Turbo Weirdo: The 1985 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo Was One Of The Seemingly Rogue PerFormance Automobiles of GM’s Nineteen Eighties
The saddest factor concerning the Nineteen Eighties and GM was that the issues that had made them a worldwide colossus and had been seen as their biggest strengths simply 20 years earlier than was large negatives for the corporate. The model of GM that exists right this moment is thus far off the map from the place the corporate was that it’s nearly inconceivable. With the previous guard answerable for GM within the Nineteen Eighties nonetheless and that previous guard being actually into the completely different divisions of the corporate, there have been some actually bizarre vehicles that managed to sneak out of factories again then, stuff that may by no means occur right this moment.
Hell, assume for a second if some govt sat in a gathering right this moment and determined that they wished to make what would absolutely be a small quantity convertible mannequin utilizing engines and transmissions imported from Brazil and tailored to suit the chassis. That’s precisely what that is. The 1985 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo was a 150hp drop high that obtained folks’s consideration and offered in small numbers. We don’t assume that it’s doable Pontiac made a dime on this stuff.
The vehicles did carry out for his or her period. 16.8 seconds and 80mph by way of the drag strip is laughable right this moment however again then it put these vehicles into the realm of the V8 powered stuff that was trundling out of factories throughout America.
Personally? I actually didn’t just like the J-body vehicles of this timeframe. I believed they had been for previous women who lived alone and I believed they had been ugly as hell. I’ve not seen one in every of these vehicles, particularly the turbocharged model on the street for years at this level. Has anybody else?
An instance of how the GM divisional system was principally tearing itself to shreds at this level and why that division system could be all however diminished to call badges with similar vehicles within the following years.
Press play under to see this overview of the 1985 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo –
