1997 Pontiac Rageous Concept
Written by Bill Bowman
The 1997 Pontiac Rageous concept vehicle was unveiled at the 1997 North American International Auto Show. The Red Rush exterior color accented the low cowl design, the Ram Air hood, the high racy spoiler and the P315/30R22 Goodyear tires.
Rageous was a four-door pillarless sedan with center opening doors hinged at the A- and C- pillars. Front seat occupants entered through doors just like any other sports coupe, but the Rageous had a couple of rear-hinged doors for easy entry/exit of the rear seating area. Under the rear deck lid spoiler was a rear hatch and a drop-down tailgate that opened to 49 feet of cargo space. The front passenger seat and two rear seats folded down flat to make room for all kinds of sports equipment, home improvement supplies or whatever. The rear cargo space of the Rageous could accommodate something as large as 4 X 8 sheets of drywall or plywood. To help organize smaller items, the Rageous had a number of multifunctional built–in storage containers and 10 net pockets.
The Rageous was outfitted with four-bucket seats, each equipped with a racer-style four-point harness restraint. Occupants were further protected in frontal or side collisions by front and side airbags. Front seats featured 6-way adjustments including power height. Rear bucket seats had an adjustment for back angle. All four seat headrests had built-in sound system speakers. A special communication link package permitted a person to stay in touch with the office via personal computer links and cellular phones. A communication link included a Global Position Sensor navigation link. Entertainment as provided through the communication link by a CD pay-to-listen service. Monitoring and control of these and other systems could be maintained thru the Heads Up Display. Additionally, driver information such as speed, odometer and engine conditions could be displayed on the HUD. The gauges and air outlets were molded into the instrument panel and clustered around the driver in a cockpit designed to deliver information quickly and easily to the driver.
Built on a 117-inch wheelbase, Rageous was powered by a 315 hp, 5.7 liter V8 coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission. Rageous could achieve 60 mph in 5.5 seconds.
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