It’s been a busy winter for me, but I had some free time during Christmas week and captured this fine example of nineteen eighties NASCAR aero design. That week, I had driven east for a family get together in Crossville, Tennessee, and racked up 2,200 miles in two and a half days. To reward my efforts, fate provided me this Grand Prix 2 + 2, which I found making a cigarette run to the local convenience store.
I talked briefly to the owner, who proudly informed me that while this Pontiac is viewed by some as a collectible, he had bought it to be DRIVEN, and that is exactly what he does. What you see is what you get with this car- He planned to paint it flat black some time in the future, but had no plans to restore the interior or keep the driveline original.
In fact, the original Chevy 305 V-8 was long gone, replaced by a healthy sounding 350. I’ve only seen these NASCAR Aero-coupes in museums and car shows, so it was nice to see one in daily use. When I shared that thought with the owner, he replied, “Yeah, my kids can fight over the car once I’m gone.”
If you’re not familiar with the Grand Prix 2 + 2, here’s a close up of the rear window, the key element of this design. GM hoped this aerodynamic glass would make their mid-sizers more competitive on the NASCAR banked ovals (the Chevy Monte Carlo received the same treatment).
The car arrived in response to Ford’s new “Jelly bean” Thunderbird, and took advantage of the same NASCAR rules that created Super Slick Speedway specials like the Torino Talledega, Charger Daytona, and Plymouth Superbird. The rear fenders and roof C-pillar remain stock G-body parts, but the glass, fill panels and trunk lid are all unique and super slippery.
Some have said his car (and it’s Chevy counterpart) used the back glass from a third generation Firebird or Camaro, but this shot shows that the back edge of the glass has too much curve to match the F-body hatch. You can also see that the trunk lid loses much of it’s functionality, with an opening best described as a mail slot.
As I said earlier, this isn’t a car you’d expect to see on a daily basis- Several internet sites put the production number at 1,118, and I don’t recall ever seeing one on the road. However, they appear to be a bit more common in south- During our talk, the owner told me there are four Grand Prix 2 + 2s in Tennessee’s Cumberland County alone (population in 2010- 56,035).
Of course, rarity means nothing here at Curbside Classics. Once we post a car, it’s here for all eternity, so enjoy!
I saw one of these for sale on Craigslist for $7000, in a very excellent condition ( in Michigan, obviously the car is stored in winter ) and I think it would be a very nice daily driver besides a thunderbird turbo or supercoupe. But it’s not the type of car to drive 3000 miles a month obviously.
Cool Pontiac Dave. Proportion-wise, it reminds me of a brawnier, 80s take on the Avanti.
Now then you mention it, it also reminds me of a 1980s take of a 1971-73 Buick Riviera.
OHHHHH how I wish I had my ’71 Rivera Gran Sport back, in the condition I sold it in, for the pittance I got for it!!!!
No hill or interstate merging lane could challenge that car’s acceleration. When coming up to a green light I would slow down, hoping it would turn to yellow and I could floor the gas pedal on that BUICK (NOT Oldsmobile or Chevy!) 455 engine and feel it push me back into the comfortable, 6 way power seat! Just imagine a car of that size and weight consistently chirping the back tires on a full floored acceleration first-to-second gear shift!
It’s handling and braking were a revelation for the time period. It seemed to violate the laws of gravity and physics that a car that big could handle curves so smoothly and quickly and quietly.
Several times the combination of the balanced brakes, with their front discs and huge, finned rear drums (and Michelin X tires) save me from myself when going wayyyyyy to fast-in-the-rain.
More than once it earned it’s gas money home from college when some pimply, macho kid in a loud mufflered, jacked up Firebird or Mustang insolently snarled at me “Hey man, Does that Banana Boat Buick run?”
In this time period, “senior” Buicks were often a “Gentlemen’s Express” luxury car that bested Cadillac and Lincoln in several ways.
Ugly, ugly, ugly. Seriously did the average GP or Monte buyer care about NASCAR? Sure, I’m sure there were a few but to sully the brand with this awkward toad wasn’t worth it.
Vehicles like the Aztek did infinitely more damage to the Pontiac brand image than this low production NASCAR homologation special did. A similar sentiment was leveled at the Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird as well. Dealers couldn’t move them off the lot. A lot of people wish they could go back in time and buy one brand new now though.
“Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.”
– Enzo Ferrari
To be fair, Chrysler was able to get rid of the Charger Daytonas rather quickly. This had an impact on why they decided to go ahead and build the Plymouth Superbird. Unfortunately, with yet another NASCAR rule change, they had to build a lot more of the latter to qualify (two cars per dealer). And, as one Chrysler marketing guy put it at the time, “Chrysler found out that there was a market for about 500 of these types of cars, and they had all already bought a Daytona!”.
I’m with you. That ugly front clip looks like someone superimposed Chief Wiggum’s face over a sports car’s body, and the rear end says Old Fart with those Cutlass-like lights and that cheesy spoiler.
Exactly. The shovel nose looks like someone cut it out of cardboard and then spraypainted it silver. And yet it wears the same generic GP tailights complete with gold filigree emblem.
At least the Superbird and had an element of outrageous, over the top style. This “Grand” Prix has not.
Congratulations on this find, Dave Ever since starting CC, I’ve hoped to find one of these two oddballs, but there’s none in my part of the world. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that they’re not all that rare in NASCAR country.
Thanks-
Tennessee appears to be promising Curbside Classic country, but since it was family Christmas time, I did not explore it’s full potential.
In fact, I almost drove by this Pontiac, but my daughter encouraged me to back track and shoot some pictures, so the thanks go to her.
Sorry Paul but I have been driving mine but not into your line of sight all over Eugene & Springfield
Aha! I might have guessed, given your interest in unusual Pontiacs.
I live in NASCAR country and do remember seeing a number of the Aerobacks (both the Chevy and the Pontiac) on the road when they were new. I wonder if GM gave them an exclusive engine (like the IROC’s TPI) would they have sold more, or if they even wanted to sell anymore.
I love that this guy is keeping it period correct and on the road.
Keeping what period correct? The (non-factory) side pipes? The (non-factory) 350? The (non-factory) mismatched wheels? The sun faded paint (that may actually BE factory…)?
I’m not trying to be a smart@ss, but this looks like a nearly 30 year old car in that part of the country. (I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Tennessee) Owned by someone clearly not concerned with provenance or any idea about originality…
I think what Dan means is that the mods made to the car are what you’d expect of a ‘redneck hotrod’ from the mid 80s. Granted this woudlve been a new car at that point, but lets take a 10 year old semi-broughammed coupe at that time…my money is on it done up similar to this. I like it. The car has a certain gritty character.
Wow, neat find! Never seen one myself either. Were they even available on the West Coast when new (or maybe as a special order I guess)? I’m sure down there they’d be front and center in the showroom. And yes, kudos to the guy for driving it as his daily driver.
I saw a few of both on the road in the PNW when they were new so they were definitely available on the west coast.
I`ve been a Pontiac guy most of my life. I thought these were cool when new and still like them. The thing about them is most everybody knew they were unusual from the start, so the survival rate is very high. Another issue is the ‘ corporate’ SBC (real Pontiac V-8s were gone after 81) , However unlike the Monte SS these had the same anemic 305 SBC as every other GP, that coupled with the love or hate styling there`s not a big ‘end’ market for them, even most hard core Pontiac enthusiasts are only luke warm on these. I see these for sale all the time, usually by flippers & dealers who think because of the low production new they are worth hugh money now. If you really want one find a nice one (there are plenty) and a seller sick of selling it.
I never saw to many of these up here in Illinois back in the day, but they were around here and there. The same was true of the same era El Camino SS, we seemed to get a lot of the Monte Carlo SS.
So is this car a hatchback where the whole back(glass window and all) open up to get at stuff or did the front part of the rear open up (the the PT Cruiser convertible)? I have seen a few of these cars over the years but have never seen one with the trunk open.
The owner is correct, a car is meant to be driven on the road(and not to live in a garage all the time or be driven on a trailer every place)
The top of the trunk lid ends at the cut line along the back edge of the glass, and that’s where the hinges pivot. Put another way, the top of the trunk lid only is only about 12 inches long.
I asked the owner to open the trunk lid, but the lock cylinder had been punched out at some point, and he indicated opening the lid was quite a hassle.
I worked at a local Pontiac dealer back in ’87 and they had a couple of these on the lot. When the ‘trunk’ was open I could barely fit my chest in the opening, it had a mini spare and just getting that out was a chore! Wish I knew now that they’d be somewhat of a rarity today.
Three words describe the 2+2.
One Hot Mess
The slot mags on the rear look good on the car, I hope he puts a matching set on the front.
These cars definitely show what a mess you get when formal has to get aero but racing creates strange necessities. Sometime you get a Torino Talladega and sometimes you get this.
