The 2001 Pontiac Trans Am 10th Edition Firehawk: X-Men Edition

Street Legal Performance's Anniversary Edition Firehawk is one legit mutant.

October 3, 2000


Mutant hero team chooses GM over Ford for team car after in-house slug-fest. "I'll never drive a Chevy," says Wolverine. Professor Charles Xavier remains unavailable for comment..."

Indeed. Yrs. Truly, a Marvel True Believer since the Dark Phoenix days, finds it quite difficult to picture Wolvie behind the wheel of something other than a crusty Ford F-150 that's rolled its odo at least three times. Be that as it may, X-Men Productions upped and chose General Motors and Street Legal Performance (SLP) to do up the official X-Men show car for the Mutant's big screen debut this past summer.

The ride in question is a splashy one-off version of SLP's 10th Anniversary Trans Am Firehawk, the GM tuner's one-up version on the LS1 Poncho Trans Am. Aside from the gold/black color scheme, movie murals, and 17" five-spoke rollers, SLP's X-Men F-body is just another Firehawk. Which is a little like saying Rogue's just another babe from the Bayou.

SLP makes a living tweaking select GM factory automobiles. The Camaro, Trans Am, S-10, and Grand Prix, to name a few, can all be ordered in various guises as SLP specials or done up ex post facto as aftermarket conversions. Some of their one-offs are essentially cosmetic re-dos. Others, most notably the Firehawk, involve somewhat more aggressive transformations.

Check the WU6 Firehawk package on GM's option list, and the General will ship the guts of your F-body from their Montreal plant to SLP's laboratory in Troy, Michigan for an extra-special massage. The basic Firehawk package includes an SLP-exclusive composite material Ram Air hood with twin snorkels, a fully functional ram air system, hood-mounted heat extractors, and a freer-breathing, stainless steel cat-back exhaust system. The improved air flow and heat dissipation kicks the Firehawk's 5.7 liter V8 up to 335-bhp and 350 lb-ft of torque.

Underneath the Firehawk, a beefier front sway bar's and fatter bushings replace the stock suspension pieces. A panhard bar's fixed arrears to help put the power down, and jounce bumper spacers are fitted to allow for beefier meats. The front fascia and dash plaque don't add traction action or boost but they do inform the masses that you are indeed a member of the exclusive Firehawk fraternity.

SLP offers their badder 'birds in a variety of hues and offers several performance suspension options and wheel-tire combos. SLP plans to run-off 1,000 X-tra special 10th Anniversary Firehawks with the X-Men special's gold-over-black combination. A matched set of 17" gold-plated rollers and similarly slathered exhaust tips round out the look.

SLP ain't no Saleen, but the Firehawk Trans Am offers plenty of quick and a firm hard trek through the twisties, especially for those bird-watchers who check off the optional limited slip Auburn differential, hi-stall torque converter, and one of two shock/brake upgrade packages. A maxed-out mutant Firehawk can expect to hit 60 somewhere in the high fours, sting the quarter in the low-13s and pull a goodly 0.91 Gs on the skids.

Do not, however, under any circumstances order the SLP embroidered custom car cover. Do so and I shall be forced to hunt you down by scent and work you over something fierce with my formidable weather control powers, force beams, and adamantium claws. And that would be sad.

Graham Strouse wants to know where Adam's hiding "The Mutant Babes of Four-Color Comics." Chandelle's got something cookin' in the pot, but can she phase through walls or thrash a Sentinel? I think not

X-Men Firehawk| 7-17-2000
Recently reported at Coming Attractions, in promotion for the newly released X-Men Movie, they converted a new 2001 model 10th anniversary Trans Am Firehawk into a big advertisment. Here are some of the special features on the car:

  • Special X-Men graphics on the hood, lower portion of the doors and rear of the car
  • Dual gold stripes on the hood with a V-Shaped Image of the X-Men centered between the stripes
  • Unique rear deck spoiler with gold stripes
  • Gold-Painted, Five-Spoke, 17" Wheels
  • High Performance Exhaust System with Gold-Painted Outlet Tips
  • 335-horsepower LS1 V8 engine
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By: David Hamburger : SLP Engineering, Inc.

New York City - As part of the marketing promotion for "X-Men, The Movie", X-Men Productions has selected the 2001 model 10th Anniversary Trans Am Firehawk as Show Car for the movie, which will open in theaters nationwide July 14th.

During a series of media activities held July 8-10 in New York City, SLP Engineering premiered its one-of-a-kind Firehawk that featured images depicting certain members of the movie cast.

"We're thrilled to play a small role in the overall promotion of what many believe will be the next blockbuster movie franchise," noted Reg Harris, marketing director for SLP Engineering, the automotive industry's largest, high performance, niche vehicle car company.

The one of a kind Trans Am Firehawk features the following content:

Over the last decade, SLP has modified more than 25,000* Firebirds and Camaros for General Motors Corporation Pontiac and Chevrolet division dealers. "However, this special black and gold Firehawk is, without a doubt, the most unique vehicle we've ever created," noted Harris.

While SLP created the special vehicle to help promote the cinematic interpretation of "X-Men", the world's most popular comic book series, Harris added, "We also fully expect to sell a minimum of 1,000 tenth anniversary Firehawks in the 2001 model year. Each anniversary Firehawk will be black with gold stripes, all-new rear spoiler and 17" gold wheels, along with a number of other special features."







Although the car does not appear in the movie, it was showcased during recent 20th Century Fox media activities at The Essex House Hotel in New York City, where it served as the backdrop for interviews and photo sessions. Going forward, SLP's Trans Am Firehawk will be highlighted at upcoming X-Men promotional venues, such as national comic book collectors' conventions.
SLP Presents the 10th Anniversary 2001 Firehawk - Part of the Marketing Promotion for "X-Men, The Movie"
 The Movie Opened up on July 14th, 2000.  This is said to be the most unique vehicle that has ever been produced by SLP.  This is a one of a kind Trans Am Firehawk.  Some of the features are the Special X-Men graphics on the hood, rear of car and lower portions of the doors.  It also has dual gold stripes on the hood with a V-shaped image of the X-Men centered between the stripes.   Also it has a unique rear deck spoiler with gold stripes as well as gold painted, five spoke 17" wheels.  The enigne is a 335 Horsepower LS1 V8 Engine.  In addition this Firehawk comes with a high performance exhaust system with gold painted outlet tips.  However, the car wasn't even in the movie.  It can be seen at comic book collector's conventions around the country.