1969 Pontiac Tempest LeMans

The Pontiac Le Mans was originally a trim package on the Tempest when it was introduced in the early 1960s. The name 'LeMans' would be used by Pontiac through the early 1980s (in the United States) and produced through five generations.

1969 was part of the third generation - introduced in 1968 and produced through 1972. The Tempest line received a minor styling update for 1969, with new taillight and grille treatments.

The Pontiac Tempest LeMans was available as coupe, hardtop, convertible, and a 4-door hardtop. The most popular was the 2-door hardtop which saw 82,817 examples produced. 5,676 were convertibles, 6,475 were 4-door hardtops, and 5,033 were coupes.

The LeMans models had a 3.23:1 rear axle and a deluxe three-spoke steering wheel. The two-door models had bucket or notchback seats. The four-door hardtop versions had either bench or nothcback seats with center armrests. The convertibles had power tops. LeMans block lettering appeared on the front fender tips and there were metal window and wheel opening moldings.

All Tempest models could be purchased with the 'Sprint' option.

Standard equipment included concealed windshield wipers, ignition buzzer, dual horns, Mokkokide uphosltery, lamp packages, and 'pulse' wipers.

In total, there were 100,001 examples of the LeMans produced. Just 6,303 were fitted with manual gearboxes while the remaining 93,698 had automatics.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2012