbo 20th Anniversary Trans Am Pace Cars!) The GTA was fun to drive and, next to the Caprice, ran the most times down the strip. With the manual transmission, getting the GTA to launch without smoking the tires halfway down the strip was a chore. Its 3500 pounds didn’t help the off-the-line traction situation, either.

The shorter rear gear (4.09:1) and Corvette six-speed transmission was an excellent pairing, but required the driver to quickly shift through four gears on the track. In addition, both cars using the six-speed met with clutch fade problems. An opportunity for the aftermarket? We think so.

With a perfect starting line technique, the GTA ran a quickest 13.54/101.80.

The above information is used courtesy of and credited to Car Craft magazine

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