Pontiac Grand Prix Convertible, 1967
Pontiac Grand Prix I
Pontiac Grand Prix I•
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Chassis No.: 266677E117221
Auction: Monterey 2015
Auction date: August 15, 2015
Lot No.: F53
$52,800 | Sold
- Exterior: Gold
- Interior: Red
- Body: Convertible
- One year only Grand Prix convertible
- One of 5,856 Grand Prix convertibles built in 1967
- Believed to be 14,000 actual miles
- Mostly original Gold paint
- Original Red interior and Black top
- Original chrome, stainless and trunk
- Spare tire never down
- Fender skirts in trunk
- Original 428 CI 4 barrel engine
- M40 400 turbo Hydra-Matic transmission
- Unrestored chassis
- Nicely equipped per original window sticker
- AM radio and 8-track tape player
- Cruise control and Safeguard speedometer
- 8 lug wheels, new F-70-14 redline bias ply wide oval tires
- Aluminum drums and transistor ignition
- Remote deck lid and power antenna
- Power steering and drum brakes
- Tilt steering column and tinted glass
- Power door locks and windows
- Power bucket seat with console
- Original bill of sale, owner?s manual, books, Protect-O-Plate and miscellaneous receipts
In 1961 GM Design vice president Bill Mitchell opened his Euro-themed personal car concept for bids from GM’s divisions. Pontiac’s chief of Advanced Engineering John DeLorean leapt at the idea, but the Buick Division snapped it up for its new Riviera. Undeterred, DeLorean stole Buick’s thunder by beating it to the market in 1962 with his own personal car, the Catalina-based Grand Prix. Like the Riviera it was positioned to compete with the increasingly luxurious Ford Thunderbird, but the Grand Prix was a more aggressive performer, as its name suggested.
By 1966 the twice-restyled Grand Prix was firmly positioned as a full-sized muscle car loaded with luxury, and in 1967 the big news was a convertible top, the only time one was offered in the Grand Prix’s history. At 5,856 units, the 1967 Pontiac Grand Prix was rare, and this unrestored example may be the most rare of all, maintaining high originality throughout. The original owner, Milton R. Lavigne of North Adams, Massachusetts, traded in his 1963 Grand Prix to purchase it from Milton Motors in North Adams and so most likely knew very well what he wanted in his new one—even after tallying up the cost of the options, which raised the final price from $3,902 to $5,357.
Lavigne kept his prized Pontiac until his passing in 1977, when it was willed to his next of kin. A Knoxville, Tennessee, man purchased the car in 1981 and subsequently drove it fewer than 2,000 miles in the ensuing 30 years. Today this irreplaceable Grand Prix convertible retains the original and exceedingly opulent Red bucket-seat interior, Black convertible top and most of the original Gold paint. The chrome, stainless trim and trunk interior are also original, and the spare tire has never been on the ground.
The car is loaded with a total of 30 options, including the 428 CI V-8 engine, M40 400 Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission and a rare set of 8-lug wheels backed by aluminum brake drums and wrapped in new F70-14 Redline wide oval tires. In keeping with the Grand Prix’s high-luxury performance theme, the car is thoroughly appointed with transistorized ignition, “Wonder Touch” power steering and brakes, cruise control, “Safeguard” speedometer, AM/8-track radio with power antenna, remote deck lid release, tilt steering wheel—complete with a horn button announcing the new-for-1967 energy-absorbing steering column—tinted glass, power locks and windows, and power seat.
Well documented with the original bill of sale, manuals, Protect-O-Plate and miscellaneous receipts, this rare Grand Prix embodies all the excitement and grandeur of '60s-era Pontiac styling and performance.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/219746/1967-pontiac-grand-prix-convertible/
