What Car is This?

[HarleyEarl]

What concept is this? Can you also name the year?

[Sixty8panther]

Good one. So damn sexy. This one is pretty easy to figure out.

[HarleyEarl]

Sixty8, I thought you or Balthazar would get it quick...was going to camo it but thought I'd leave it as is. And I agree, this is a stealthy stunner. It has a stance and presence much like luxury marques of the 1930s. Edited August 24, 2005 by HarleyEarl

[Cory Wolfe]

Oooh.. I know, I know! :D Then again, how could I not know? :P ;)

[balthazar]

I knew it right off but I feel bad always blurting out the answer 'quick'. I enjoy reading the wild guesser's post (smacking myself in the forehead at some of the answers). Anything domestic from the '40s to the '70s really isn't a challenge to me anyway.... I am getting damned close to having 'seen it all' from that era.

[HarleyEarl]

ok, you three, just name the concept...lol.

[ChrisPauwels]

It's the 1973 Pontiac Phantom.

[HarleyEarl]

It's the 1973 Pontiac Phantom.

[post="3174"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

You got it right Chris....just a correction though. It was done in 1977. It was the creation of Bill Mitchell, former styling director of General Motors. It was based on a Grand Prix platform.

[ChrisPauwels]

You got it right Chris....just a correction though.  It was done in 1977.  It was the creation of Bill Mitchell, former styling director of General Motors.  It was based on a Grand Prix platform.

[post="3179"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Yeah, I have a not so great concept car book which happens to have that in it. It says it's a 1973, but I would not be suprised if it is wrong.

[HarleyEarl]

I got 1977 from a couple of sources so I hope it's correct.

[Sixty8panther]

The nose and hood betray this as a Poncho. Althought the chrome detailing is a bit Oldsmobile inspired and the wheel wells remind me of the 50s Buicks'... the fact that they're rd are a giveaway thoguh.

[HarleyEarl]

...that's a great shot, sixty8, I was looking for something like that.
The GM Photo Store has a great photo of it as well. And speaking of that, if some of you have never been to that site, some great GM stuff there:

http://www.gmphotostore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=53217644 Edited August 25, 2005 by HarleyEarl

[ocnblu]

Isn't there some history at Oldsmobile with red wheelwells too? Hmmm... I don't remember for sure.

That's a very sleek looking concept, and shows Bill Mitchell's personal taste... he had excellent taste, imo, and he helped make GM the style setter for decades.

[HarleyEarl]

You said it Blu. Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell are my GM heros.

[Sixty8panther]

Earl & Mitchell had more talent in their pinkys than todays' whole damn Automotive industry combined!

[HarleyEarl]

Earl & Mitchell had more talent in their pinkys than todays' whole damn Automotive industry combined!

[post="3281"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

.....it was almost surreal the talent these two men had, like they weren't of the human race. Just look at their incredible design legacy. It's unmatched.

[!!!TED!!!]

...that's a great shot, sixty8, I was looking for something like that. 
The GM Photo Store has a great photo of it as well.   And speaking of that, if some of you have never been to that site, some great GM stuff there:

http://www.gmphotostore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=53217644

[post="3257"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The photostore says 1977, but some sites and books have it as 1973. Who is right?
The Phantom is an incredible car, with styling that would work today.

[balthazar]

It's a '77.

Mitchell designed this as his final dream car before his retirement. The 2/2003 High Performance Pontiac has a 3 1/2 page article on it. Mitchell wanted to make it drivable for his retirement years, but GM pres Estes denied his request (they had had some battles royale that strained their relationship). It was 'get rid of it or it'll be destroyed' and has been owned by the Alfred P Sloan Museum in Flint MI since circa '78.

>>"It was based on a Grand Prix platform.
Don't think so. This one was a true 'pusher': it has a wooden frame and straight steel tube "axles". Body is fiberglas. Edited August 25, 2005 by balthazar

[HarleyEarl]

I said 'platform', I should have said 'chassis'. It was based on a Grand Prix chassis according to GM. Edited August 25, 2005 by HarleyEarl

[balthazar]

No problem, and I understand. Just setting the record straight, bud. Loads of crap reference out there; writers don't seem to care much more than 'journalists' anymore.

[HarleyEarl]

Here are some great shots of this car, notice the windsheild and those centre mounted exhaust pipes....and are they red inside?!...nice.

[rkmdogs]

Here's one that some of you may never have seen.

[rkmdogs]

And if you didn't like that one, maybe this one!

[mrmonte]

The Phantom kind of reminds me of a cross be tween a 76-77 GP and a 79-85 Riviera . I wish GM would clone Bill Mitchell and bring him back.

[Sixty8panther]

.....it was almost surreal the talent these two men had, like they weren't of the human race.  Just look at their incredible design legacy.  It's unmatched.

[post="3287"][/post]

Roswell, 1948. That's all I'm saying. ;)