1997 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk — SLP Engineering Package, LT1 V8, Ram Air, T-Tops Why This Car Is Special The 1997 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk is not a trim level Pontiac offered through its normal dealer network. It is a specialty vehicle produced through a partnership between Pontiac and SLP Engineering, a New Jersey-based company that had been working with GM since the early 1990s to build higher-performance versions of F-body cars. SLP — which stands for Street Legal Performance — took base Firebird Formula and Trans Am platforms and transformed them into factory-warranted, dealer-delivered performance vehicles that went well beyond what Pontiac's own engineering team was allowed to produce under GM's internal restrictions at the time.

The Firehawk name first appeared in 1991 as a concept, and by 1992 SLP was building them for sale. By 1997, the Firehawk had matured into one of the fastest American production cars available at any price point. Road tests from the era documented 0-60 times in the mid-to-low five-second range, with quarter-mile times hovering around 13 seconds, depending on the transmission.

That put the Firehawk in direct conversation with vehicles costing significantly more money. The combination of a Corvette-sourced engine, functional Ram Air induction, and a suspension tuned specifically for the Firehawk made it a genuine performance package rather than a cosmetic one. What makes the 1997 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk particularly collectible today is how few were built.

SLP produced Firehawks in relatively small numbers each year, and 1997 was no exception. These cars were ordered through Pontiac dealerships as RPO-coded options, processed through SLP's facility, and then returned to dealers with a full factory warranty intact. That process kept production numbers low and quality control high.

Survivors in good condition are genuinely difficult to find, especially with the Ram Air hood, the SLP exhaust, and the Bilstein suspension all still in place. This specific car is finished in white over a gray cloth interior, carries the LT1 5.7-liter V8, and is equipped with the 4-speed automatic transmission — a combination that made the Firehawk broadly accessible without sacrificing any of the engine's output. The SLP package, Ram Air induction, Bilstein shocks, and dual quad-tip exhaust are all present and accounted for.

Features List - LT1 5.7L V8 engine - SLP Engineering Firehawk package - Functional Ram Air induction with Pontiac Ram Air intake plenum - 4-speed automatic transmission - Dual quad-tip exhaust - Bilstein shock absorbers - T-tops - Rear spoiler - 5-spoke aluminum wheels - Four-wheel disc brakes (front and rear) - ABS brakes - Air conditioning - Power steering - Power brakes - Tilt steering wheel - Cruise control - Power windows and locks - Dual front airbags - Rear window defroster - AM/FM cassette stereo - Tachometer - Center console - Bucket seats - Firehawk embroidered floor mats Mechanical The heart of this 1997 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk is the LT1 5.7-liter V8, which Chevrolet also used in the C4 Corvette and the Impala SS during the same era. In standard Firebird Formula and Trans Am trim, the LT1 was rated at 285 horsepower. The SLP Firehawk package extracted additional output through a combination of the functional Ram Air induction system and the SLP-designed exhaust.

With those modifications in place, SLP rated the Firehawk at 305 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque, though independent testing sometimes found even more than that at the rear wheels under ideal conditions. The Ram Air system on this car is functional, not decorative. The twin hood scoops feed directly into the Pontiac-badged Ram Air intake plenum visible under the hood, which draws cooler, denser outside air directly into the engine at speed.

This setup is meaningfully different from the cosmetic hood scoops found on many other performance cars of the period. At highway speeds, positive air pressure builds inside th