This is 1995 Firehawk #523 (out of 671).
I ordered it new from the factory in 1995. A lot of dealers I price-shopped either couldn't guarantee ordering one, wanted a $6,000 deposit or they were completely unaware of Firehawks. Fortunately my local dealer was knowledgeable and cooperative. As it turns out they managed to trade for the privilege of ordering six cars from SLP. They even managed to get three including mine before production was cut short.
I ordered it with:
- Performance Exhaust: This was the best exhaust sound I've heard on any car I've ever driven, factory or aftermarket.
- Borg-Warner T-56 six-speed manual transmission: I like the control of a stick and this one is an exceptional example.
- Hurst Shifter
- Firehawk logo floor mats
- Black paint/graphite cloth interior
- 1SB option group incl. electric everything but the seat
I decided against the suspension option (base 'Hawk includes some suspension tweaks) because I didn't think .02g was worth the $1,600 they were asking. For that kind of money I could have had a decent aftermarket suspension.
I wanted yellow, unfortunately that color was dropped for '95. But let's face it: black is the only serious sports car color. I also decided to skip the leather given Texas heat. T-tops were never much of a consideration — nice off, but a pain to deal with (at least they seal better on the 4th gen. F-bodies) and they slightly reduce the rigidity of the unibody chassis. If a sunroof were available I might have been tempted….
I added a couple of modifications during the short time I had the car. Nothing significant.
Brochure
A friend scanned in the 1995 sales brochure for me and here it is.
R.I.P.
Unfortunately this Firehawk was killed 1996-09-19, just a short year and a half after I took delivery. The complete story lies herein.