細節
1961 PONTIAC MONTE CARLO PROTOTYPE CONVERTIBLE "DREAM CAR"
COACHWORK BY FISHER BODY COMPANY
Chassis No. 1 GXP 211
Opalescent white with blue interior
Engine: V-8, 327ci; Gearbox: four speed manual. Left hand drive.
In the 1950s Pontiac had a somewhat staid image, and in 1956 'Bunkie' Knudsen was appointed General Manager of Pontiac at the age of 43, the youngest man to ever head one of General Motor's divisions. At the time, John. Z. DeLorean was in charge of a small R and D division at Packard which was near defunct, and Knudsen had no difficulty in persuading him to move to Pontiac as assistant to the Chief Engineer Pete Estes. Their brief was to change Pontiac's image of 'an old lady's car'.
After World War II, there was great demand for sporting cars, and the end result was the Pontiac Tempest, introduced in 1959; it soon became the most popular of the new 'compact' cars. By 1961 it was voted Car of the Year by Motor Trend and helped to boost Pontiac's sales into third place behind Ford and Chevrolet, the Estes/DeLorean team having also produced the Pontiac Grand Prix sports car and the luxury Le Mans. This prototype was based on the Tempest chassis, with the wheelbase reduced from 112" to 97", and with it is a booklet on the Tempest by DeLorean, who had a major part in the design.
Over $250,000 was spent on this prototype, which is the only car of its type in the world. The original design was an extremely sporty two-seater fitted with a very low wind shield, hood louvers and a double head fairing on the rear deck. After being shown at many exhibitions it was decided to make it more suitable for road use, the windshield, headfairings and engine were removed as well as the original four-cylinder engine. It was donated to the museum in 1977 by Ed Cole's family. It had been given to Mr Cole by Pontiac. Today it is in fair overall condition with some minor surface rust evident in a few places. In recent years the heads were removed, and a valve job was done on the car. It would be a spectacular show car restored in its original configuration.
COACHWORK BY FISHER BODY COMPANY
Chassis No. 1 GXP 211
Opalescent white with blue interior
Engine: V-8, 327ci; Gearbox: four speed manual. Left hand drive.
In the 1950s Pontiac had a somewhat staid image, and in 1956 'Bunkie' Knudsen was appointed General Manager of Pontiac at the age of 43, the youngest man to ever head one of General Motor's divisions. At the time, John. Z. DeLorean was in charge of a small R and D division at Packard which was near defunct, and Knudsen had no difficulty in persuading him to move to Pontiac as assistant to the Chief Engineer Pete Estes. Their brief was to change Pontiac's image of 'an old lady's car'.
After World War II, there was great demand for sporting cars, and the end result was the Pontiac Tempest, introduced in 1959; it soon became the most popular of the new 'compact' cars. By 1961 it was voted Car of the Year by Motor Trend and helped to boost Pontiac's sales into third place behind Ford and Chevrolet, the Estes/DeLorean team having also produced the Pontiac Grand Prix sports car and the luxury Le Mans. This prototype was based on the Tempest chassis, with the wheelbase reduced from 112" to 97", and with it is a booklet on the Tempest by DeLorean, who had a major part in the design.
Over $250,000 was spent on this prototype, which is the only car of its type in the world. The original design was an extremely sporty two-seater fitted with a very low wind shield, hood louvers and a double head fairing on the rear deck. After being shown at many exhibitions it was decided to make it more suitable for road use, the windshield, headfairings and engine were removed as well as the original four-cylinder engine. It was donated to the museum in 1977 by Ed Cole's family. It had been given to Mr Cole by Pontiac. Today it is in fair overall condition with some minor surface rust evident in a few places. In recent years the heads were removed, and a valve job was done on the car. It would be a spectacular show car restored in its original configuration.