Want to get some attention the next time you roll through a cruise night? Need some extra space for luggage? How about setting your 1993-present Firebird or Trans Am apart from all the others out there? We’re here to tell you how to accomplish all of the above – replace the stock hatch with a Kammback unit, and you’ll be the hit of the boulevard. Hyperbole? Overstatement? You may think so, and truthfully, so did we. And then we drove the Hurst Hauler Kammback Trans Am on the Power Tour, and you simply would not believe how much attention came our way. This car draws attention like stink on…., uh, like flies to honey.

This car is absolutely gorgeous!

The result of a joint effort between Automotive Services, Pontiac, Mr. Gasket Corp., Transportation Design and Manufacturing (TDM), and your very own friends here at Year One, the Trans Am “station wagon” is truly a unique ride. The idea itself isn’t new. In fact, Pontiac has built a special Kammback version of their hottest Firebirds since ’77 or so as show cars. They did two second-generation cars, a third, and now a fourth. (Kammback, by the way, is German for something that seems to mean a large, square area toward the end of a car, remember the VW Kammbacks built in the early and mid-‘70s?) Anyway, even though a few show cars have been done before, this is the first one to actually escape the stage or storage facility and see some road duty.

The car made its debut at the 2000 SEMA show, where it was part of the Pontiac Motor Division display. Once its duty as a show car was done, the Hauler made its way back to Detroit, where it patiently awaited its next outing, which just happened to be with us on the Power Tour.

The first thing anyone notices about the car is, obviously, the special hatch on the back. It dominates the looks of the car, but there is much more to the Hauler than the station wagon hatch. The Hauler was actually built from a “body-in-white”, which means a bare body was procured from Pontiac, and the car was basically hand-built from there. The paint, a specially blended Candy Brandywine, is simply stunning. It’s slick as glass and looks to be about three-feet thick. The decals and lettering are done in a very tasteful and color-coordinated red that just happens to be reflective. The lettering blends into the car quite well on a bright day, but then virtually jumps off the car at night when light hits them. Cool.

Mechanically, the car’s been breathed on a bit, but nothing that hurts everyday drivability at all. The 320-horse Ram Air-fed LS1 has been treated to a low-restriction intake and exhaust system, which adds a bit more muscle. Steve Cole of TTS, who seems to be involved in most GM-related F-car projects (among other things), worked his magic on the Hauler’s ECM. The injection mapping was spot on, and the Hurst-shifted (what else) 4L60E tranny was perfectly mated to the engine’s characteristics. While we didn’t get the chance to dyno the Hauler, our finely tuned Ass-O-Meter suggests power output would be well over 300-horses at the rear wheels.

The suspension on the Hauler received some attention as well. The car was lowered with Lakewood Sport springs, and the car got special bushings, subframe connectors and a few other little tweaks here and there. The ride quality was every bit as good as a standard TA, even with the warmed over suspension and low-profile 18" G-Force radials on American Racing wheels.

Yup, the Hurst Hauler was easily the most eye-catching vehicle we took on this year’s tour. And with the modifications made to it, along with the more-than-nice leather interior, Monsoon CD system, and every option known to man, it’s a hell of car to take cross-country. Did we mention the car is a looker?

By the way, as part of our involvement, Year One is putting together a deal to offer the Kammback hatches to the public. We don’t have the final details worked out yet, but the plan is to offer the hatch setup as a complete kit, trimmed in the appropriate interior color to match the factory offerings. The kits will fit any 1993-present Firebird or Trans Am, but some bodywork and paint will be necessary to install it. Sorry, Camaro owners, due to the differences in taillight design between the Chevy and the Poncho, it won’t fit your cars. But who knows, if the Pontiac version is a hit, we may expand the program to include Camaros at some point. Let us know what you think.