The Pontiac Grand Ville is a 4-door hardtop / 2-door hardtop / 2-door convertible / 5-door station wagon (1973-1975) from Pontiac. Under the bonnet: 400 cuin.
Where it came from
The Pontiac Grand Ville is a full-size car that was a sub-series trim package for the Pontiac Bonneville from 1971 to 1975, which had served as Pontiac's top-trim model since 1958 while remaining below the top level Pontiac Grand Prix. The Bonneville name remained but was now downgraded, and in effect replaced the Pontiac Executive. The Grand Ville and Bonneville shared a number of trim and design elements that distinguished them from the Catalina, and the 1971-72 Grand Villes were built on a stretched-wheelbase version of the GM "B" platform that nevertheless had identical interior dimensions to all other full-size Pontiacs. In addition to more luxurious interior trimmings, the Grand Ville had distinctive chrome trim at the front and rear to set it apart from the rest of the Pontiac line. Between 1971 and 1974 Grand Ville hardtops featured more upright "formal" C-pillar and backlight treatments that were similar to those found on contemporary GM "C" platform cars (Oldsmobile Ninety Eight and Buick Electra) and not shared with the Bonneville or Catalina.
For 1974 only, the Grand Ville had unique parking lights which wrapped around the corner of the front fender. The car was often sold with deluxe appearance options, such as sport wheels and vinyl tops. Rear fender skirts were featured on the 1973 to 1975 models. Standard equipment on Grand Ville models included a 455 cubic-inch V8 (for 1975, a 400 cubic-inch V8 was standard and the 455 optional), Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission, power steering and power front disc brakes. Popular options included air conditioning,
Under the skin
Power comes from 400 cuin; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 126 in (1971-72) / 124 in (1973-74) / 123.4 in (1975). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Its family tree is legible: its successor was the Pontiac Bonneville Brougham; assembly was at Pontiac, Michigan, USA. Nearby in the Pontiac catalogue sit the Pontiac 2+2 and the Pontiac 6.