Agree 100%! Slot mags make pretty much ANY car at least 100% cooler…but the effect is lost if its only halfway done.
I seen one new on a dealer lot in 1987 so some did come to Canada–this cars backglass is different than a Monte aeroback and is unique to the car–kinda like the Daytona and Superbird having different but very similar looking nose cones and rear wings. I don’t know why Pontiac didn’t at least offer the HO engine from SS–but GM couldn’t have made much money on 1200 cars
I never even knew this car existed. I have seen several Monte Carlo Aero Coupes, but never knew Pontiac made one. In fact I have seen very few Grand Prixs of that generation. The Monte Carlo SS and Buick Grand National stole the show. Many Monte Carlos got destroyed, but the Grand National seemed to be a collectors item from the very beginning.
This car is just plain fugly-period.
It looks strange if you’re used to seeing Monte Carlo SS and Grand Nationals.
I think it would great with a black re-paint.
Wow.
I remember the Chevy Monte Carlo version and still see one now and then. But I have never even heard of the Pontiac version. I never knew it existed. This is awesome!
Very cool find. The front nose cone always looked a bit crude on these, even when new. Appearance wise, the rear is actually pretty cool. To bad they didn’t invest in making a proper lift back for it, it would have been an exceptionally spacious and funtional car with a lot of luggage space.
It’s a unique and clever design for a low volume car. I agree, the nose could’ve been better integrated. For the flowing shape of the body, it looks slightly abbreviated. Plus a bit undersized too. I can visualize it on a first gen (’75-’80) Sunbird variant.
I’m picturing a more aggressive nose like the IMSA Monza, that comes more forward with a deeper air dam and body colored bumper. I think it would look cleaner and better integrated. Plus more NASCAR-like.
” The front nose cone always looked a bit crude on these,”
What this reminds me of is something put together for a movie set like 5-15 years in the future. As if they were trying to predict how this car might look with a few more facelifts. As it is, it would plop right into Mad Max or Total Recall and make complete sense.
yeah and that movie is Robocop lol
Sidepipes? Ick.
Disagree! But I grew up on the slotcars and hotwheels that were influenced by wild late 60s early 70s customs similar to what Ed Big Daddy Roth or George Barris were doing at the time. Functionally, they do make sense…get the exhaust out fast and dirty, as opposed to snaking over axles and around framerails. They look and sound outrageous and over the top. But that’s the point of a hotrod in the first place.
Well, just not on that car. C2 and C3 Vettes, AC Cobras, Vipers, yes. That car? Hell no.
sidepipes! cool, havent seen them on anything but mid 60s Vettes for years…
Boy, talk about polarizing. You either love or hate the Aero Coupes.
I’ve wanted one since I was a kid. I love the 1981+ GP more than any other G body.
Nice catch!
This isn’t an attractive car. It attempts to straddle two design eras, the personal luxury brougham look and the aerodynamic look which arrived with Ford’s T-Bird, Tempo and Taurus and took the market by storm.
I supposed GM needed to do something, right? Compared to what was being offered by the competition, their vehicles were decidedly out of style. The personal luxury formal box styling might have been popular with Lee Iaccoca for a wee bit longer, but for everyone else looking for the newest vehicles in the mid-1980s, GM’s Monte Carlo and Gran Prix weren’t new.
I do realize that these were special editions of their formal coupes, but even in their days, these two weren’t finding much appeal. Their appeal is definitely limited to those who wanted something a bit different from the old GM brougham coupe look.
Being from Chicago, these cars weren’t uncommon, especially when they flopped and dealers needed to get rid of them, but it has been a while since I’ve seen one in person – not that it would thrill me to do so.
I don’t think these were a stylistic statement so much as an engineering kludge necessitated by GM’s wariness of aero styling and the fact that the RWD G-body coupes were on their way out. So, the aerodynamic improvements they needed for homologation needed to cheap and cheerful, something that could be done on the line with a minimum of tooling expense. Had the G-bodies been slated for another generation, the stylists would undoubtedly have come up with a less awkward compromise.
The standard G bodies were pretty decent sellers until the end. GM knew the audience for these cars and the “aero” modifications would never fly with the demo these cars were aimed at. GM did this to homologate the body style for racing. This was not an actual response to the jellybean Fords of the era.
The “answer” to the Taurus was already on its way by the time these cars were released, but the GM-10’s (or W-bodies) had their own issues.
As much of a Pontiac fan as I am, I think I’d take another Aztek over one of these. The body is one big kludge, and the drivetrain is nothing special. It’s as if Grandpa put on Olympic swim trunks and is strutting around the pool. FWIW, at least the Monte Aerocoupe is a lot better thought out.
