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Video: An LS4 V8-Powered Pontiac Fiero

General Motors created what many call “the modern small-block” in the LS-series of V8 engines. Lightweight, powerful, simple yet full of potential, the entire lineup of LS engines has become the standard engine for motor swaps, hot rods, drag racers and more. We’re not telling you anything new.

[1] Yet even this great line of engines has a black sheep, and it is called the LS4, designed exclusively for front-wheel drive sports cars like the Chevy Malibu SS. Since most of us avoid front-wheel drive like Oprah avoids the treadmill, finding an interesting LS4 project turns up few results. Yet while flipping through the pages of YouTube, we came across what is perhaps the best application of the front-drive V8 engine we’ve ever seen.

Yup, that’s a Pontiac Fiero with a LS4 setup, and not only does it sound sweet, but it makes an incredible amount of sense. The Pontiac Fiero was a car with so much potential, featuring a mid-mounted motor, lightweight chassis, and good looks (at least compared to the cars of the time). These days, Fieros have a small-but-loyal following, and many of the devout are committed to improving their cars. While there are V8 conversion kits, YouTube user welditrick [2] went for the full monty.

He swapped in the whole LS4 engine setup, axles included, and according to his comments on the video the swap was pretty straight forward. With 303 horsepower and 323 ft-lbs of torque, this Fiero packs more than double the power of the original V6 engine, which welditrick claims is enough to spin the tires and get sideways at just 5-10 mph…and boy, does it sound sick!

Also, the beautiful paint job and gorgeous engine bay show that the builder is truly dedicated to this unique Fiero, and we love the creativity of dumping a front-drive V8 setup into a mid-engine Fiero. See? The LS4 V8 engine is useful after all!