A few months ago, GM Authority reported that General Motors was gearing up to scrap its 2001Â Pontiac REV concept, a forward-thinking vehicle that was initially unveiled at the 2001 Chicago Auto Show. That being said, the REV has been saved by the recently opened Pontiac Transportation Museum.
According to a report from Car and Driver, the 2001 Pontiac REV will be spared from the crusher as The General has elected to donate the vehicle rather than destroy it, but it goes further than that. Reportedly, the Pontiac Transportation Museum has plans to restore the concept car to its former glory. Of course, this will likely be an ambitious undertaking owing to the REV’s one-of-a-kind hand-made nature, as well as its current run-down condition.
With any luck, this 2001 Pontiac REV concept will undergo a successful restoration. Fortunately, it appears as though one of the museum’s volunteers has a history of building GM concept cars, and has been tasked with restoring the concept.
As a reminder, the 2001 Pontiac REV concept was designed by Adam Berry under the direction of Phil Zak, and drew inspiration from the world of rally racing and showcased a high-riding, adaptable suspension system that allowed it to increase ground clearance by two inches.
Under the hood was a supercharged 3.0L V6 OHC gasoline engine that was originally rated at 245 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque. This output was directed to all four wheels via a five-speed sequential-shift manual transmission, which itself was controlled through a video-game-like joystick.
The concept featured additional innovations like headlamps that moved in unison with the steering wheel to illuminate around corners, along with a unique taillamp made up of 560 LEDs and sliding rear doors. On the inside, the driver was greeted by three round LCD screens that provided the vehicle’s essential information.
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Comments
Man, that would be hit today as an affordable EV.
It had a 5 speed stick. Good luck trying to sell one today. No wonder it’s in a museum. Although it is a modern theft protector.
Absolutely hideous. Crush it.
I’d buy one in a heartbeat. Still can’t get my head around GM deep-sixing its Pontiac performance division in favor of keeping stodgy boring Buick.
They had one performance car, maybe two: the G8 and maybe the GXP Solstice….not sure I’d call it the “performance division” for that.
It figures: GM has no respect or interest in the history of its own company or its’ divisions. Great that the Rev is in the hands of Pontiac Stalwart Tim Dye and the Pontiac Museum.
Mary would make it “Pontiq” … and run off Energizer Alkalines .
This concept showed the way for todays crossovers. Build it on the current Trailblazer platform with the 1.5L turbo, using modern styling cues taken form the concept.
How can you take “modern styling cues” from a 23 year old concept car?