...."what if" it would have been built???.......

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/about...bonneville.asp

 

I bet the same guy that bought the Oldsmobile last year buys this one.

 

He is part of a group of guys who are buying cars for a museum. Pretty cool.

 

Man does that car sream Harley Earl or what?

 

Always thought of the Delorean "Firebird" as the Grandfather of the Solstice.

 

You mean Banshee.

 

The Banshee was DeLorean's "Corvette". DeLorean wanted to put it into production but GM brass nixed that idea quickly.

http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/c...banshee_08.jpg
http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/c...banshee_02.jpg
http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/c...banshee_06.jpg
1964 Pontiac Banshee

 

The Banshee was not a corvette. It was supposed to be a lower cost version, like the Solstice is. Also it used an OHC I6 unlike the Vette which had a V8. Even thought the Solstice is a vert and the Banshee was a hardtop the Solstice is closer to the Banshee than any other Pontiac.

 

I miss the Bonneville already...we just sold our last new one If a low mileage GXP ever comes through the auction, its on my short list of cars to replace Ash's Grand Am in another 18 months or so. She loves the GXP Bonnies...I do too.

 

Did you even see the quotes around the name "Corvette" in my post? It was to be Pontiacs version like it or not. If I remember correctly, the 3rd generation Corvette was already on the drawing boards, and the Banshee borrowed many styling cues from the Corvette. A couple of things that distinquished the Banshee from the Corvette was that the Banshee used a solid rear axle (to keep costs down, and make the car more affordable than the Corvette), and a unique clamshell door design.

Two functional cars were produced (built by an outside coach builder). One was a 6 cylinder engine, the other had a V8, 326ci. One was a hardtop, the other a roadster.

There was even a 4 passenger version that was proposed.

This was John Delorean's pet project, and he really wanted it in production. But GM's Brass wasn't interested in erroding the Corvette's marketshare, and the project got nixed. Delorean was handed the Camaro to build a Pontiac version as a consolation prize. This was also to be called the Banshee.

He wasn't too happy about it all, but he lost the power struggle and gave in. By the time he relented, the Camaro was well under development, and his engineers had little time to make the Banshee distinquishable from the Camaro. Something less than 12 months. As it was, the car didn't get to showrooms until Feb. 67. But they did suceed in creating a car that was much more than a copy of a Camaro. It's styling and drivetrain differences made for a design that holds up even today.

Sometime during all of this, someone looked up the word Banshee and found that one definition was that of a mythical demon-like figure who foretold of a death in the family. Banshee was dropped in favor of another Pontiac concept car dating back to the 50s, the Firebird.

Frankly the Solstice pays more homage to classic European sports cars than to any Firebird.

 

Sorry but the first Vette had the I-6 Blu Flame in them. SO it was a pontiac vette and then you had the Olds Vette also. Can't remember the reals names but they were dead on. Although the Olds might have had the V8 in the concept.

 

Olds F-88. It had a Rocket V8 and 4 speed automatic transmission, power windows and door locks. The Corvette had the I6, a 2 speed, and no windows for 53

 

IF it had been built, there is a good chance the bonneville would be a horse of a different breed in todays market.

WHAT IF...