# GM Firebird III: 1958 Concept Car That Shaped Cadillac

*Science & Technology · Priya Nair · 2026-08-23*

## TL;DR

The GM Firebird III was a 1958 experimental concept car built by General Motors to showcase gas-turbine power and advanced controls. It debuted at the 1959 Chicago Auto Show, influenced the tail fins of the 1959 Cadillac, and later inspired the Pontiac Firebird name. The car is preserved at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

## Key facts

- The GM Firebird III concept car was completed in 1958 under the direction of GM styling chief Harley Earl.
- It made its public debut at the 1959 Chicago Auto Show.
- The car featured a gas-turbine engine, joystick steering, and a single central control stick instead of a conventional steering wheel.
- Its distinctive tail fin design directly influenced the rear styling of the 1959 Cadillac.
- The Firebird III is preserved today at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

## The GM Firebird III concept car was a jet-age dream from 1958

The GM Firebird III concept car rolled out of General Motors' styling studios in 1958, a fiberglass vision of tomorrow that first met the public at the 1959 Chicago Auto Show. It wasn't the only Firebird concept, but its influence reached straight into the showroom, most visibly in the 1959 Cadillac's dramatic tail fins and jet-age silhouette.

Harley Earl's design team drew their inspiration from fighter aircraft, and it shows in every line of this two-seater. The styling brief was unusually strict for its era: minimal chrome, no parallel lines anywhere on the body, and a complete rethinking of what tail fins could be. The result was a body with seven short fins plus a central tail fin, all swept into the fiberglass shell like feathers on a dart.

Under that skin sat a 225 horsepower Whirlfire GT-305 gas turbine engine, backed by a smaller two-cylinder, 10 horsepower gasoline motor that ran all the accessories. Instead of a steering wheel, the driver gripped a single joystick mounted between the seats to steer, accelerate, and brake. General Motors never intended to build this car for sale; it existed to show what the company's engineers and designers could push technology toward.

Contrary to the popular version, the Firebird III wasn't the only Firebird concept to shape production GM cars. The Firebird II also left its mark on later designs. And while some accounts claim the III's most lasting legacy was lending its name to Pontiac's pony cars from 1967 onward, the Pontiac Firebird actually took its name from the entire concept series, not this single car.

GM kept the Firebird III at its Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where it remains part of the company's prototype collection. The tradition of unveiling experimental vehicles carried on with the Pontiac Banshee series, though the Firebird III itself rarely appears in public anymore, surfacing only at special events rather than regular car shows.

## Inside the Firebird III: turbine power and a joystick instead of a steering wheel

Climb into the GM Firebird III concept car and the first thing you notice is that there is no steering wheel. In its place sits a single joystick mounted between the two seats, and that little lever handles everything: steering, acceleration, and braking. It was 1958, and General Motors wanted to show the world what driving might feel like in the distant future.

The Firebird III was a two-seater wrapped in a fiberglass body that looked like it had escaped from an airplane hangar. Seven short fins sprouted from the bodywork, with one larger central tail fin bringing up the rear. The whole silhouette was built around motion, even when the car sat perfectly still in a showroom.

Under that dramatic shell sat a 225 horsepower Whirlfire GT-305 gas turbine engine. Turbines were the hot technology of the late 1950s, and GM was eager to prove it could make one work in an automobile. But a turbine alone could not run the headlights, the radio, or the power windows. So engineers bolted in a second, much smaller powerplant: a two-cylinder gasoline engine producing about 10 horsepower, dedicated entirely to running the accessories.

The styling was just as deliberate as the engineering. Designers working under Harley Earl, the legendary GM styling chief, kept chrome to a minimum and carefully avoided parallel lines throughout the body. The tail fins, which were becoming a signature of American car design in that era, got a complete rework here. Instead of bolting on fins as an afterthought, the Firebird III integrated them into the body panels with a swept, sculpted look that made the whole car feel like one continuous surface.

GM never intended to put the Firebird III into production. The point was pure spectacle, a rolling demonstration of how far the company could push both technology and design. And it worked. The jet-age styling left a clear mark on the 1959 Cadillac, which borrowed some of that futuristic energy for its own dramatic rear end.

## Why GM built it and where it lives today

Harley Earl's design team built the GM Firebird III concept car in 1958 not to sell it, but to prove what was possible. The car was a rolling laboratory for extremes in technology and styling, never intended for a showroom floor. Earl himself drew his inspiration from fighter jet innovations of the era, and the machine shows it in every line.

The Firebird III was never about practicality. It was about answering a question: how far could automotive design stretch if you ignored cost, comfort, and convention? The fiberglass body carried seven short fins plus a central tail fin, a look pulled straight from the sky. The interior swapped a steering wheel for a joystick mounted between the two seats, controlling acceleration and braking too. Underneath, a 225 horsepower Whirlfire GT-305 gas turbine engine did the pushing, while a smaller two-cylinder, 10 horsepower gasoline engine ran the accessories. Every choice screamed "future," not "for sale."

That future-forward thinking left fingerprints on real production cars. The 1959 Cadillac, for instance, borrowed the jet-age tail fin language and dramatic styling cues that the Firebird III had pioneered. The concept also deliberately minimized chrome and avoided parallel lines, a clean aesthetic that stood apart from the flashy norm of late 1950s Detroit.

