I was looking for some info on another old Pontiac machine & bumped into this one; the 1964 Pontiac Banshee.
At first blush, it looks like a Corvette, but the Corvette didn’t sport the styling cues developed in the Banshee until 1968.
More photos after the jump.
Amazingly, only two examples of the Banshee were built; a convertible with a V8 and a hardtop with a straight-six. More amazing still is that both of them are still around. The hardtop iteration probably best displays the differences between the Banshee & the Corvette; you can see hints of the Firebird in the Banshee, but again, the Firebird didn’t hit the showroom floors until 1967. So the Banshee is in a way the daddy of both the C3 Vette and the first-generation Firebird.
Barrett-Jackson had the hardtop on the auction block in 2006; here’s what they had to say about the Banshee:
”A vehicle design that challenged the limits of American engineering and thinking. John DeLorean’s vision for a Pontiac 2-seat sports car, with long sweeping hood and short rear deck styling, screamed speed. This all original Grey hardtop, with Red interior, and Pontiac Overhead Cam six cylinder engine weighed in at only 2200 pounds and utilized a unique solid-body construction of exterior fiberglass and steel underbody. The Banshee had all the elements of an awesome performer. General Motors executives viewed the concept to be too much of a threat to the Corvette and as a result instructed DeLorean to cease additional development. Only two runable prototypes were built. The car’s influence on future GM products spanned decades, with some of the styling cues seen on vehicles such as the 1968 Corvette. As part of automotive history, this specific Banshee was invited to be displayed at the 2001 Meadow Brook Hall Concours d’Elegance.”
Hot Rod magazine did a writeup on the Banshee a while back (still available online), and actually got to drive the convertible. That one is owned by Joe Bortz, “owner of a Chicagoland restaurant and nightclub chain and curator of the Bortz Collection of dream cars”. The guy must be half crazy, because he owns several one-of-a-kind machines like the Banshee, and drives them pretty regularly. On the road. With stupid drivers all around. Yikes. Guess he watched Toy Story and took the message — that toys are meant to be played with, and by extension, that cars are meant to be driven — to heart.
Photos from Barrett-Jackson and Hot Rod Magazine.