Pontiac does not build many cars like the Pontiac Tempest: a 4-door station wagon / 4-door sedan / 2-door coupe / 2-door convertible with 195 cu in (3.2 L) I4, built from 1960 to 1991 in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar.
The background
The Pontiac Tempest is an automobile that was produced by Pontiac from 1960 to 1970, and again from 1987 to 1991. The Tempest was introduced as an entry-level compact in October 1960 at the Paris Auto Show for the 1961 model year. Built on GM's first unibody chassis, its new Y-platform was shared with the Buick Special/Skylark and Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass. While the Buick and Olds versions used a conventional drivetrain, the Pontiac had a unique, innovative design. The Tempest featured a front-engine/rear-transaxle layout that very nearly resulted in an ideal 50/50 weight distribution, together with independent rear suspension for nimble handling (a swing axle design similar to the Chevy Corvair). A Slant-4 engine connected to the 2-speed automatic transaxle via a flexible "rope" drive shaft. This configuration eliminated the driveshaft hump, yielding a flat floor with increased interior space.
The Pontiac "Trophy-4" was also unique, created by basically halving a standard Pontiac V8 block. Buick's aluminum 215 V8 was also optional in 1961 and 1962, but very few Tempests were so equipped. The Tempest line offered an optional LeMans trim upgrade. In 1964 the Tempest was redesigned as a mid-size car on the updated GM A-body platform, which used a conventional drivetrain. The base Tempest, Tempest Custom, and Lemans became separate trim packages, with an optional GTO performance option available on the LeMans for 1964 and 1965. The GTO was offered as a separate model line beginning in 1966. The Tempest name was retired after 1970, replaced by the T-37 as the base model, which i
The engineering
Under the skin sits 195 cu in (3.2 L) I4; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 2810 -. The gearbox is a 2-speed automatic / 3-speed manual / 4-speed manual. 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 112 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Pontiac's history is not in doubt: the LeMans and Grand Am followed it; it was built at Pontiac Assembly, Pontiac, Michigan. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Nissan Patrol, the Jaguar E-Type, the Mini Mini. Its Pontiac stablemates include the Pontiac 2+2 and the Pontiac 6.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Pontiac Tempest — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.
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