Darth Vader's Pontiac

Darth Vader. Nice guy...as a kid.

Then he grew up to become the face of an evil empire. That's kinda what this 1970 Pontiac Firebird is. Forty years ago, it was a normal Firebird not significantly different from the others on the road. Now, though, it's gone to the dark side in the form of the force...ed induction. Sorry. Twin turbos push the already monstrous big block V8 to around 1,200 hp, or just under two full Corvette Z06s worth of oomph.

And this sucker's just getting started.

This car was built specifically with the intent to steal the show at SEMA a few years back. All that custom aero bodywork you see is hand-banged steel. Those rims are one (four?) of a kind, made for this car only. Then there's that paint. It's so rich and deep that the car commands an eerie presence, almost as if it's a black hole, soaking up all the energy around it.

That would make sense, actually, since the sheer amount of power residing under the hood can snap your neck like a toothpick. Those turbos aren't exactly small, and if the quality of the engine build is anywhere near the level of the rest of this car, that engine will be terrorizing anyone within a 100 yard radius for years to come.

Of course the interior's all custom. The performance seats were completely stripped down and covered with A) more padding, and B) some beautifully rich leather. If you have time to admire that, though, the car's definitely not running. Here's a hint: when a car is fast enough that it's required to have a fire extinguisher nearby, it almost never has seats this nice.

Of course it's got the suspension and, in the interest of self-preservation, the brakes to match the engine, but it's the little touches that finish this Firebird off, like the diffuser underneath the rear of the car.

It's bad. In a very, very good way.

Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor, and can be found on Twitter. He owned a black car once, and spent more time polishing than driving it.