Pontiac G8 Firehawk

2009 SUPERCHARGED FIREHAWK

STANDARD FIREHAWK CONTENT

• SLP TVS 1900 Series Supercharger Package – The Heart and Soul of Firehawk is our 1900 Series TVS, high-output supercharger (black finish). This is the same technology offered in the new ZR 1 Corvette supercharger. It safely provides 7 PSI of boost, creating stump-pulling torque and neck-breaking acceleration. It increases the power and torque of the stock L76 6.0L engine at the flywheel from 361 HP to 500 HP @ 6024 RPM and 385 ft-lbs to 489 ft-lbs of torque @ 4340 RPM. E.O. #D-488-14.

• SLP PowerFlo® Stainless Steel Axle-Back Exhaust System with Distinctive Tips – Firehawk’s axle-back exhaust system was designed and tuned specifically for the new supercharged Firehawk. The resulting tone is deep, rich and powerful a perfect blend of Muscle Car and Grand-Touring sound quality. The system features polished 304 stainless steel mufflers and uniquely shaped exhaust tips that fit the factory rear fascia openings, along with mandrel-bent stainless steel pipes.

• SLP Blackwing® Cold Air Induction System – SLP pioneered this power-enhancing technology many years ago on the first generation F-car-based Firehawk. This technology is now incorporated in our new 2009 G8 GT-based Supercharged Firehawk. The Blackwing® Cold-Air Induction System replaces the restrictive, power robbing factory air filter assembly. By picking up cool, dense outside air, and pumping it directly into the engine, this system provides a noticeable power gain. The system includes an OEM quality black-finished polypropylene high-flow intake tube and black powder coated heat shield, along with a high-flow reusable Blackwing® filter.

• SLP Sport Suspension Package – SLP’s Sport Suspension Package is specially tuned and engineered for the new 2009 G8 GT-based Firehawk. By lowering the chassis 1.0” in the front and .8” in the rear, it gives the Firehawk a more aggressive stance, lower center of gravity and delivers even more response and control in high speed cornering. These German engineered, progressive rate springs are made to the same rigorous performance and quality standards as the springs used for NASCAR, Formula 1, Indy Car and the World Rally Championship.

• Flat Black Painted Hood and Grille Surrounds – The hood, grille surrounds, and the area between them is painted with an OEM-quality flat black finish, reminiscent of the early Muscle Car paint themes.

• Painted Lower Fascia Grille Inserts – To further differentiate the appearance of the Firehawk from the standard G8 GT, the lower fascia inserts, which come from the factory with a black finish, are painted body color.

• SLP Rear Spoiler – To complete the Muscle Car theme, the new rear spoiler is painted flat black as well. It provides a higher lip to increase down force at high speeds, improving the stability of the car.

• Firehawk 19” 5-spoke, Gun Metal Painted Alloy Wheels w/Machined Spoke Face and Firehawk Logo Center Caps – The Firehawk 19” x 8” 5-spoke alloy wheels have a gunmetal finish with a machined spoke face. They include a clear coat finish over the entire outside surface of the wheel to create a unique look that will be recognized by all. The center cap features the Firehawk logo.

• Firehawk Badges – The chrome badging on the Firehawk is designed to be very subtle. Four OEM-Quality Firehawk Supercharged badges are included for the deck lid, both front doors, and under the hood on the cold air induction lid.

• Firehawk Car Cover – To protect the finish of your Firehawk, each vehicle includes a silver fabric car cover that reflects the sunlight and helps protect it from the elements and against harmful UV rays. Each cover includes the distinctive Firehawk logo silkscreened up front, a locking cable, and a tote bag.

• Firehawk Leather (faux) Portfolio – Comes with Firehawk Logo Pen, Note Pad and Tire Tread Depth Gauge.

• Firehawk Birth Certificate – To help authenticate each vehicle, the “Birth Certificate” identifies the first retail owner and includes the official build date of the vehicle and other vehicle delivery specifics.

• Firehawk Numbered Dash Plaque and Key Fobs (2) – Each vehicle includes two numbered cloisonné Firehawk key fobs and one dash plaque, matching the production number of the vehicle. The plaque will be installed on the right side of the dash.

• Firehawk Floor Mats – Every Firehawk comes with a set of premium quality front floor mats with the Firehawk Supercharged logo embroidered on both mats.

• Firehawk Embroidered Headrests – Both front seats have the Firehawk Supercharged logo embroidered on each headrest.

MSRP $18,995.00

OPTIONAL FIREHAWK CONTENT

• Competition Brake Package – Includes 14” front and rear disc brakes, with 6 piston calipers and the Firehawk logo machined in the calipers face.

MSRP $4,995.00

STANDARD CONTENT DELETE

• Delete Flat Black Paint on Hood, Grille Surrounds, and Spoiler

MSRP [$750.00]

PRODUCTION SPECIFICS

SLP will produce only 250 2009 Firehawks at its Toms River, NJ facility, which is approximately an hour from Philadelphia, Newark, and Atlantic City airports. The process is simple: Once the Pontiac Dealer has ordered a 2009 Firehawk from SLP and it is entered into SLP’s build schedule, the dealer must then arrange to ship a new 2009 G8 GT from inventory or order a new vehicle from General Motors to be drop-shipped to SLP’s Toms River, NJ facility, to coincide with SLP’s build schedule. Following the completion of the Firehawk upgrade, the car can be picked up at SLP’s Toms River facility by the retail customer or the ordering dealer can make arrangements to have it picked up and delivered back to the dealership.

Firehawk production begins April 1, 2009. In order to comply with the California Air Resources Board issued Executive Order #D-488-14, Firehawk content cannot be installed prior to first retail sale. If you wish to retain the OE take-off parts, including the 19” wheels, and have them returned to you, there is a charge of $800 plus shipping. The reason is we have priced the Firehawk alteration based on the value we recover from selling the stock take-off components.

WARRANTY COVERAGE

SLP will be wholly responsible for the Firehawk alteration and for certification of all systems affected by the Firehawk alteration, in accordance with applicable Federal and State Regulations. SLP will administer and provide 3 year/36,000 mile warranty coverage, to authorized Pontiac dealerships, for all Firehawk components installed and for systems affected by their installation. The General Motors Warranty continues to apply to all parts and systems not affected by the Firehawk alteration, but does not apply to the Firehawk alteration by SLP. SLP reserves the right to change pricing, product content and/or specifications prior to accepting an order for a Firehawk package with proper notification to the ordering dealer.

Pontiac G8 Behind the Wheel

PONTIAC can’t get a break. It finally rolls up to the party in its G8 sedan — with a big snorting engine under the hood, herds of leather in the cabin and a keg in the trunk — only to find the festivities are over. The last drunk has staggered out. The pool is being skimmed. It’s too much, too late.

Back in the halcyon days of 2002, General Motors had a plan for Pontiac. The division, tarnished by three decades spent selling restyled Chevys, would transform itself into the American version of BMW, building rear-drive performance cars without the high German prices. The G8 would be the flagship, and its role was to make such a notion seem not quite so preposterous.

But today, with G.M.’s future in doubt, the G8 power-slides into unknown terrain. Some people at G.M. say this midsize sedan is the future face of a Pontiac unit that will be downsized and refocused. Some say the G8 is doomed to die in 2013, or that its V-8 engine will be swapped for a less thirsty turbocharged 4-cylinder. Others, including tight-fisted members of Congress, insist that G.M. could never make a car this good in the first place.

So, “Mad Max” fans, the G8 may be the last of the V-8 interceptors. How fitting that it is built in Australia. The G8, which supplants the Grand Prix, was engineered Down Under, where the same basic car is the Holden Commodore.

The G8 is sold in two versions — the base model (with a 3.6-liter V-6) and GT (6-liter V-8) — with a super-high-performance GXP scheduled to go on sale by February. A fourth version with a pickup bed called the Sport Truck may or may not arrive next fall. (Aussies love these car-truck combos, which they call “utes.”) Mere talk about the trucklet has restored a lustrous sheen to the feathered ’70s hairstyles of those who loved the Chevy El Camino.

At $28,875, the base G8 is a fine automobile, though light on power (256 horses) and heavy on weight (3,885 pounds) compared with a comparably set-up Nissan Maxima or Mazda 6.

Yet the base car suffers no visual slights. It has the same flared fenders and 18-inch wheels as the GT. It rides on the same impressive suspension, with struts in front and four links in the rear.

Mainly, though, the base model exists to remind you that for an extra $3,365 you could have had the GT. It offers two extra cylinders and 105 more horses, plus another gear in the transmission, larger disc brakes and a six-CD changer with MP3 playback.

To opt for the V-6 and not the V-8 is to squander a basic American freedom — to buy the biggest, most powerful car available. And even if supersizing seems like a liberty the nation can no longer afford, in this instance logic sides with extravagance. The V-8’s cylinder-deactivation system pulls the GT’s economy rating up to 15 miles a gallon in town and 24 on the highway, almost on par with 17/25 for the base car.

Indeed, the GT is where the action is. This car is a class-jumper, a $32,240 four-door with the power and grace to hang with luxury-sport titans like BMW’s 5 Series.

Anyone who’s driven a Pontiac in the last 30 years might read that sentence and think that G.M. piped nitrous oxide into my test car. But the comparison is defensible. Despite the yawning cultural chasm between Australia and Germany — in Oz, the sound of breaking glass is the unofficial national anthem; in Deutschland, littering is rarer than Miller Lite — the two nations have the sort of curving, open road systems that breed fantastically cohesive rear-drive cars.

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And that is exactly what we have in the G8. Setting the tone is a cabin whose studied relationship among steering wheel, seat and pedals make it easy to find the optimal driving position.

The interior is all black and silver, and the controls are of seriously high quality. The back seat is as amply proportioned as the front, with a wide pass-through for large items like snowboards. My one complaint is that too-thick windshield pillars make it hard to see through corners.

I know this because I was constantly seeking curves through which to toss this car. Pitched hard into a turn, the big Pontiac claws through the corner. It won’t wallow or pitch or track wide of the intended line.

The G8 is similar to a great stereo system in that it’s defined at low volume levels, yet able to be cranked up without distortion. No matter the speed, the steering returns the same measured response as the throttle pedal, as the braking system, as the body motions. Other cars this harmonious are usually found in German showrooms.

Like a BMW or Mercedes, the Pontiac is a heavy machine that feels stout and energetic rather than cumbersome. This is due primarily to its 50-50 front-rear weight distribution and its stiff structure, which frees up the chassis to absorb bumps rather than to mitigate body flex.

The powertrain gets the rest of the credit. The V-8 puts out 361 horsepower and has a torque plateau as big as Ayers Rock. Its output flows through a 6-speed manumatic transmission and a limited-slip differential that helps the rear tires bite the pavement.

I was also able to spend some time in a preproduction 2010-model GXP. Because I’m a conscientious, well-trained consumer, this more powerful, almost visually identical car immediately made me forget the GT that I had, up to then, raved about.

Lest anyone forget that Pontiac pretty much invented the muscle car (with the 1964 GTO), the GXP is a reminder. Forty-six model years later, the formula still works: put an oversize engine in a salaryman’s sedan. Performance meets stealth.

But the GXP can do things no ’60s-era muscle car could — like turn and stop. It brings refinement in equal proportion to its aggressiveness.

If the GT is a half-price BMW 550i, then the $37,000 GXP is an M5 for hard times. Its Corvette-derived 6.2-liter V-8 speaks Wookiee, grinds out 415 horsepower and mates to an available, fluidly shifting 6-speed manual. This engine clips more than half a second off the GT’s 5.3-second time in the 0-to-60 m.p.h. run. G.M. says it will do the sprint in 4.7 seconds.

