The Fanta-tastic American coupe featured in the following photos is not a Chevrolet Camaro, even if it looks almost identical to one and shares many of its mechanicals with that car, too. No, the vehicle shown here is a Pontiac Firebird, which is from a different branch of the General Motors family tree. Sort of like twins that are actually cousins.
To describe the car shown here as striking would be to understate its visual impact! The flawless orange paint job is almost luminous, while the chrome, wheels and interior are all first rate.
The styling is pure American muscle, with a long, vented bonnet, elegant coupe style doors and sexy haunches over the rear mudguards. It sits low and wide. The overall effect is somewhere between classic Coke bottle styling and an animal about to pounce on its prey.
UMPH initially thought that the rear-most bulge shown in the photo above was another form of venting - one that was designed to create negative pressure and thus suck air from the hot engine bay. It didn't take long, however, to see that it actually housed an exterior tachometer, as shown below.
This particular car is a left-hand drive version, so it's almost certainly been imported direct from the USA. To UMPH's knowledge, Firebirds and Camaros were never officially sold in Australia, although the latter were raced with some moderate success at Bathurst.
Whilst Firebirds and Camaros aren't common in Tasmania, there is at least one similar to the car shown here - a black one, more likely to be a Camaro - occasionally seen in Hobart. There are one or two later versions of both cars getting around town, too, but it's these earlier models that UMPH reckons look best.
U M P H
(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au .)
All iPhone images.
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