Photo: Mecum
Going back as far as 1914, radial tires have only started being adopted in the late 1960s for massive-scale use. Their particular design, which eventually proved to be superior to others, made them very widespread today. But back in 1971, they were kind of the novelty.
That year, in a bid to promote a new radial tire it was making, American company BFGoodrich launched its own racing program. For the task at hand, it hired a shop by the name T/G Racing and partnered with Pontiac to developed special variants of the carmaker’s Trans Am. Six of these special racers were made, and nicknamed Tirebird.
That’s the name of the racing program BFGoodrich put together. Called BFG Tirebird, it led to race wins by cars shod in radial tires, but also marked the first time a tire company promoted its products by focusing on their track performance. The Americans seem to have nailed what they were doing back then, as presently the BFGoodrich radials are among the favorites in say the muscle car segment.
We’re not sure what happened with the Trans Am Tirebirds, at least with five of them. The sixth is now sitting on your screen, after we uncovered it to be part of the list of cars going under the Mecum hammer in Houston, Texas, later this week – and we’re told this is the last remaining one.
Coming in blue over black, it sports the number 92 and BFG Radial livery, looking as great as it does thanks to a restoration process conducted a few years back.
A star at many car shows of previous years, the vehicle is now selling with a new 454ci (7.4-liter) engine under the hood, specced by Michigan-based Berger Chevrolet, and linked to an automatic transmission.
According to Mecum, the car is selling with proof that it is one of the six BFGoodrich Tirebirds made, meaning “extensive documentation” and a recognition from the BF Goodrich Garage.
That’s the name of the racing program BFGoodrich put together. Called BFG Tirebird, it led to race wins by cars shod in radial tires, but also marked the first time a tire company promoted its products by focusing on their track performance. The Americans seem to have nailed what they were doing back then, as presently the BFGoodrich radials are among the favorites in say the muscle car segment.
We’re not sure what happened with the Trans Am Tirebirds, at least with five of them. The sixth is now sitting on your screen, after we uncovered it to be part of the list of cars going under the Mecum hammer in Houston, Texas, later this week – and we’re told this is the last remaining one.
Coming in blue over black, it sports the number 92 and BFG Radial livery, looking as great as it does thanks to a restoration process conducted a few years back.
A star at many car shows of previous years, the vehicle is now selling with a new 454ci (7.4-liter) engine under the hood, specced by Michigan-based Berger Chevrolet, and linked to an automatic transmission.
According to Mecum, the car is selling with proof that it is one of the six BFGoodrich Tirebirds made, meaning “extensive documentation” and a recognition from the BF Goodrich Garage.
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