1964 Pontiac Banshee Prototype XP-833 surface areas available, again

The one-off 1964 Pontiac Banshee sports car principle is once more for sale, this moment in a listing at Hemmings. The asking cost is a cool $1.2 million.

The Banshee was a very early effort by General Motors to respond to the Ford Mustang. Understood internally as the XP-833, it was the brainchild of John Z. DeLorean, that was head of Pontiac at the time. More sports car than pony vehicle, it featured sleek fiberglass bodywork that resembles the later C3 Chevrolet Corvette and Opel GT.

Instead of a bespoke sports-car system, though, the Banshee obtained mechanical hardware from the first-generation Pontiac Tempest. It used that cars and truck’s uncommon rear transaxle driven by an adaptable metal driveshaft often called a “rope drive” to send power from an inline-6 engine to the rear wheels.

GM nixed the Banshee after 2 prototypes– this silver coupe and a white convertible– were constructed, purportedly because execs were worried that the Pontiac would take sales from the Corvette. Pontiac instead obtained the Firebird as its Mustang fighter, sharing the GM F-Body system with the Chevy Camaro.

Pontiac Banshee coupe

Pontiac Banshee coupe Both Banshee prototypes were concealed away till they could be acquired by GM employees. The coupe stuck with its purchaser till 2006, when it was purchased by supplier Len Napoli of Milford, Connecticut, for $210,600 at a Barrett-Jackson public auction. Napoli is a noted Pontiac collection agency whose family members ran a Pontiac dealership from 1958 up until GM ended on the division.

Napoli has attempted to market the Banshee sports car multiple times. It initially appeared up for sale in 2010, and was last listed offer for sale via Napoli’s Kia dealership in 2020 with a $750,000 asking rate. Napoli appears to be the seller once again, as the car is still listed as being marketed by a dealership in Milford, Connecticut, with the same 1,498 miles as the last time it emerged to buy. Will it lastly discover a purchaser this moment?

admin Written by:

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply