Photo: Daniil Savanin
You can't put Pontiac's name into the same sentence with "mid-engined" without people instantly thinking of the 1980s Fiero. Well, with the two-seater Poncho serving as a base for so many replicas, who can blame them? Then again, the restomod portrayed in the rendering we have here comes to change that perception, as it brings a midship Firebird Trans Am under the spotlights.
One might ask why would anybody move the V8 of the second-generation Trans Am behind the seats? Well, builds based on this generation of the muscle car are hugely popular these days, and here's an example of one that easily stands out.
The motor's relocation means this digital build stands out while also improving the machine's weight distribution. As for the engine itself, the old-school V8 is gone, having been replaced by a modern LS unit; purists could at least take comfort in the fact that the transition is keeping things in the GM family.
As for those trunk lid-protruding exhaust tips, they seem to display an OEM level of integration, which is a surprisingly discreet approach for such a rowdy build.
Then again, the changes above are just the tip of the iceberg. As such, while the body panels still allow the car to be recognized as an early 1970s Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, there's a tubular chassis underneath, whose custom suspension has been set up to deliver a race car approach. Of course, the bespoke wheels, which are shod in generous racing slicks, also help impress the stopwatch.
Surprisingly, there's not that much downforce work here, with the airflow manipulation task currently handled by the front air dam and the aero covers for the front wheels. And while we're talking about the muscle car's remastered appearance, keep in mind that some high-res images await you in the gallery.
Daniil Savanin, the digital artist responsible for the work, which is nicknamed EXO, mentions this isn't the virtual build's final stage.
And we've left the quirkiest part of the affair for last, as this involves the Pontiac's autonomous driving capabilities. These come thanks to various pieces of hardware, such as the sensors on top of the windshield coordinated via the "automaton" module that now sits between the front wheels. So this toy is not unlike the many machines that populate the virtual world of the Cyberpunk 2077 open-world RPG.
Of course, given the beefed-up nature of the Trans Am, the driver will wish to gain control of the vehicle and make the said tailpipes sing, so how does the mix work? For one, the computer could handle the car during the cooldown laps or take care of the return leg that's part of the drag strip experience.
The motor's relocation means this digital build stands out while also improving the machine's weight distribution. As for the engine itself, the old-school V8 is gone, having been replaced by a modern LS unit; purists could at least take comfort in the fact that the transition is keeping things in the GM family.
As for those trunk lid-protruding exhaust tips, they seem to display an OEM level of integration, which is a surprisingly discreet approach for such a rowdy build.
Then again, the changes above are just the tip of the iceberg. As such, while the body panels still allow the car to be recognized as an early 1970s Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, there's a tubular chassis underneath, whose custom suspension has been set up to deliver a race car approach. Of course, the bespoke wheels, which are shod in generous racing slicks, also help impress the stopwatch.
Surprisingly, there's not that much downforce work here, with the airflow manipulation task currently handled by the front air dam and the aero covers for the front wheels. And while we're talking about the muscle car's remastered appearance, keep in mind that some high-res images await you in the gallery.
Daniil Savanin, the digital artist responsible for the work, which is nicknamed EXO, mentions this isn't the virtual build's final stage.
And we've left the quirkiest part of the affair for last, as this involves the Pontiac's autonomous driving capabilities. These come thanks to various pieces of hardware, such as the sensors on top of the windshield coordinated via the "automaton" module that now sits between the front wheels. So this toy is not unlike the many machines that populate the virtual world of the Cyberpunk 2077 open-world RPG.
Of course, given the beefed-up nature of the Trans Am, the driver will wish to gain control of the vehicle and make the said tailpipes sing, so how does the mix work? For one, the computer could handle the car during the cooldown laps or take care of the return leg that's part of the drag strip experience.
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