1969 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ

Since its debut in the early Sixties, the Grand Prix nameplate had been used for Pontiacs large sporty coupes on the GM B-platform, analogous to the Buick Wildcat and Chevy Impala SS. For the '69 model year, however, Pontiac boss John Z. DeLorean commissioned an all-new Grand Prix.

This one rode on a stretched version of the midsize A-body platform, called the G-body, and was Pontiac's entry into the soon-to-blossom "personal luxury coupe" market. (The next model year, Chevy would launch the Monte Carlo on the same chassis.)

With front bucket seats, a console with a floor shifter, and a cockpit-like instrument panel that oriented the gauges and controls toward the driver, it fit in with the sporty image that DeLorean wanted Pontiac portraying.

Available in base or sportier "SJ" trim levels, powerplants ranged from a 2-barrel 265 horsepower 400cid V-8 to a snarling 390 horsepower 428 H.O. V-8 with a four barrel and dual exhausts.

The Castilian Bronze 1969 Grand Prix SJ in the photos has the 428 H.O. and was actually an original example with less than 14,000 miles on the clock being sold at the Mecum auction ony a mile or two down the road.

Car and Driver tested a 1969 Grand Prix with the regular, non-H.O. 428, which developed 370 SAE gross horsepower. Their test car had a 3-speed automatic and a 3.23:1 rear end and managed a 6.9 second zero-to-sixty time and a 15.3 second quarter mile at 91 miles per hour, topping out at a buck twenty. Price as tested was $5,674, which was pretty spendy for the era, more than you'd pay for a contemporary Hemi Charger.

This one was photographed in May of 2022 using a Nikon D7100 and a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E zoom lens.