And the other G-body specials are more true to the whole mining the late 1960’s for dollars theme that was going on at the time (Buick GN & GNX, Olds Hurst Olds & 442).
After my open-mouth-insert-foot comment on the Levi’s Ford van article I’m “steering clear” of making the same type of reply on this thread!!
🙂
The conceptually similar Monte Carlo SS Aerodeck actually had different, flatter rear glass and unique sheetmetal to the Grand Prix 2+2. Can you imagine GM spending the money to do two different fastback G-body coupes?!
The sharper Monte Carlo rear glass evokes the ’77 Caprice two-door “hot-wire” glass, I think.
For the money, they could’ve dusted off the ’78-79 Buick-Olds Aeroback tooling and maybe even endowed it with a hatch.
I saw one of these once, prowling the streets of Memphis. They DON’T look any better “in the metal”. Aside from the styling, what sort of bugged me about these cars was the name. There was a large Pontiac called the 2+2 in the 60s (Pontiac’s answer to the Impala SS?) and the name makes me think of huge/sporty convertibles and coupes.
By the way, does anyone think maybe the reason Superbirds were slow sellers is that they were very expensive?
And yes, Tennessee can be a goldmine of old/oddball cars as the climate is relatively friendly.
The Daytona and Superbird were expensive (to buy and insure), so that was certainly a factor, but a fair number of people also just thought they were too outlandish-looking. Even if you had the money, you had to ask yourself if you were prepared to be the center of attention, not least from people with badges, ticket books, and quotas to fill.
Last time I saw one of those was new on the Pontiac Cadillac dealer’s lot. I was there getting yet another thing fixed on my POS 84 Firebird. At that time I was so frustrated with Pontiac/GM, if they had offered me any car on the lot for free, I would have refused it.
The Monte SS and Pontiac 2+2 were just appearance packages to homologate the trick body parts. They didn’t have the muscle of the 1986 – 1987 Grand National, or its brothers the T Type,and the GNX.
They were a bit more than just appearance packages. They also had tuned suspensions, sport interiors with bucket seats(optional on Monte SS), floor shift, operational gauges and higher output 305’s compared to the lesser offerings. The Monte also had a 3.42:1 rear gear in 1983-84 and 3.73’s there after with the overdrive transmission. The Pontiac came with a 3.08 gear which was still an upgrade from the lame 2.41 on the std 305 cars.
Somehow, I’ve managed to see quite a few of these over the years and even more aero Montes. In fact someone on the other side of town has a flat black daily driver aero Monte that I just drove past earlier today.
Not a pretty car, but I always appreciate the weird byproducts of homologation. Sticking a slightly hotter engine in these would have made them at least a little more interesting… if I’m remembering correctly it’s just the regular 160HP-or-so 305/Quadrajet. Not bad, not great. Even though this Grand Prix wasn’t really “about” styling, it’s styling is nonetheless a good representation of how confused Pontiac was at the time.
” it’s styling is nonetheless a good representation of how confused Pontiac was at the time….”
The Aerocoupe was just a homologation special. I think that Pontiac was pretty on-target with it’s marketing back then. Outside of the Parisienne and standard Grand Prix to appeal to the older Pontiac owners, they were a nice mix of the younger demographics cars. I think the wheels fell off the bus when SUVs really started making inroads back in the early-mid 90’s.
Pontiac was a division without a credible SUV. While the Montana was a workable minivan, I think there was a panic in the Pontiac planning department in the mid 90’s where they thought they had to get *something* out there to compete with the Explorers and Blazers. It appears that corporate didn’t want another clone of the S10 Blazer, either.
Hence the Aztek. But by the 2000’s, the “me too” product line had done it’s damage. When Lutz came in, he started to clean up the product line and focus it more tightly on the “performance” idea, but the BK came and shot that in the rear. RIP Pontiac, it was a great ride.
The Bonneville G was still around in ’86, too. That’s a lot of mixed messages in the showroom. Those were the stuffy old farts, then there was the 6000 which represented the cutting edge of 4 years earlier and an aborted naming convention alongside the bargain basement 1000 Chevette rebadge, a mid-engined sports car, a pony car and the Grand Am & Sunbird.
A lot of these were very good looking cars, but they all represent a confused brand identity and a rough transition between eras. The Grand Prix 2+2 is kind of like the hideous missing link between old and new, even though that wasn’t their intention at all.
