1963 Pontiac Grand Prix Sport Coupe
Let’s get one thing clear at the outset: The 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix was a completely conventional large American sedan. It broke no new technical or manufacturing ground. It didn’t handle particularly well, nor did its standard 303 hp propel it to particularly noteworthy quarter-mile speeds. But what it did do was bring all the post-1959 concepts that Bunkie Knudsen and John Delorean had imbued throughout the Pontiac line into a single cohesive package. It was all about image.
Although Pontiac had debuted the Grand Prix in 1962, one could argue that the GP didn’t really come into its own until the next model year. In the ’63, it had all come together: The Wide-Track stance; the distinctive split grille, with the Lucas-style turn signals which had evolved into THE Pontiac visage; the unique aluminum wheels with integral brake drums; the performance image that Smokey Yunick had helped to build in NASCAR; and the clean, nearly chromeless styling that tied the whole enchilada together. It all added up to change that suddenly made the baroque ‘58s of five years earlier seem light years behind. And let’s not forget the advertising and brochure illustrations created by the team of Fitz and Van: Art Fitzpatrick, a former designer on the 1940 Packard team, and Van Kaufman, a former Disney illustrator. Fitz drew the cars; Van rendered the people and backgrounds. Together, they were able to create an idyllic and aspirational image for the Pontiac brand. People wanted to own a Pontiac, GP or otherwise, and by 1963 Pontiac was third in sales.
1963 GP Interior
But let’s not minimize the terrific job done by the Pontiac designers on exteriors and interiors alike. As a kid I was knocked out by Pontiac’s metallic-vinyl interiors. Pontiac wasn’t the only manufacturer to offer the stuff (Pontiac dubbed their vinyl “Jeweltone Morrokide”), but the GP interiors were toned-down compared with those of the flashier Bonnevilles and Catalinas. Inside and out, the GP came off as restrained and cool…and who doesn’t want to be cool?
I love these GP’s, but I’ve said this a few times, was really a modified Catalina coupe. And it wasn’t even the first GP. Different lights and concave rear window, but otherwise same basic body. Thus, the whole big Pontiac line should be nominated as it was for 1959/65.
Why DOESN’T anyone acknowledge the 1962 GP, anyway? It was every bit as bad (good) as the 1963. Cool hidden taillights, console and all. I’ve never understood.
(rubbing chin pensively) I don’t know. Paul had pictures of pretty girls with his nomination entry. That’s tough to compete with…. 🙂
Beautiful cars. I think they are beautiful in pictures and feel that pictures don’t even do them justice.
Philhawk:
I could not agree more – I love seeing them at car shows today. Our neighbors bought a new one in 63 in dark blue. The first time I and my pals saw it we were stunned. Yes, conventional Pontiac underneath but the the unadorned flanks, unique grille/fog lights, covered rear taillights, concave rear window, cool wheels, and cool interior all added up to a custom look that knocked us off our feet. I continue to think it is one of the best looking full-sized cars of the era and my favorite GP of all time (second being the 67).
These were such handsome cars. I have always found the dash design of these cars, through the late 60’s, to be much more handsome than GM’s flagship Cadillac line or any other for that matter. Someone got it right.
Well, there was a real effort to maintain consistency of design in the dashboards of the big Pontiacs up through 1966; the ’67 turned out well too, despite abandoning the real wood veneer that had been used in the Bonneville and GP, but the extra padding stuck on the same dash’s vertical surfaces for ’68 was inesthetic. The ’69/’70 dash was much inferior (like those of the other GM divisions), both uglier and obviously cheaper.
We had various of these cars in our family – ’63 Catalina, ’65 and ’66 Bonnevilles, ’67 Executive wagon with a/c and factory 8-track – and I especially remember the cabin temperature-setting dial, with “reds” (as we called them) indicating heat; turning a radio-type knob increased the number of little red squares in the display, rotating from blue ones.
This is the first CCOTY nom that has made me sit up and take notice. I mean, there have been many other worthy cars. But I like the car package more than whatever’s beneath the skin. I’d totally drive an entirely conventional, but gorgeous, car like this.
While I admire the restraint in this design, it’s the more voluptuous hips of the ’65 and ’66 models I lust for.
Where’s the ’63 Riviera?!
I was thinking the same thing. Someone has to nominate the 63 Riv. It was GM’s first effort against the T-bird in the “personal luxury” segment, and was a smash hit.
I wish I could nominate the 1963 Chrysler Turbine, certainly the most advanced car of it’s time. It wouldn’t be fair, however. Like the Ferrari nominated in 1962, it’s made of almost pure unobtainium. Additionally, Chrysler didn’t sell them, they loaned them to people to try for 3 months. Of total production of 50 cars, there are 9 left today, and only two that are in the hands of private collectors.
On that note, have you guys heard that the Chrysler Museum at their HQ in Auburn Hills, MI is closing at the end of 2012?
I agree with your thoughts on the Riv, and have no problem nominating the 63 Chrysler Turbine. The car did make it out into public use for quite awhile, and there was a decent number made, for what it was. It was much more than a one-off or 3-off design or engineering study, it was a limited production car that Chrysler had to destroy because of 1) import taxes from the italian content and 2) a complete and total lack of parts or service infrastructure. I would go with a nomination of GM’s later EV-1 for the same reasons.
I would also have to admit that the Turbine was not really influential in any real way. It was a radical styling job only for Chrysler – it heavily used themes from Elwood Engel’s 61 Lincoln. Also, the turbine power idea never went anywhere either. However, the car is just cool, so it deserves a nomination.
