It was the 1971 Pontiac Pegasus Concept: a design study built from a production 1970 Pontiac Firebird and fitted with a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 V12. It was not a production Pontiac or a factory Ferrari-engine option. General Motors describes the car as a concept directed by GM Design Vice President William L. Mitchell.
What was the Pontiac Pegasus?
The Pegasus paired a Firebird foundation with Ferrari-inspired styling and parts from both Ferrari and General Motors. GM’s Heritage entry identifies it as a design-concept study based on a 1970 Pontiac Firebird; “1971” is the concept’s designation, not the model year of its donor car. GM Heritage’s 1971 Pontiac Pegasus Concept entry is the primary record for its identity and listed equipment.
The idea was not simply to put a Ferrari engine in an otherwise ordinary Firebird. The car combined that V12 and Ferrari hardware with GM components, while its body treatment drew on Ferrari design cues. It remained a concept rather than a Pontiac offered for sale.
How its design came together
GM credits William L. Mitchell, then the company’s design vice president, with directing the project. GM says the Pegasus’s front end, grille and fender vents drew inspiration from Ferrari designs.
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A more specific account comes from Chevrolet stylist Jerry Palmer, as reported by MotorTrend. Palmer recalled sketching a Ferrari-inspired front end while working on an idea to freshen the Camaro, before Mitchell moved the proposal to Pontiac. Palmer said: “We were looking at how to freshen up the Camaro. I did a four-by-two-foot sketch early on with a [1958 Ferrari 250] Testa Rossa front end on it. Then Bill Mitchell broke my heart and took it down to Pontiac.”
MotorTrend’s account says the Pontiac studio then added Pontiac’s center-divider grille bar and adjusted the headlights and rear glass. That design-development history is a secondary-source account; GM’s Heritage entry confirms the concept’s direction and Ferrari-inspired cues but does not give this sketch-by-sketch chronology.
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What Ferrari and GM parts did it use?
GM’s Heritage listing documents a deliberately mixed specification:
| Component | Documented source or description |
|---|---|
| Base vehicle | Production 1970 Pontiac Firebird |
| Engine | Ferrari 365 GTB/4 V12, contributed to the project by Enzo Ferrari |
| Transmission | Ferrari five-speed |
| Rear axle | GM posi-traction |
| Brakes | Corvette four-wheel disc brakes |
| Wheels | Borrani wire wheels |
| Exhaust and mufflers | Ferrari |
| Instrument-panel gauges | Ferrari |
The record establishes the engine and major components, but it does not provide a horsepower figure or a performance test result. Those numbers should not be inferred from the donor Firebird or the Ferrari engine’s other applications.
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What is known about the build beyond GM’s specification?
A 2021 account from The Drive reports further development details, including an initial GM automatic transmission, a later switch to a Ferrari manual, and a relocated firewall. GM’s Heritage entry confirms the Ferrari five-speed in the concept’s listed specification but does not document that sequence or the firewall change. Treat those details as secondary reporting rather than as points established by GM’s component listing.
The evidence supports describing the Pegasus as a Firebird-based Pontiac concept with Ferrari power and a blend of Ferrari and GM hardware. It does not support calling it a production model, a factory option, or a regular Firebird trim.
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