1986 Pontiac Mera Is The Holy Grail Of Fieros: Craigslist Find
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The Pontiac Fiero has been subject to many kit car treatments over the past few decades, most commonly for Ferrari and Lamborghini lookalikes. However, the Mera is not some aftermarket attempt at doing so, this actually came from the factory.
The Pontiac Mera began life as a regular Fiero, but it was then modified as a Ferrari 308… sort of. Nonetheless, they are rare, and were only sold through Pontiac dealerships during 1987 and 1988. However, this 1986 Pontiac Mera is special.
There were no 1986 Pontiac Mera, execept for this one. The vehicle has surfaced on Craigslist, and appears to be the original concept/prototype used for the 1987 Detroit Auto Show as an introduction to the Mera. Furthermore, this is supported by the car’s four-speed manual over regular Mera’s five-speed units.
The kit cannot be replicated and retrofitted to an existing Fiero, which made the Mera that much more unique to the few who purchased one. Pontiac quickly discontinued the variant halfway through 1988.
This prime example has only 59,850 miles on the odometer, and everything is in working order. Furthermore, the seller retains all official documentation of the vehicle for its next owner, showing the 1986 Mera as the official vehicle for brochures and promotion.
Time will tell if the 1986 Pontiac Mera is worth $25,000, but there’s no denying this is one unique poncho.
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“this actually came from the factory.” Did it? I understand that these were sold directly through Pontiac dealers, but I thought Corporate Concepts performed the transformations – not the Pontiac Assembly line.
Slightly related, I’m in the middle of a 3800 swap from a 2001 GP into an ’86 Fiero. I’m hoping to get the dash from the GP squeezed in as well.
Drum_Junkie,
I should clarify, I didn’t mean to express this actually came from a GM assembly line, but it was a sanctioned option by Pontiac. Best of luck on your project!
Glad to see we have an excellent source and community for further information on this obscure vehicle, as well.
Cheers,
-Sean
The car was built for a couple years till it was shut down by Ferrari.
The cars were given approval by Pontiac to enjoy a full factory warranty and were permitted to be sold by Pontiac dealers as a new car.
The bodies do fit any Fiero out there but were never sold as kits. Some people today will use another Fiero space frame to replace rusted ones to restore a Mera.
The original prototype was silver as I saw it back in the day. Being the only 4 speed may be correct.
These were low production and interesting cars. Prices tend to be around $10K for a rough one to $25K for a good example. They were well built and look like a 3/4 308.
They for sure are an interesting foot note to Pontiac history and will surely increase in value in the future for clean examples.
The Fiero also had other foot notes at the dealer. The Cars and Concepts T tops were offered as a factory option in 1988 but you could have them installed as a dealer installed option that would not void the GM warranty. They used the same parts accept for the roof gaskets that just were a slight difference.
Back in the day the retro fit tops were installed by C&C dealers or even at the plant by the same people who later converted the factory 88 option cars.
Even some Mera models received the conversion of T tops.
When you dig deeper into the Fiero there was many things the Factory designed and worked with outside suppliers on for different rare items like the DGP body kits and the Indy Scoop.
Even in 1984 the dealer could order you a factory fitted soft luggage set that is pretty rare today.
Imagine if GM was still building the Fiero as it would some common components with front-drive cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu which translates to a base engine of a 1.4L DOHC-4v 4-cyl turbo and the top engine option being the LTG 275 hp 2.0L DOHC-4v 4-cyl turbo mated to a 8-speed automatic with zero-to-sixty acceleration possibly in the sub-4 second mark.
Well I see the Fiero people spoke up about the Mera. Great. When I read the story, I thought I better set this guy straight. But no need to. Funny how people mess up facts and fiction, especially when it comes to the Fiero. You gotta own one to appreciate it!
It is ok as the Craig’s list ad was not well written and it could be easily taken wrong. I am just glad to see a story here.
The real issue is there is no definitive written history on the Fiero that tell the full untainted GM side of the story.
The Witztenburg book was about the Fiero but only on GM terms and leaves out the nasty inside infighting that went on over the cat that really explains better just what all happened. I have a group of people I could line up and get the full story straight but we really need someone with connection to get it into book form and published.
I was lucky to be able to learn much from GM insiders now willing to talk and even got to read the paperwork from the meeting that killed the car. It is sad so many do not really know the truth and if we do not preserve it the story will be lost.
Even few at GM today know the truth as so many from the program have passed on or retired.
Scott3, if you have contact with the people to give you their stories, you should get a hold of them and DO IT NOW! You don’t know how long that will be available and sometimes when things are finally ready to be put into motion, the information is lost. If you could do that I would work to find away to get it written and put into book form. Please let me know if you get this msg and if this is still doable for you. I have gotten frustrated with the dialog back and forth on what has happened with these cars and as the future goes forward and the car become harder to find I feel that the real story being told will only be an asset to the history and value of the car. I would like to put something out there that could give this car a better image than a cheap kit car which is what many out there refer to it as. I do own one and am in the beginning stages of restoring it. I would love to be able to present the book and correct story of that car in any showing and viewings of the car in the future. Please respond back to this message and if I know that you are still available then we can exchange contact information if that would be ok.
I owned a Mear for several years. Had a blast with her. She was a stick, grey and was a ball to drive. I developed back problems and had major problems getting in and out of her. I sold her. If the right deal came along, and my wife wouldn’t cause me more back pain, I’d buy another Mera. Great vehicle.