"Esprit", pronounced, "es-pree", is a French word meaning spirited, lively and witty. From 1970 through 1981, Pontiac sold a version of the Firebird called they called "Esprit" that was none of those things. This 1974 Pontiac Firebird Esprit popped up on Marketplace recently for sale just north of Atlanta, Georgia. Asking price is $10,000.
Just like the Chevrolet Camaro Type LT and later the Berlinetta, the Firebird Esprit was a softer-sprung, less performance-oriented version of the Firebird for those who wanted to enjoyed the car's design or to "look the part" but didn't want to deal with the harsher ride, noisy exhaust, lower gas-mileage and high insurance premiums of the Firebird Formula or Trans Am. A Firebird for those who enjoy golf, but it's the lifestyle they appreciate more than actually playing. Only us dyed in the wool car nerds would know that an Esprit was about as spirted as Monte Carlo or Grand Prix; and who cares what we think. Go on, enjoy your "sports car" you poser.
Pontiac, for sure, didn't care; they just wanted to sell more cars and would do what they thought they had to. To that end, a "plushy" Firebird makes some sense. You get most of the Firebird-esthetic in a more manageable, less costly to insure, easier to live with package right down to a column shifter for the transmission.
For 1974, the Esprit was part of a four-model Firebird lineup that included the base Firebird below it, that could be ordered with an insurance friendly, Chevrolet built, 250-cu. in., inline six-cylinder engine, and more stiffly sprung, performance-oriented Formula and Trans Am models above it. Save for the bargain basement, Chevy six-cylinder powered base Firebird, a god's green-earth, Pontiac V-8 was all you'd find in any Firebird for '74.
Even our Facebook Esprit here came from the factory with a V-8, most likely a Pontiac "350" although it could be a 400; they look identical. Either one born with a two-barrel carburetor, the big-boy four-barrels reserved for Formula's and Trans Am's. The two-barrel tossed here for an Edelbrock four-barrel and Performer intake manifold. Poster of the ad claims just 8,000-miles have been put on the car since the engine "build". There are no other details about the engine in the ad. Umm, a carburetor and intake swap counts as a "build"?
For the $10,000 asking price, you get a Firebird with the divine thicker c-pillars and smaller rear window that would disappear for 1975, a shoot-me-now full vinyl roof, bucket seats with splitting upholstery and enough visible "surface" rust to make the Tin Man run for cover. The paint is shot too.
Back in my day, this was a $500 car. Maybe $750. What does that convert to today, $1,500 maybe $2,000? Even that seems a lot for something that's probably going to need the asking price if not more in body work alone. I've got another definition for Esprit, "see you later".
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