In-Motion Outtake: 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix Convertible – A Rare Bird In Flight

1967 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible. Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 11, 2020.

If you’re like me, “Grand Prix” and “convertible” are things you usually don’t think of at the same time.  When I spotted this one earlier this month, I had no idea just what a rare car it was.  In this storied nameplate’s forty-seven model years spanning 1962 and 2008 and the various guises and roles it played within Pontiac’s lineup, 1967 was the only year the Grand Prix was offered as a convertible.  Just 5,856 soft-tops were sold that year, alongside 37,125 hardtop coupes, accounting for just under 14% of total GP production.

1967 Pontiac Grand Prix brochure pages, courtesy of www.oldcarbrochures.com

This was back when the Grand Prix was still a full-sized car based on GM’s B-platform, before undergoing a complete reinvention as a midsized G-Body for ’69.  This ’67 looks mighty fine in its dark, business-like paint scheme, but I can’t help but wonder what various other Grand Prixs over the years might have looked like as convertibles.  The aforementioned ’69 would have made a knockout drop-top, but there were already slightly smaller, open-air Pontiac A-Bodies available in the Tempest, LeMans, and GTO.  I feel that even the latter-day, FWD GM-10 Grand Prix would have made a great-looking convertible, as did its Olds Cutlass cousin.  Cheers to the occupants of this particular machine for enjoying top-down cruising during one of the very last warm days of this year.

Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, October 11, 2020.