Though its pulse is quicker, the GXP has the same integrity as the GT. Pontiac added 14-inch Brembo brakes up front and it upgraded up the suspension. Both cars feel finished, resolved.

The G8s are an accomplished family of sport sedans, the kind of cars that make Pontiac’s old “We build excitement” ads something more than ironic fodder. They also make a convincing claim to a niche that Detroit has largely left unfilled since the ’60s — the sporting, affordable, rear-drive midsize sedan.

It’s a pity that America isn’t in the market for a sharp-looking V-8-powered anything right now. Personally, I hope someone will invent a time machine within the next week or two and have the good sense to set the controls for the year 2000.

SEMA 2007: Pontiac G8 - 50 Cent/Unique Automotive Edition

With lyrics that don’t pull punches and themes that are brutally honest, rapper 50 Cent (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) has risen to the top of the hip hop scene. He’s also a passionate car enthusiast with a penchant for Pontiacs – his video for the song “Amusement Park” featured the G6 GXP and G8 concept cars.

Now, 50 Cent has teamed up with Pontiac and New York-based tuner to the stars, Will Castro, and his shop, Unique Autosports (the same shop featured on the television show “Unique Whips”), to build a one-of-a-kind G8 performance sedan. It debuted at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

“Partnering with Pontiac has given me the opportunity to create something truly unique – a customized performance vehicle I am really proud of,” said 50. “The G8 is like none other and it pushes the boundaries of what people think a car has to be.”

The new G8 – which goes on sale nationally in early 2008 – is totally customized, with custom paint and exterior appointments, as well as a re-trimmed interior outfitted with an audio system that shakes the ground as much as 50 Cent’s three albums shook up the charts. The car is powered by an LSX 427 engine dyno-tested to more than 500 horsepower and assembled only with components available from the GM Performance Parts catalog or GM Parts.

Rockin’ the spot

The LSX 427 engine uses GM Performance Parts’ affordable, durable LSX cylinder block as its foundation. The engine assembly was filled out with a variety of production-based components used on the Corvette Z06’s 7.0L LS7 engine, including a forged steel crankshaft, lightweight titanium connecting rods, racing-derived aluminum cylinder heads and a complete LS7 intake/throttle body/fuel injection system. Engine operation is handled with GM Performance Parts’ new stand-alone LS7 crate engine controller.

Detroit-area Thomson Automotive oversaw the assembly, dyno testing and installation of the engine. From there, the car was shipped to Unique Autosports, on New York’s Long Island, for the rest of its transformation, which included:

An all-new Spies Hecker Torch Red exterior paint job accented with a bold Ebony graphic that mimics the shape of Pontiac’s “dart” insignia; the graphic runs over the top of the car, starting at a point on the front fascia
Twenty-two-inch chrome wheels from NC Forged that have a deep-dish, seven-spoke design
Low-profile Pirelli Scorpion Zero tires
Dark-tinted taillamps
Tinted glass with Llumar film
Custom “50 Cent Unique Autosports Edition” exterior badging
Borla stainless steel exhaust system
“The most interesting aspect of the project is what we didn’t do to the exterior,” said Will Castro. “We didn’t add a body kit, spoilers or lower the car. The G8 has the right stance and appearance, so we only accented the original form with details that made it unique to 50 Cent.”

Inside, the G8’s black, leather-covered seats were re-trimmed with perforated red leather inserts – with similar trim used on the armrests. The 50 Cent/Unique Autosports logo was embroidered into the seat headrests and custom floor mats. The finishing touch for the G8 is an 800-watt JBL audio system, with complementing amps and a subwoofer.

“A first-class audio system was a must for 50 Cent, and this one rocks the spot,” said Castro. “In fact, the G8 itself just-plain rocks and makes a great platform to build a custom, high-performance street car.”