Who wore it better? 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 vs. 1993 Pontiac Firebird | Hagerty Media

[Hagerty]

Our first look at the 2022 Porsche 911 GT3 had all our focus on the impressive specs: 510 hp, a 9000-rpm redline, 50 percent more downforce-the list of impressive numbers goes on.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/who-wore-it-better-2022-porsche-911-gt3-vs-1993-pontiac-firebi...

[TomP]

A better comparison would have been cars that actually have some similarities in lines, like the original Porsche 924 and the RX-7. Or the Miata and the Lotus Elan. Oh wait - you actually did that article 4 years ago...

[Justice]

What kind of moron is responsible for this? 2022 vs 1993, how about a Ford model T vs a 2021 Shelby GT500 or T vs Charger Demon. Give me a break!

[seriously]

This seems like an article that Motortrend would write. Even mentioning Pontiac in the same sentence as Porsche immediately discredits your post. Comparing an absolute piece of floating plastic trash with the Pontiac to an incredible driving weapon as the 911? Oh dear.

[AutoDr]

Really Hagerty? Little bit of a stretch here don't you think? lol

[Swanrandy]

Too funny..!
You're right about the similarity in design style signatures. Reminds me of the Ferrari-esque front end treatments of some of the Oldsmobile Aurora models.
That all being said there were some 50's era cars wearing hood ornamentation with striking similarities to these hood vents, and perhaps the most iconic use in America, before the last generation of F-birds, was the 1964 Corvette's use of faux extractor vents.
To paraphrase an old saying "good artist borrow, great artists steal" and the similarities are fun to point out, but i think we all agree that Porsche rarely ever does anything just because it "looks" neat-o and almost never compromises on performance.

Thanks for bringing some fun and silly automotive pseudo water cooler chats into our hunkered down COVID19 home workspaces.

Keep up the "Hood" work, Hagerty Team..! 😉

Cheers,

Randle

[LamboEd]

Kinda different cars from different times aside from the "similar" hood and to each there own. BUT that being said I am all in on the Firebird. Of course I am bias as I have 2 1975 Trans Ams. An automatic that has an amazing custom paint jobs with a custom air brushed firebird on the hood, and no graphichs, everything is all paint. And a stick that is white with a blue bird and blue interior. Both low mileage.

[JAG]

You guys are usually very good with these articles, make us think, come from a different view point etc. I like both cars but this one is makes no sense.

[MATTMERICA]

I think they are baiting the readership - you can't say anything even remotely negative towards a porsche owner, they go ballistic. So why not throw out something a little too easy to get the minions riled up over lol

[Brandan]

You don't see any resemblance in the heat extractors?

[stevecobb45]

Have you guys got nothing better to write about? Why not an article about restoring/converting old car clocks to quartz movement or best places to score disc brake conversions? You know, car stuff.

[Eric]

Hi Steve, sorry this piece didn't appeal to you.

Here's a fun one from a while back on self-winding steering wheel clocks: https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/self-winding-steering-wheel-clock/

One from a few days ago on Fiero radio repair: https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/getting-board-with-rebuilding-a-delco-cassette-pl...

And I would encourage you to visit the homepage on Wednesdays for Phillip Thomas' Wrenchin' series, if maintenance/DIY content appeals to you: https://www.hagerty.com/media/tags/wrenchin-wednesday/

In my opinion it's a big tent, and it's all car stuff, but hopefully the above stuff is more in your wheelhouse.

[tahend]

Who wore it better?????? Not what I would call apples to apples.

[RoadDog]

Olivia Culpo and Rosanne Barr each have two nostrils, but I don't think they look alike, either.

[OldCarMan]

MMM... more like Melissa McCarthy!

[Tsaxman]

Hmm. "Miss Rhode Island versus Island Road?"

[Firehawks]

I was the SLP rep. for the east coast for Camaro SS and Firehawk, that were both built by SLP, for a number of years. The reason why the 4th gen. F Body was canceled was that it could not pass the updated federal side impact standards A Formula coupe with the full SLP package was lighter,and stiffer than a Trans Am optioned car. The Porsche is always going to be the weapon of choice for any track day, but for the fun quotient for the money, the Firehawk is a unique 90's street car that is rapidly disappearing from the streets. The cost of ownership, insurance and maintenance costs are clearly in the favor of Firehawk. Almost anyone, regardless of their skill level, can enjoy the rumble of a V8, and the wind in their hair. After all, isn't this article about stirring things up and having a little fun with the motorsports community?

[Geok86]

Sorry to disagree with you, but the 4th gens were at the end of an already too long lifecycle, and GM opted not to replace them at the time with a 5th gen, due to the fact that sales had been dropping for years, and they wanted to devote more of the transmissions, rear ends, etc, to the much more profitable trucks and SUVs...it had nothing to do with door crash beams.

[Tsaxman]

It always seemed to me that if they had downsized to something similar in size or smaller than a Mustang (which continued to sell), GM could have kept marketing Firebirds and Camaros.

[Geok86]

Compared to an sn95, or a New Edge, the Fbodies were within just inches in everything but overall length, which was about 1 foot longer, and a Formula, or Z28 hardtop actually weighed less too. As for the cancellation of the cars...again it was all due to demand...everyone was drifting away from coupes, and trucks and SUVs were much more profitable.

[JAG]

92 Firehawk is the most awesome car of that year. It was expensive in the F car world but as a near supercar it was a bargain. Try to find one today, I have they don't exist.

