1962 Pontiac Grand Prix

The new-for-1959 Wide-Track models became the basis for Pontiac's sales success that would carry them into third place in American sales rankings by 1962. The styling was wider, lower, longer, and more aggressive than the competition. Along with successes at the dealership, the cars achieved great success on NASCAR ovals, dragstrips, and the street.

Ford's four-seat Thunderbird offered performance and personal luxury. Pontiac lacked a model that offered this combination, and after several design studies, the Pontiac Grand Prix was readied for production. It was introduced in 1962 and would remain in the lineup through 2008, including seven generations of body style changes. When introduced, it was the performance-oriented replacement for the car that previously held that distinction, the Ventura, which became a luxury trim level on the full-size Catalina. John DeLorean, head of Advanced Engineering at Pontiac, was instrumental in the development of the Grand Prix and the GTO. The Grand Prix joined the Oldsmobile Starfire and Buick Wildcat in General Motors' upscale challenge to Ford Motor Company's highly successful Thunderbird.

The Grand Prix was a Catalina hardtop coupe with standard equipment similar to the top-of-the-line Bonneville. They had a unique grille and taillight arrangement, a checkered flag badge in the concave section of side spears, and special rear-end styling. The interior featured bucket seats, solid color Morrokide upholstery, and a center console with a tachometer and shifter. There were a deluxe steering wheel and padded instrument panel. In the back was a bench seat that had a center fold-down armrest and a speaker grille that could be made functional with the optional Bi-Phonic rear speaker.

Power was provided by the Bonneville's 303 horsepower 389 cubic-inch V8 with a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhaust. With the three two-barrel carburetors (Tri-Power), horsepower rose to 318 hp. Two other high-performance 389s were offered, including a four-barrel version rated at 333 hp and a 348 hp Tri-Power. During the year, a race-oriented 421 engine with a four-barrel configuration became available, offering 320 horsepower. The 421 Super Duty with two four-barrel carburetors delivered 405 horsepower and was a $2,250 option. Pontiac built just 16 examples of the 421 Super Duty Grand Prix at the factory for racing in addition to the 162 Catalinas built with 421 SD power. Both versions of the 421 SD cars were largely hand-built in the production-line aisles at the Pontiac factory.

The standard transmission was a three-speed manual. An optional Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed with Hurst shifter and three-speed Roto Hydra-Matic were available.

The Grand Prix was a success and went on to become an important and long-running part of Pontiac's model line. During its introductory year, 30,195 examples were sold.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2019