2001 Pontiac Rev Concept Coupe - Department X

Easy access for passengers and cargo came from the unique door concept. Rear doors opened by sliding out and backward, parallel to the rear quarters. They could be operated independently from the front doors. The absence of a center pillar gave complete access to the entire interior. Cargo access was offered by the rear hatch and tailgate combination. A lower gate housed the taillamps, which were made up of 560 light-emitting diodes (LED).

Seating for four passengers was provided by individual body-contour-molded seats by combining a carbon-fiber structure with Lycra-covered gel padding. The dash and door panels also featured tough, lightweight, carbon-fiber construction, combined with metallic accents.

The instrument panel linked the A-pillars like a bridge, with a wide, see-through opening on the passenger side in front of the firewall. Indeed, the normal boundaries between exterior and interior were eclipsed. Theft prevention was provided by specially encoded mini chip cards, used to identify the driver. In the center console, a detachable, combined GPS navigation, cellular phone, two-way radio with integrated Internet access from Motorola kept passengers in touch with anything they could want. In addition, four Motorola TalkAbout radios with GPS receivers helped keep passengers in contact when hiking, and the units rested in individual cradles.

Stainless steel mesh floormats were surrounded by a rubberized, textured, 11/44-inch-thick coating similar to the material used on truck bedliners. They helped disperse grit and grime from the car. The mats were perfor-ated, allowing water to travel through them. Each floor grate had a drain plug underneath the mat.

The Rev featured a special transverse-mounted, 3.0-liter, overhead cam V-6 engine, which was rated at a gutsy 245 hp. It was mated to a non-production five-speed electronic sequential manual transmission with an automatic mode, controlled by a joystick, operated by wire. Though details supplied about the engine were sketchy, it was apparently related to the GM "High Feature" V-6 engine family, perhaps an early prototype version. It is common for one-off concept cars such as the Rev to use prototype engines from various experimental engine programs, many of which are either evolutionary dead-ends in an ongoing program or cancelled altogether.

This unique drivetrain gave Firebird-like performance with the additional benefit of all-wheel drive. The suspension featured two height adjustment levels, normal and a 2-inch lift. Wide 19- and 20-inch non-production wheels mounted experimental Goodyear 235/50R-19 and 235/50R-20-inch tires for optimal on- and off-road performance.

As it was intended to do, the Rev delivered on many fronts, providing the performance of a Firebird and the utility of an Aztek, wrapped up in a style that was all its own, but still a Pontiac-a 21st-century Pontiac. Interest-ingly, the crossover concept also enjoyed a second year of tour duty. It was rebilled as the "2002 Pontiac Rev" and toured Canada, being displayed at the major car shows there. Happily, the Rev is alive and well and part of the Pontiac Historic Fleet.