[Geok86]

They do, but rarely come up for sale, and when they do, they sell in the high five to low six figures.

[83scamp]

He is correct on this. Between not being able to pass side impact tests, and miserable sales, GM had little choice but to cancel the cars.
At the time, I worked at the plant that made the doors for the 4th Gen Camaro and Firebird. They scared me.. I would never own one. Flimsy fiberglass(SMC) construction, with cheap stamped metal reinforcements on both ends to support the hinges and door latch, with a single steel bar joining them. GM knew the design sucked, and wouldn't fix it, even though we practically begged them too... When I left that company, they literally had THOUSANDS of doors in storage out back that failed every quality check GM had. GM insisted on using a crappy acrylic glue glue on the doors to join the inner and outer panels that peeled off at the slightest pressure. We begged them to switch to the better epoxy glue Ford and Chrysler used, but because it shrank slightly while curing, it left a line on the exterior of the panels because they were too thin... Instead of fixing the panel thickness, they just continued making crappy parts...

[CitationMan]

Everyone is so serious, relax and just enjoy this clever observation by a great writer. I much prefer the Hagerty stories over the typical car magazine articles, which are usually nothing more than corporate press releases.

[Crossrace]

Let's be honest, we all know the new GT3 is a better car than any of the various 90s Firebird models, it benefits from 30 years of technology development. But the flipside is that those 30 years have also seen 911s go from attractive, relatively compact cars to ugly, bulbous caricatures of their former selves. I therefore argue that the Firebird owns that fake hood extractor in a way the Porsche could never hope to.

[CitationMan]

Pick out at random 100 1990’s Firebirds, and they have easily racked up more miles than all of the GT3’s ever built. 

[HotRodG]

Hagerty, thanks for trying to keep us entertained and engaged. People, stop taking yourselves so seriously!!! Half of you get it, but the other half can't help but spew venom and take any opportunity to attack. Social media syndrome? "Car bullies" used to hide behind CB Radio's back in the day.......now they exist behind keyboards. Get a grip folks and go take a drive.....isn't that why we're all here???

[Geok86]

Uhhmmm...they asked the question....now we’re all responding. Isn’t that what this article was all about?!

[Tsaxman]

Surely, you jest.

[CJinSD]

I don't think either car is improved by the presence of those vents.

[TA76]

Simply the Firebird were good looking cars the Porsche are just ugly. It is not a performance thing it is about looks.

[chrlsful]

looks are a big part of us of a-ers' choice in purchases. My preference for ownership is the poncho, looks - the porsche. Best is the scoop from the past era race car "the NACA duct" (street nomenclature: 'reverse scoop'). Like every other automotive Q the answ depends on APPLICATION (& that's science, not 'looks'). I'd like to hear more abt this one...

[llawrence9]

Whippersnappers both. A Tempest whupped the lot of Ferraris, Porsches and such.

1963 Pontiac LeMans Wins the 1963 NASCAR Challenge Cup
Where It All Began. Featured in Hot Rod Magazine.

What did Mercedes do with the Tempest? There is a story for you.

[JPTL]

I'm waiting for the Cayman S vs. the Fiero GT comparison before I comment....

[oldcars]

I don't think there is an intelligent response for this

[Cool-isAmerican]

The lack of exposed headlights makes this argument completely ridiculous in any way. The Firebird has no resemblance to the Porsche whatsoever; sorry but this is another worthless article about nothing.......IMO

[Brandan]

We're not talking about headlights, we're talking about heat extractors.

[KyleO]

There is a reason Burt Reynolds drove a trans am and the girl character in the movie cars was a girl

[MVC]

come-on folks, it's obvious we're being trolled here by the author, either that or its some weird double blind study to look at how humans respond to ridiculous comparisons.

[Eric]

well now it's not blind at all. THANKS

[0luke1]

Can I have my five minutes back please?

[John]

As I own a '95 Firebird Formula I think you can guess which way I lean.

[911Guy]

This just in- my shirtless wife looks like Scarlett Johansson because they both feature skin.

[Mogowner]

Are you serious? It takes a very large stretch of the imagination to connect the two cars, not something that would have ever occurred to me. I see no similarity at all. Of course they both sit on four wheels and may be driven by humans. I would not be a taker of either, I had my Porsche experience years ago, once was enough, and Pontiac never appealed to me in the slightest way. I prefer more singularly interesting drives than bland, mass-produced transportation devices.

[Brandan]

The mass-produced transportation device is just a jumping-off point.

[JeffA]

Just like it, only different. I think the comparison is a stretch. If the comparison makes someone happy, then enjoy. I'd bet on the Pontiac people enjoying this more than the Porsche people, but I don't usually bet.

[spoom]

I had to check to see if it was April 1st.

[Kewina50]

...and now, directly from the Big Book of Who Cares?...Latest Edition...also available in paperback.

[Eric]

Sounds like a lot of people expected this to be some kind of very serious, hard-hitting comparison, when the content of the story makes it expressly about two very different cars with similar-looking heat extractors.

Shall we keep all lighthearted, fun observations to ourselves from now on?

[spoom]

Great, another straw man question. 😂

[930Flachbau]

Well, yes, I accept your apology and no, I will not be saying thank you. Porsche has followed "form follows function" for decades now. Pontiac Firebird, on the other hand, function had to follow the form. Just look on the amount of front end overhang just to add that aero. Nope, that apparent similarity is a mere coincidence.