The styling, dimensions and 2-door, 4 passenger layout of the Turbine are more like the T-bird, so much so that some critics dubbed it the “Engel-bird”. Aside from the roof, the Turbine actually borrowed heavily from the 1958 Ford LaGalaxie concept car.
http://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1958_ford_la_galaxie/
I have to wonder how it would have worked out if Chrysler had mass-produced a version of the Turbine body with conventional V8 drivetrain to compete in the personal-luxury space. The car received so much publicity that was ultimately squandered.
You can find elements from the Turbine in the front of 1963-64 Dodges, and the back of the 1968 Chrysler 300.
I agree with you on the car’s viability as a personal luxury entry, as long as they did something with the front end of the Turbine, which was just odd. The back end was really cool.
I thought the front end looked pretty neat just as it is. I can see how it might be off-putting to some. If you think of the front of a car as its “face”, the Turbine had no chin.
The back end, while also cool looking, was probably not very practical. You have to reach over the large ornate taillight assemblies to access the trunk, and be careful to not crunch one of the large protruding pods jutting out.
I’m planning on heading to Auburn Hills two weeks from today (Saturday) to visit the Walter P. one last time. It would be great to run into some fellow CC’rs there 🙂
I’m sure you already know this, but for anyone else stumbling across this – Jay Leno has actually gotten his Turbine Car running and has been driving it for the last few years. Here’s the Jay Leno’s Garage segment on it that he just did recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2A5ijU3Ivs — absolutely friggen awesome. I was never a fan of Leno’s talk show or humor, but I love his internet car show and the fact that he is clearly a huge automotive nut, with interests more towards the oddball side of the spectrum. His steam car videos are amazing.
I’ve been fascinated by the Turbine Car ever since I was very young and my parents bought me a copy of the automotive coffee table classic LEMONS from Walden Books. I don’t think it was the CCOTY for 1963, but it was definitely the most interesting car unleashed on the world that year. Leno mentions that when the TC ended it’s life as a leased out testbed, Chrysler offered them to museums and collectors, but no one wanted them!
I don’t much like Leno’s show or humor, either, but his appreciation of autos is unmatched. That video is great and Leno’s preservation of an actual running Turbine Car (no easy or inexpensive endeavor) is laudible and should be enough to earn the respect of anyone even remotely interested in the history of experimental automotive engineering.
My dad took me to a showing of the Chrysler Turbine on the University of California Berkeley campus. I assume it was 1963 … I would have been six years old. I vaguely remember getting a brochure or flyer but it’s long gone. No pictures either, but the car made a lasting impression. A few months later we we went to England and I saw the original “Auntie”-style Rover Turbine at a museum. The differences between those two cars said a lot about the UK and the US in the early ’60’s.
For whatever reason I at the time and still prefer the 62 GP.
I like. Although the 12-17 year old me may favor the Stingray, the 35+ year old me is quite fond of this GP. There must be a reason that we are not discussing the Olds Starfire or the Buick Wildcat. Although those were attractive, this big Pontiac simply nailed every aspect of making a desired car: outside beauty, inside style, a great powertrain (although we may be talking Roto Hydramatic here, although it could be avoided with a stick) and most of all, an image. Very, very few cars pull this all together into the same package, but this one did.
’63 GP fans will point to it’s “clean lines and lack of chrome”. But the base Catalina also has same lines and no chrome. 🙂
Yes, but ’63 Bonnevilles had a bright, rather garish 2-inch-high molding that extended back from the headlamps onto the front doors, with the word BONNEVILLE on it. The GP was treated as a Bonneville-level (or higher) car in the Pontiac hierarchy at a time when, in general, higher up meant more shiny moldings.
A few years later the Bonneville and GP were more similar in this respect – for example, the ’66 cars had the same ribbed rocker-panel moldings and no other side decoration except the model name.
The 63 GP was probably the most modern of all the GM products that year, except for the Riviera. But my heart belongs to Cadillac. I’d rather have a 63 Coupe deVille.
I remember being terribly disappointed in a friend who was such a status-climber that he went for a relatively dowdy Catalina 4-door sedan instead of a Grand Prix. He did get one in that same dark blue on lighter blue color combination though.
My nomination of the ’63 GP was totally subjective. But as a 15-year old I was totally knocked out by its “presence”. Sure, it was only a Catalina coupe, but Pontiac’s designers got every detail right. I lusted for one of these things. The Rivieras I found chubby, the Chrysler Turbines forgettable. Would I like a perfect ’63 GP today? Sure. But I would prefer a ’63-’67 Corvette.
As a kid hopelessly in love with cars in the 1960’s, it was always a treat to look into the interior of the Grand Prix, starting with this one. Pontiac always had a great eye for detail, even up until it’s demise. But the 60’s were a special time for Pontiac and here was a company on top of it’s game in all phases. Still love the 63 Stingray the best, but this is a worthy nomination in it’s own right.
Good choice, though it’s hard to pick with the likes of the Corvette, Riv, et al. And, of course, I never get tired of the V&F ads of the ’60s. Nice job Kevin.
This is one gorgeous car!
This was when Pontiac was hitting on all cylinders. It’s hard to believe that the marque had gotten so low by the end in 2009. Unless GM can restore Pontiac to it’s former glory, there’s really no reason to resurrect them.
I would vote for this car, too.