While I was out on the highway in my 1980s car in September 2013, I saw a Pontiac Fiero coming up quickly from behind.
You just didn’t see that many Fieros on the road in 2013—the youngest of them was over 25 years old. This one was red, and I believe it was a 1987 or 1988 base coupe—the dead giveaway is that it did not have the black bumper pads but otherwise had the debut Fiero 2M4 look. I gave the driver of the Fiero a thumbs-up, he gave me a wave, and we went our separate ways.
“One red-hot with everything, to go.”
The Pontiac Fiero came to market in 1984 with ridiculous expectations brought on partially by Pontiac and partly by how the public sees two-seat mid-engine cars. What had initially been designed as a somewhat sporty commuter car became a significant part of Pontiac’s We Build Excitement strategy.
At this point, the painful fact that the Fiero’s mechanical parts were from the low end of the General Motors parts bin became stunningly obvious. Citation and Chevette suspension parts abounded, and the only available engine was the distinctly uninspiring 2.5 liter/151 ci Iron Duke inline four with fuel injection, featuring all of 92 bhp. Predictably, handling and acceleration did not meet expectations.
By 1986, Pontiac had gone a long way toward fixing some of the underlying issues. The L44 2.8 liter/173 ci V6 was made available in 1985, its 140 bhp and multi-port fuel injection both major upgrades. In 1986, the fastback GT body style was added, and a five-speed manual transmission became available for the V6, though only late in the model year. With that powertrain, 0-60 came in a little under eight seconds. Mileage in the 2,500-pound car wasn’t bad, either—18 city/28 highway by the day’s standards (16/26 by today’s measures). With the Fiero’s small 10.2-gallon gas tank, range was between 195 and 210 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Standard exterior and mechanical equipment on the $12,875 GT (about $38,200 in 2025 dollars) included retracting halogen headlamps, Soft Ray glass, and P205/60R15 front and P215/60R15 rear tires (both sizes still readily available) on 15-inch diamond-spoke wheels. Inside, reclining bucket seats, a full length console, side window defoggers, and a Delco-GM ETR AM/FM stereo with seek, scan, auto reverse cassette, and clock were included.
The fastback GT was a striking car—the flying buttresses in the rear and aero nose in front substantially changed the look of the Fiero. I liked the base design more at first, but the fastback has grown on me over time.
Options & Production Numbers
Options included air conditioning ($750), power windows, intermittent windshield wipers, tilt steering wheel, and a rear spoiler.
Pontiac sold 17,660 Fiero GTs in the 1986 model year, making it a successful brand extension.
The View From 2025
According to Hagerty’s valuation tools, a 1986 Fiero GT in #1/Concours condition is $20,500, with a more common #3/Good condition car going for $6,800. Fieros have a good club following and a fairly strong presence in Hemming’s Motor News classifieds, on eBay Motors, and on Bring a Trailer. As I update this blog entry in August 2025, there’s a White 1986 Fiero GT with 99,000 miles for sale on Hemmings, asking $18,000.
Make mine Bright Red, please.
Other mid-1980s Pontiacs I have written about include the 1984 Fiero coupe, the 1984 Firebird Trans Am 15th Anniversary Edition hatchback coupe, the 1984 2000 Sunbird S/E hatchback coupe, the 1985 Firebird Trans Am hatchback coupe, the 1985 Grand Am coupe, the 1986 Firebird SE hatchback coupe, and the 1987 Firebird Formula hatchback coupe.
Last updated August 2025.
Eighties Cars 