Was the Bonneville G still on the lots back then? I forgot about that completely. I may agree the naming convention was muddled, I saw a product line that I could enter inexpensively and move up to an “adult” car or two without losing my younger man status.
But at the time, there were still standalone Pontiac franchises. The intervening 30 years have brought a lot of changes. I can understand why these arrangements existed.
The Grand Prix 2+2 was setup basically just like a Monte SS but didn’t get the L69 engine and 3.73 rear gears. It did get the mid Caprice spec 165 HP 305 LG4 with 3.08 rear gears compared to the basic Grand Prix LG4 305 which made 150 HP and had only the 2.41 rear gears. A good proper running SS Monte should run 0-60 times of about 7.8 seconds. A GP/Monte with the basic 150 HP 305 usually does that run in the 9.5 second bracket. I have driven several genuine 2+2 GP’s, one last year in fact, and from seat of the pants they feel right about in the middle of those other two times.
Ah, OK… that actually does make it a little more interesting. I always thought they shared the exact same drivetrain as the regular 305 Grand Prix.
I have always liked these. I must have been about 11 or 12 when Superior Pontiac-Cadillac off the Dort Hwy. exit off I-69 in Flint, Michigan had a new one prominently displayed in the showroom window which faced the end of the exit ramp. I thought the standard-issue SJ notchbacks looked particularly sporty, especially fitted with T-tops and two-tone paint, but I remember these fastbacks looking almost exotic to my eyes.
My family test-drove a new, yellow, 5-door Pontiac 1000 at Superior around that time (our salesperson’s name was Shelley Green, IIRC), and I remember wanting to duck into the showroom to collect some brochures and get closer to that GP. My parents were, however, underwhelmed by the 1000 and we didn’t hang around long after we got back to the lot.
Now, the building which used to house the defunct dealership is part of a college training facility, and Pontiac is history.
An ex-relative (ex-wife’s cousin) has one of these (Pontiac Aerocoupe). The first time I met him, he was all proud to show it off and since I had never seen one in the flesh, I was appreciative. He had bought it new, with some sort of settlement. It was probably more expensive than his house… It was close to 10 years old by the time I saw it, and it looked a lot like the car above (except the side-pipes, which I’m sure it would be sporting, if he could afford them) He had already blown the original engine, and replaced it with a V6 from a different G-body, it was rusty, dented, interior ripped and looked tired. I of course tried to buy it, since he had lost his license running from the cops while DUI, and it was just sitting behind his house, but his exact quote was “I’d rather sell my d**k than this car.” He loved it that much. I remember seeing a website years ago from a car restoration company (that I of course can’t find now) where they were converting the back end into a hatchback. THAT would have made these a bit more convenient, but of course that wasn’t the point of these cars.
If only the rear thin part of the trunk lid below the rear glass opens, then what is the gap above the 1/4 panel by the front of the rear glass. It looks like it’s for the original trunk lid. Is it just some kind of drainage channel?
That is where the fiberglass adaptor drops into the original trunk channel
Thanks!
In case any one wants to build one of these http://www.laureneng.com/1817117.html
I have to laugh whenever I hear someone say how much damage the Aztek did to Pontiac. Pontiac has built many beautiful cars, the Aztek was one of it’s very few blunders. And compared to some others I’ve seen, it wasn’t really that bad. Look at the first year Chevy Avalanche. And if you really want to see ugly, look at Nissan. IMO the Murano looked much worse than the Aztek, but if you really want ugly, look at the Cube and the Juke. Those two are absolutely hideous. Yet they don’t seem to have done any damage to Nissan. The Aztek was a decent seller, and is actually sought after in the used car market, much like the first generation Scion XB.
The Aztek (along with the same generation Ford Focus and a couple of others) was the bleeding edge of styling in 2000. I would agree with Bob Lutz’s assessment of “angry appliance”. When my wife insisted on one instead of a nice Olds Intrigue, I thought it was the ugliest thing ever. But after living with them for several years, I became a fan.
Ugly, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and now 15 years later there’s a whole bunch of ugly/beauty out there. But I can’t criticize someone for their choice of wheels, after having owned three copies of one of the most controversial American cars in decades…
I bought one of these used in 1988. It was a dog at the track but I installed a Monte Carlo SS exhaust and a new cam and it made it better. I liked the style but the trunk leaked from day one, the paint faded faster than ever, the nose piece cracked but through it all I still liked the uniqueness of never passing another one on the road. traded it in on a 1992 Trans Am convertible! I miss Pontiac!