1966 Pontiac Bonneville Hardtop

The Brougham option package first appeared in 1964. It was a premium trim level for the four-door Bonneville model that included a luxurious interior of Morrokide and nylon, and a Cordova grain vinyl top. Other distinguishable elements included identifying badges on its rear roof pillars. The Bonneville Brougham was expanded in 1966 to include convertible and hardtop coupe versions.

The Brougham trim package was never a distinct model and official production numbers were not recorded.

This Bonneville Brougham example is a low mileage vehicle that spent most of its life in the mild climate of California. The car was manufactured at the GM plant in South Gate, California. The car was invoiced on April 5th of 1966 and was acquired by Rose and Pat Tulumello from Coast Pontiac in Fullerton, California. The original owners retained the car for nearly 4 decades. The car passed to their daughter Linda in 2005 and was tended to by her husband Gil Juhre, who had the car repainted in its original shade of Platinum. It was acquired by its current owner in 2008.

In 2008 the car won the Best Full-Size Pontiac and First Place Pontiac awards at a General Motors exhibition in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The car currently displays just under 52,000 miles. The engine is a 389 cubic-inch overhead valve V-8 with 4-Barrel carter carburetion and produces 325 horsepower. There is a three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic gearbox and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Scottsdale, AZ. It was estimated to sell for $40,000 - $50,000 and offered without reserve. As bidding came to a close, the car had sold for the sum of $33,000 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2012