The image of the American sports car is pretty well-established as cradling a lumpy V8 engine under the hood, but not everyone shares that exact idea of what a sports car could be. John DeLorean is one such example, as evidenced by the 1968 Pontiac Firebird Sprint.
For those who may not know, the 1968 Pontiac Firebird Sprint was DeLorean’s shot at bringing European-style GT motoring to the American public. As a fan of the Jaguar XKE, the GM exec sought to offer a new kind of driving experience than that offered by the low-end grunt of a V8, instead opting for a smooth, rev-happy inline six-cylinder with a single overhead cam. Dropped into a Pontiac Firebird, the Pontiac Firebird Sprint was born.
Now, world-renowned car aficionado and former Tonight Show host Jay Leno is showing off his rare 1968 Pontiac Firebird Sprint in the following feature video from Jay Leno’s Garage.
“I like European cars, and there really weren’t any high-performance six-cylinder American engines at the time, at least that I knew of then,” Leno says as he recounts first learning about the new overhead cam GM engine. “The trouble was, by the time you ordered the four-barrel and all the high-performance options to make it a Sprint, it cost more than the V8 and it didn’t make as much horsepower.”
Unsurprisingly, the Pontiac Firebird Sprint wasn’t the most popular option available, but nevertheless, a few examples were produced and remain on the road today – as seen here. This particular example was ordered by a member of the U.S. military, who got it loaded with options, and now, Leno has it. Leno also gave it a full frame-off restoration, and now it’s sitting pretty and running like a top.
After going through the car and some of the history, Leno later takes his 1968 Pontiac Firebird Sprint out on the road for some real-world driving. Check out the full 24-minute feature right here:
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Comments
Very well done,Jay. Looks great. Would love to ride in it.
Don’t American brands win most GT races? And then the European brands change the rules to give them the advantage for a couple years and the Americans come back to reclaim it. Chevy and Ford have how many Le Mans wins???
I bought 4cycle Fire Bird 1963!!Had Turo !!!I The car was a light tan!!!!I sure loved that car!!!Love Card and Trucks!!!Jay you are so nice giving the guys and girls them Beautiful cars!!!I never knew you had a soft heart!!!Proud of You!!Great Man!!!Never got to watch you much???I was working nights in a factory!!!
Worked on a few of those oddball engines as a GM mechanic back in the day. I recall at the time thinking that that composite timing belt would never last. Turns out I was wrong, as they’re everywhere today.
It’s a “rare” car because in 1968 no one wanted a six-banger and dealers couldn’t sell them and wouldn’t order them….unless forced to. One of Delorean’s big boo-boos.
Worked on few of these engines back in the early 70s in my machine shop in Detroit. Remenber those cam followers as being an issue, great solution using the steel, hardening, and coatings.
I had a 1966 Pontiac Lemans with the Sprint option. Hurst four speed, wood steering wheel loaded car. I believe it was a 207 hp motor. The 289 mustang guys always wanted to race which was a pretty even result in the end. The one car that would have been smart to keep but that didn’t happen. Very nice job in protecting the Sprint model name.
Awesome job. U don’t need a v-8 with the gas prices today. Not that it really means anything to Jay. That car rare in many ways. Its a pontiac.
Firebird very cool! Jay? Barf!
I had a 1967 Lemans Sprint. I loved that car. Four speed, 4-barrel carb. Poor mans GTO…
The first mass-produced American OHC engine was the Jeep “Tornado” OHC Six introduced in mid 1962.
Man, that car is beautiful.
My girlfriend from back in the day had that car because her Dad didn’t want her to have the V-8. What an amazing revelation for an American car in the late 1960s!
Hello what size tires and wheels are you running
I have a 1968 convertible I just ordered all the Wil wood brakes and suspension items you listed
I was looking at the year one 17” rallies is that what your running?