Sometimes there are those cars that are rare enough to condone that they are not completely original anymore. This Pontiac Fiero is one of them. It is nice that it is still there!
There was a time when manufacturers did not blindly focus on economical crossovers or ‘smart mobility concepts’, but simply still brought fun and affordable sporty-lined coupés to the market. It didn’t have to be practical or hyper-efficient, as long as it was fun. This included this Pontiac Fiero, which was captured on film by Techzle reader Koen Smit. This copy dates from 1986 and has been in the Netherlands since 1993. It is the fastback version, which came on the market from 1986. A variant of the Fiero that not only looked very different from the GT shown below, not only because of its roofline that continues further to the rear. You can well understand that Pontiac initially thought about marketing this version even under a different model name.
Pontiac Fiero GT (1985)
The fact that General Motors considered this was also due to the unfortunately not very good reputation of the Fiero. They turned out not to be too safe. Numerous Fieros spontaneously caught fire after a ride and GM did not worry about that. In the end, it turned out that this was usually caused by a failure to replace or replenish motor oil on time, in combination with the often brisk driving behavior of Fiero drivers. GM therefore urged the owners to take their own responsibility to prevent this. The disappointing performance also contributed to the model’s somewhat debatable reputation. Nevertheless, Pontiac managed to sell more than 300,000 of them and quite a few of them were brought to the Netherlands over the years.
Because of its sharp nose and mid-engine, the Fiero, just like the Toyota MR-2, is a popular basis for conversions to fake Ferraris. Especially this fastback variant. Many have been transformed into imitations of the 308, 350 and F355. The owner of this copy – or a previous owner – apparently thought a set of aftermarket wheels and some other exterior trimmings were enough to make it to his taste. In any case less pretentious than a conversion to a ‘Ferrari’. After all, with its 141 hp 3.0 V6 it is far from a supercar, but at least you drive something special if you have a Fiero. Nice that it is still there and also with a fresh MOT.