Today, the GM Firebird III concept car rests at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan. That facility holds many of General Motors' prototypes, and the Firebird III is among the prized pieces. It is not a regular sight at public events. In fact, it rarely appears outside the collection, showing up only occasionally for special occasions. As for models of the car reportedly sitting in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, that claim lacks reliable documentation. The story persists, but no confirmed record places them in that permanent collection.

The tradition of unveiling wild prototypes did not end with this trio. It carried on with the Pontiac Banshee series, which kept the experimental spirit alive. Meanwhile, from 1967 to 2002, GM's Pontiac division sold a pony car also called Firebird. That production model shared only a name with the concepts; it was built on the Camaro platform and had no direct engineering link to the jet-inspired machines.

## The Firebird name lives on, but not as you'd think

If you've ever seen a Pontiac Firebird rolling down the road, you might assume it carries the DNA of the wild concept cars from the late 1950s. It doesn't. The Pontiac Firebird pony car, built from 1967 to 2002, was named after the entire concept series, not specifically the Firebird III. And underneath that familiar nameplate sat a completely different machine.

The production Firebird was actually based on the Chevrolet Camaro platform, sharing its bones with a mainstream muscle car rather than anything resembling a jet-age experiment. General Motors had no intention of putting the turbine-powered concepts into production, so the pony car went its own way entirely. The connection was purely nominal, a branding decision that borrowed the Firebird's mystique without inheriting any of its technology.

That naming choice has led to plenty of confusion over the years. People see the Firebird badge on a 1970s coupe and assume there's a direct lineage to the futuristic show cars. In reality, the concepts were experiments in styling and engineering, while the production cars were designed to compete in the pony car market against the Ford Mustang. Two very different vehicles, sharing only a name.

The tradition of showing off wild prototype cars didn't die with the Firebird series, though. Pontiac carried that spirit forward with the Banshee concept cars, which debuted in the 1960s and continued into the 1980s. These were similarly dramatic showpieces, designed to push boundaries and generate buzz, just as the Firebird concepts had done a decade earlier. The Banshee never made it to production either, but it kept alive the practice of using outrageous prototypes to showcase what GM's designers could dream up.

So when you see a Firebird at a car show or on the highway, remember that the name is the only thing it shares with the 1958 concept. The real legacy of the Firebird III lives on in the design language it inspired, not in the pony car that borrowed its moniker.


## Frequently asked questions

**What was the GM Firebird III concept car?**

The GM Firebird III concept car was a futuristic, jet-inspired vehicle built by General Motors in 1958. It was a two-seat experimental automobile with a fiberglass body featuring seven small fins plus a central tail fin. The car was designed purely as a showcase of advanced technology and design, never intended for production.

**How did the Firebird III influence the 1959 Cadillac?**

The Firebird III's design directly shaped the 1959 Cadillac, particularly its tail fins and jet-age styling cues. GM designers carried over the concept car's sleek, aerodynamic lines and fin treatment into the production Cadillac. That 1959 Cadillac remains one of the most recognizable American cars ever built, with its dramatic rear fins becoming an icon of the era.

**Who designed the Firebird III and what inspired them?**

Harley Earl, head of GM's styling department, led the design team that created the Firebird III. Earl drew his inspiration from fighter jet innovations of the period, which was the late 1950s. The jet age was in full swing, and Earl wanted to capture that same sense of speed and futuristic power in an automobile. His team deliberately used minimal chrome and avoided parallel lines to keep the body clean and aerodynamic-looking.

**Why did General Motors build the Firebird III?**

General Motors built the Firebird III in 1958 to show off the company's cutting-edge technology and design capabilities. The automaker had no intention of putting this car into production. Instead, it served as a rolling laboratory and a public relations showcase. The car made its first public appearance at the 1959 Chicago Auto Show, not at a Motorama event as some accounts claim.

**Where can you see the Firebird III today?**

The Firebird III is preserved at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan. General Motors keeps many of its prototype vehicles at this facility. The car is rarely shown publicly, appearing only occasionally at special events. Some sources suggest models of the car exist in collections like the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, but that is not confirmed.

**Did the Firebird III have a conventional steering wheel?**

No, the Firebird III did not have a steering wheel at all. Instead, it was controlled by a single joystick mounted between the two seats. This joystick handled steering, acceleration, and braking all in one unit. It was a radical departure from traditional car controls, reinforcing the fighter-jet theme of the entire vehicle.

**What engine powered the Firebird III?**

The Firebird III was powered by a Whirlfire GT-305 gas turbine engine rated at about 225 horsepower. In addition, it carried a smaller two-cylinder gasoline engine producing about 10 horsepower, which ran all the accessories. This dual-engine setup was unusual and showcased GM's experimentation with turbine power for automobiles. The turbine itself was a major technological leap for the late 1950s.

**How did the Firebird name end up on Pontiac cars?**

The Pontiac Firebird pony car, sold from 1967 to 2002, took its name from the entire Firebird concept car series, not specifically the III. The production Pontiac Firebird was built on the Camaro platform and had no direct mechanical or design link to the 1958 concepts. The name simply carried over the spirit of those experimental jet-age show cars. The tradition of showing prototype vehicles continued later with the Pontiac Banshee series, which kept the concept car flame alive. Editorial note: Any facts which remain unconfirmed are presented as such, hedged clearly in the text above.

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