Back in 1984, Pontiac introduced a small, rear-engined sports car called the Fiero. It looked sporty and it incorporated plastic body panels, but the Fiero lacked a couple of things from the get go. For starters, it borrowed it’s front suspension from the Chevette, and the car lacked enough power and handling to match it’s sporty looks.

John Metric and his DC powered Fiero.

Pontiac dealers learned to stock front end parts because Fiero owners found out that it’s braking didn’t match it’s sporty looks. Another part kept in stock were four-cylinder short blocks; low oil in the Iron Duke caused connecting rod failures which led to engine fires in some cases. The Fiero got off to a very dismal start.

A 2.8L V6 was added in ’85, and in ’88 Pontiac finally addressed the under-achiever suspension and finally the performance was worthy of it’s looks. Unfortunately, GM was not happy with sales figures and the Fiero met it’s demise after the 1988 Model year.

The Fiero became a popular kit car, with a plethora of body kits replicating Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s. While some people chose to swap a V8 into the engine bay, John Metric chose to swap his Iron Duke for an electric motor in his ’84 Fiero.

Metric spent about three years building his DC Plasma Fiero for drag racing. Replacing the heavy four cylinder with 175 lbs of batteries, there are a few other modifications, as you can imagine. A two-speed Gear Vendors transmission gets the 862 Battery HP to the Ford 8.8″ spool in a Lincoln Mark VIII IRS.

John’s Fiero is capable of 2.3 second zero-60 times, and he ran his Fiero to an impressive 155 mph at the famed Texas Mile. The Texas Mile is a high speed challenge on a closed course where some vehicles can reach up to 250 mph, but to go over 150 on battery power alone is pretty impressive, and shows he can run his Fiero with the big dogs.