Riviera? Toronado? Eldorierabird?
Nope, this is a Zimmer Quicksilver.
My new Flickr acquaintance That Hartford Guy scours the interwebz looking for interesting photos of really clean old cars, and these snaps turned up, probably for the sale of this car. I’d heard of Zimmers, but never this model, and I figured some of you hadn’t either.
Some quick research indicates less than 200 Quicksilvers were produced over a few years in the mid-1980s. As you may have guessed, this car is built on a conspicuously-stretched Pontiac Fiero, giving what is to my eye a rather dachshund side profile.
There are many familiar lines on this car, but also some unique ones. The rear bumper, especially, looks quite heavy, but the chrome work looks excellent. Fit and finish comes across as better than a Fiero ever deserved.
The brougham is strong in this front end, but I kinda like it. I do wonder how this thing drives; the Fiero was not known as a smooth boulevard cruiser as this creation seems to want to be.
Crazy man. Hope they all came with V6s although this one would certainly be worthy of a V8 swap.
Someone a few blocks away from me has one of these in red. Never knew what it was until now, aside from the obvious Fiero lineage, thanks! It sits outside and isn’t nearly as clean as this one, but I’ve seen him tooling around in it so I know it runs. If I run into him on the road I’ll try to get a shot. He lives on a known drug corner so I’m not gonna jump out of the car and start snapping pictures!
Oh come on, man up! Paul has been known to break into drug dealers garages to get good shots of stolen old cars.
But I know your reluctance well. I was driving through East St. Louis a few weeks ago looking for interesting cars to shoot for a write-up here. Do. Not. STOP.
Well if I never had to see them again I’d think about it. But I drive past these guys every day and you don’t want to get on a crack dealer’s bad side!
> Paul has been known to break into drug dealers garages to get good shots of stolen old cars.
What?!!?!
A facebook friend found one of these in a Florida wrecking yard. Same color.
In most Fiero conversions (usually to make them look like a Ferrari or Lamobrghini) the back is stretched. To make the Quicksilver, Zimmer stretched the front of the car. I always thought it was a neat looking car in pictures, but I’m not hopeful that I’ll ever see one in person.
Not impossible though. I have seen a really ratty looking Stutz Blackhawk “in the wild” before. It was in Florida, driven by a woman that was selling stuff at a flea market. She was a bit of a crackpot. She started yelling at me for taking pics of the car, shouting something about “No pictures! We are working here!”
Definitely looks best from the front. Rear bumper is too heavy-looking for my tastes.
There are two of these that show up to local cruise nights on a semi-regular basis.
I’m not a fan. It’s almost like this is what GM of 1967 would have wanted the Riviera of 1987 to look like.
Back in the day Car and Driver featured a Red one on the cover, I guess that qualifies as a milestone in the decline of a once great buff book. If the best cover you can manage is a Fiero in a leisure suit it’s time to fire the editorial staff.
I recall C & D received a ton of negative mail when they put the Quicksilver on the cover. Again – Car and Driver pulled a “fast one” on their readers!
The Zimmer appeared on the cover of the April 1987 issue. While its desirability to an enthusiast may be zilch, I don’t feel it was a signal of C/D’s decline. The editorial staff still included Yates, Bedard, and Sherman at that time and the writing itself was still sharp and witty, even when the subjects weren’t. In my view, it’s only been in the last few years that they truly lost their way, with the ridiculous Motor Trend-like apples-to-oranges comparison tests (i.e. whether to spend $40 k on a new BMW 335i or a used Porsche 911) and Csaba Csere’s thoughtless and unceremonious firing of Yates.
That rounded hump on the rear decklid up to the edge of the roof really kills it. It’s like a flat version Continental tire hump on the Lincoln Marks. Otherwise it’s kind of cool looking. I like it MUCH more than the neoclassic Golden Spirits based on Foxbody Mustangs and Cougars
It is as if someone held a contest: How many brougham-cues can you fit onto a single car? I think that we are looking at the winner. Wait – someone get this man a vinyl roof!
Its horrific and has to be the ugliest car Ive seen in many years its got nearly all the junky lincoln fakery but where are the landau bars and vinyl top.
Freak mobile. What were they thinking. And, IIRC, it’s a basically stock Fiero interior inside, nothing special.
You know, as we all look back on past automotive history and reminisce, I am often perplexed at cars like this, and factory built personal luxury cars/coupes. Been thinking especially about the 1970s era Rivieras, befor the E body switch…I really can’t believe that it was nothing more than a rebodied LeSabre, sharing the same interior as well. It was a premium car with a premium price but, like this Ziero, really offered nothing special.
