Pontiac BonnevilleThe Pontiac Bonneville first saw light of day as a concept car at the GM Motorama in 1954. It was not to enter the market for another three years when Pontiac introduced it as a limited edition convertible. The sweep of the body profile gave it the air of a rocket ship. The rear fender was made out of anodised aluminium. Four ply whitewall tyres were introduced as standard and the hubcaps had a tri-spinner-design. The engine was a 300 hp 370 cu in V8. The carburettor was four-barrelled and there was a dual exhaust system. The tag “Fuel Injected” was also emblazoned on the front fenders and rear deck. The Bonneville was independently tested as being able to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 8.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 130 mph.
photo by Lars-Göran Lindgren, Sweden, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. 1958 saw the Bonneville undergo a radical restyling as the car gained what is described as an “aircraft look.” The year also saw the Bonneville offered as a convertible and sports coupe. And a Deluxe steering wheel, special upholstery and chrome wheel discs as well as Hydra-Matic automatic transmission were standard. Rochester fuel injection could be had for an extra $500. A Bonneville hardtop, with 300 hp engine, in independent testing, went from 0 to 60 in 7.6 seconds. Related Articles |
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