DESCRIPTION

Flush with the success of the newly-minted GTO, Pontiac chief engineer John DeLorean turned to the dream that would fire his imagination for years: a 2-seat sports car that would cement the Pontiac performance image and surpass anything on the road. The result of this dreaming was the Banshee XP-833, a curvaceous and sleek prototype whose every feature and detail would portend the future direction of GM styling and performance in the years ahead, especially in the next-generation Corvette Sting Ray.

Based on the Chevelle and Le Mans A-body platform, the Banshee featured a Jack Humbert-designed fiberglass body on a 90-inch wheelbase steel platform chassis. Future Corvette and Firebird styling cues abounded, from its pronounced cabin-rearward Coke-bottle shape to the raked windshield, fastback roof, Kamm-back rear fascia with triple slit taillights and the split front grille below its pop-up headlights. Under the bulging hood, Pontiac engineers installed a specially-built cross flow head OHC inline six whose base rating of 155 horsepower was intended to allay corporate fears of too much power, yet was still enough to endow the 2,200-pound Banshee with respectable performance. More innovation appeared in the form of fixed seats with an adjustable pedal rack and front brake cooling ducts.

With the blessing of Pontiac Division chief Pete Estes, DeLorean had two prototypes built, one convertible and the coupe presented here, and that is when the story of the Banshee came to a screeching halt, killed by corporate management and Chevrolet execs who discerned in the concept not only a clear challenge to the Corvette but, quite possibly, a buffet of juicy ideas on which to feast for years to come.

Today the Banshee coupe survives in its original form, unrestored and exactly as it was over fifty years ago, and in 2001 when it was an invited guest at the Meadowbrook Concours dElegance. The odometer shows just 1,498 original miles, a number reflected in the spectacular overall condition of this historically important Pontiac artifact.

HIGHLIGHTS

- Designed by GM executive John DeLorean to compete with Ford's Mustang
- The Banshee prototype was finally killed by GM brass, who thought the concept would hurt Corvette sales
- The Banshee was supposed to be scrapped but a GM employee convinced GM to sell it to him
- Driven less than 1,500 miles and only brought to car shows
- The owner passed away and put the Banshee on the market
- 1 of 1
- All original, just the way the prototype was developed
- The museum piece has been in all history books of GM since 1964
- Long sweeping hood and short deck styling
- 2,200 lb. fiberglass body over steel underbody
- Rally II wheels
- AM Radio
- Adjustable pedals

-- Edited by 68sd on Thursday 29th of July 2010 10:45:07 AM

What a beauty! Great that it was never crushed!





And by 1969, they would have used the 230 hp version, in such a light car, might have matched L79 Novas?

Dave

Banshee write-up ...

http://www.pontiac-lemans.com/grafik/history/pdf/1964_ohc_banshee/1964_ohc_banshee.pdf

Built in '64. I love all the styling cues present on this car that eventually made it on to production models.