There’s one of these around this side of town — some friends of mine spotted it right after I did the Fiero article on AUWM and I drove by it a couple of months ago.
That Car & Driver with a Quicksilver on the cover (flanked, if I’m not mistaken, by a blonde in a fur coat) was the worst-selling C&D in the magazine’s history, at least up to that point.
I have always liked these Zimmers. Of course, as my wife will tell you, I’m a pretty strange guy. Goodness!
cc should do a whole thing on american coachbuilt cars like this,ie stutz blackhawk,excaliber,zimmer..this car is ..great the hight of exquisit taste,lol
A great looking car. I test drove a Fiero back in 1984, and found it to be noisy with a very tight uncomfortable interior. I hope it was better in Quicksilver mode.
How much did they cost new? How much are they worth today?
Pretty, um, interesting.
I’m positive I still have the Car and Driver with the review of the red Zimmer…
No Fiero love around these pages eh? 87 GT was my first car, so it holds a special spot in the old pumper…
At least you could say this is interesting, and a fresh idea compared to the usual mutant Mercedes SSK-inspired cars. Not that I would own one myself but it would be a welcome addition to see one a car show.
The Cadillac 4.5 or 4.9 liter transverse V8 (i.e., like the mill in the ’88 DeVille discussed yesterday) is a common Fiero engine swap and would give a Quicksilver performance more worthy of the name and the look.
This car is for sale on ebay right now. Same pics are in the listing, plus some interior shots.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Fiero-1986-Zimmer-Quick-Silver-/160760478095?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item256e12398f
You know, it almost looks nice…almost… Mind you, someone’s got a Golden Spirit on trademe here, and the Quicksilver looks devilishly rakish and handsome by comparison…
The EBay ad explains it all. $ 48,500 new, opening bid $ 16,000. Really a nice looking car, but still uncomfortable and noisy. A new Fiero in 1986 probably sold for less than $ 10,000. Why use a car like that as a base? A Camaro or a Corvette would be a better car to start with, although obviously it would cut into the profit margin. But again, the person buying a new Quicksilver wouldn’t blink an eye if it was $ 50K, $ 75K, $ 100K, or higher.
It seems to me starting with a higher quality car would make better sense.
I used to see one of these years ago on one of my shortcuts through Beverly Hills. It looked good parked on the circle drive in front of a very impressive mansion. Very clean lines and (dare I say it?) quite tasteful. Odd but tasteful.
Wow….Thats ugly, Ive seen some excaliburs done on couger chassis. It kinda worked. All I see is overhang and weight. Though I bet the weight made the fiero ride smoother. I dont understand why someone would do this to a car. It doesent make sense to spend that much money on a tarted up Fiero.
Cars like this prove my hypothesis on why rich people arent that smart.
I was noticing that all the exterior lights seem to be GM sourced too, the front and rear cornering lamps are Corvette units, the parking lamps look to be E-body and the talilights are Fiero units covered by the massive bumper.
I love the Silver Zimmer Quicksilver, They are a very sharp looking car. I am looking for a Red Zimmer Quicksilver.
If anyone has one or knows of anyone having one for sale. Please contact me at: gottaracedirt@yahoo.com
Thanks.
I have one of these cars. It’s a red 1986.
Here is my Bomb…. Custom Two Tone Candy painted Trophy winner and never gets bad looks. Only has 2800 miles but handles poorly. It’s a dog, BUT IT IS SOOOO PIMP…!! American Art on wheels.
Hate ’em or Love them, one thing for sure they are unique cars! I love mine!!
And the most exlcusive bang-for-the buck cars in the world for those you don’t like to see yourself coming & going (or enjoy answering “what is that” at car shows all day long:-)
I had 18 previous Fieros so know of their virtues & vices, and have an 1986 Silver Quicksilver (really, no other color would be appropriate, right). Though a quick glance might look like a stock Fiero interior nothing could be further from the truth. The dash, door panels, instruments and even the center tunnel were all hand built, not to mention the addition of a real glovebox. Everything was hand-stiched and covered in glove-soft italian leather. From an engineering perspective the fact that is has power steering, which GM NEVER was able to incorporate definitely gives it a whole new feel. No, it was not built for speed … adding 400 lbs of chrome wouldn’t be the way to go if that was the purpose,lol. In the end was it worth twice the price of a corvette?? To 170 people it was … not me, but they make a great affordable used-car collectible, especially since a new Zimmer runs $150-200k. I can still stare at it, looks so different than anything , while looking so familiar too 🙂
That said, I have 3 young kids and 2-seas just doesn’t work …so if any interest in one with 17k original miles drop me a line at kimandken@hotmail.com