1957 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible

When 'Bunky' Knudsen took over, Pontiac was one of General Motors most mundane nameplates. His vision was to revitalize the brand with a healthy dose of performance and dramatic styling. He began with the 1957 fuel-injected Bonneville, a deluxe convertible with plenty of power, performance and style.

The car was named after the famous salt flats where so many speed records had been earned. The Bonneville utilized the Rochester fuel-injection unit - tuned and prepared by Harry Barr and Zora Arkus-Duntov. Along with performance, the Bonneville was fitted with every luxury feature available. Priced at a hefty $5,782, a total of 630 examples of these Pontiacs were built.

This example is a superb example of the quintessential high-performance Pontiac halo car. The car wears the popular Kenya Ivory with red trim and a Tartan Red interior. It has the famous tri-blade wheel covers and the correct chrome spears on each side ahead of the taillight bezels. Standard features include a Wonderbar AM radio, a deluxe steering wheel, a clock, and period-correct whitewall tires. Power options include top, antenna, steering, brakes, windows, door locks, and an eight-way power seat.

The car has been treated to a restoration to factory specifications, and even the original inspection marks on the firewall have been carefully re-created. The fuel-injected engine displaced 347 cubic-inches and offers 310 horsepower. There is a 3-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

In 2013, the car was offered for sale at Gooding & Company's Scottsdale, Arizona sale. It was estimated to sell for $150,000 - $180,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $176,000 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2013