First Drive Review
Grand Prix. Literally, big price or big prize. Utter the words in an automotive context, and one probably thinks either of an open-wheel race-car parade with Schuey as the grand marshal, or of Pontiac's version of the ubiquitous GM W-sedan. Perhaps you've rented one at Avis? Today, we enthusiast types don't salivate much at the name, which has come to conjure overtly boy-racerish cars poorly clad inside and out in low-grade plastics. But at its zenith, the Grand Prix deigned to use model designators borrowed from Duesenberg-and folks didn't laugh!
The year was 1969, and the boomers who had created a big bulge in the population were landing real jobs and working hard to lure the attractive sex. The long-nosed, luxurious Grand Prix "personal luxury coupe" may not have been a real Duesy, but in J and SJ trim levels, it suggested its owner aspired to the F. Scott and Zelda lifestyle. An optional 428-cubic-inch V-8 and high-performance suspension even endowed this two-ton sled with reasonable performance for its day.
Now Pontiac is trying to herd the Grand Prix out of the rental-car corral and back upscale, with Bob Lutz manning the whips and lariats. The plastic festoonery is gone from the outer flanks. The interior trim takes a giant leap forward, with flush-fitting controls, one-millimeter gaps, and low-sheen finishes. The mouse-fur headliner has been replaced by an Audilike woven fabric. Thicker glass and new seals dramatically reduce wind noise. A stiffer body and thoroughly retuned suspension with 10mm more travel improve both ride and handling. Even the ancient 3.8-liter, 90-degree V-6 boasts Series III enhancement.
Has the Grand Prix become a reasonable choice for the discriminating enthusiast?
Quite possibly. The lineup now consists of GT, GTP, and GTP Competition Group models. The 3.1-liter rental-grade SE is gone, and the Competition Group car is aimed at hard-core enthusiasts, as Dodge and BMW do with their SRT and M models, respectively. The base, 3.8-liter GT gets a right respectable 200 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque. Both GTP models are supercharged and get a 20-hp boost to 260, and 280 pound-feet of torque-figures that lead the $20K-something sedan class going away. Credit the power boost to a freer-spinning fifth-generation Eaton Roots-type supercharger that runs 13 percent more efficiently and 10 percent cooler. Powdered-metal connecting rods, a new crankshaft isolator and damper, and a larger, 75mm throttle body with drive-by-wire control round out the 3.8-liter's Series III upgrades.
