5 RARE Pontiac Concept Cars That You Forgot Existed

[@rarecars3336]

Use code RARECARS50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next month of orders at bit.ly/4fh52mD!

[@davidlafleche1142]

Look up the Chrysler Norseman. It was a concept car that Chrysler hired out to Italian designers. The prototype was built and fully functional. Unfortunately, it was lost in the sinking of the Andrea Doria.

[@Zzus321]

The Firebird always looked better than the Camero to me.

[@rarecars3336]

67-69 I like the Camaro more. 70-78 I say the firebird is better personally

[@negativeindustrial]

They always looked like the same car to me. The TransAm was a performance package that also added some aero components that did significantly change the appearance to my eyes. My brother owned a series of Camaros and TransAms, one of each generation from the 1980s on, and we grew up racing them against a series of Toyota Supras I owned.

[@williamhershey9713]

Camaro!

[@neal6473]

Of course because of the chicken decal on the hood but without it they are almost the same looking car.

[@Zzus321]

@@neal6473 That Chicken decal made them cars 40 MPH faster 🇺🇸💪🏁

[@earlrichardson385]

As a Pontiac guy I love this video.

[@rarecars3336]

Glad you enjoyed it- thanks for watching!!

[@andyharman3022]

The Banshee, by far. I worked at the GM Powertrain center for two years. It used to be Pontiac Headquarters before GM reorganized in the 1980's and got rid of the autonomous divisions. But even then, there was still a lot of Pontiac memorabilia hanging on the walls of the building. There was still a large, framed picture of the Banshee in what used to the be the main entrance foyer off of Joslyn Ave. Apparently there was a lot of lingering memories of the Banshee's cancellation. Now that there are rumors of the Pontiac nameplate being revived, I'm dreaming about a modern version of the Banshee. Since the Corvette has gone upmarket with the mid-engine version, there is now room for a front-engine, rear-drive two-seater in the GM lineup.

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

Yep. I wouldn't even take a new C8 for free...being unable to do your own shifting in a Corvette is beyond ludicrous. 🤮

[@mikeb.7589]

I remember that Hot Wheels made a Banshee toy car. Wish I still had it.

[@michaelg4931]

The Banshee, no question. The rest, other than the Farago, look like some hack mashed together some interesting design elements into some fugly car.

[@joshuafrahm8778]

The Farago kind of reminds me of the Lamborghini Espada

[@oldrrocr]

also the Maserati Ghibli of the 60s

[@2the4best]

The Banshee with an OHC Inline 6 would been the best choice for an Econo-Corvette. The design reminds me of the Opel sports car of that era.

[@radjeck9346]

Yep , Opel GT . The Europa Corvette 😊 .

[@oldrrocr]

yep, GM cancelled the Banshee... yet went on to give us the Fiero and Soltice.

[@mgguyvintagevehicles]

That Pegasus was definitely cool, I've never seen or heard of it before.

[@rarecars3336]

Right!? A V12 under the hood is just bonkers for that car

[@minnesotatomcat]

Pontiac would have been so much better if they weren’t under GM. They were so creative but gm wouldn’t let them outdo their stupid beloved Corvette.

[@roaddemon20011]

Nope .. Humbert designed the firebird and the 77 Trans Am. Chevrolet shot Pontiac down every chance they had when it came to Performance and Design. Ever wonder why you can put a 350 in a Fiero? The 30th anniversary Trans Am outperformed the Camaro. The solstice was designed for V8. It's hard to build performance when you're handed crap overused platforms like GM's U platform. 9 or 10 body styles before pontiac was forced to add 1 more creating the Aztec? I wouldn't have put much thought into it either...

[@kerrypierre9494]

Great episode, l love the lines of the Banshee. I think that if it had made it into production, Corvette sales would have definitely taken a hit.

[@rarecars3336]

For sure even if it had just the 6, it still was such a looker it has to have impacted vette sales if it got greenlit

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

It would've only been fair that it stole sales from Chevy since THEY literally ripped off the ENTIRE design for their C3.

[@Mr.Higginbotham]

The Pontiac Phantom is my favorite hands down.

[@vanpenguin22]

The paint on that Pegasus is to die for!

[@rarecars3336]

Lovely color - I prefer it without the pinstripes that were later added to it though but that is just me

[@vanpenguin22]

@rarecars3336 There is something to he said for pure, uninterrupted color

[@keinname629]

Farago: cool & really exotic (you could easily chop off 1 foot in front)!

[@Peter-w2e]

Farago front end looks like an anteater.

[@CraigWhitley-c1m]

Pontiac would make even more interesting cars today and more powerful

[@rarecars3336]

Agreed I would love to see the brand come back

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

They would DESIGN them but GM would chuck anything decent in the roundfile.

[@nicknaumovic8943]

The Pegasus for sure!

[@rarecars3336]

Great looking car I agree!

[@danielfox3003]

That Pegasus is beautiful, my favorite of the five.

[@rarecars3336]

Same - like it shouldn’t work well design wise but it does

[@robertbelote5273]

​@@rarecars3336ever seen the copper caddy on the kindig show? Think I know where that inspiration came from . Great video, thank you.

[@mperuski100]

The Pontiac Banshee XP-833 was a missed opportunity. What a Gem.

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

That's what happens when you allow GM to be run by people literally obsessed with keeping everything slower than the Corvette instead of simply trying to make EVERYTHING FASTER through COMPETITION. And we see the results today, with the company having gone from onetime world dominance to total irrelevance.

[@samspade8612]

I'll bet DeLorean was thinking Banshee with an aluminum RAM AIR V!!!

[@antoniotutt4894]

Wow! That would have been unbeatable!

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

Or 455SD...or the old DOHC 428 or 366 NASCAR engines which never made it into production.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you so much for the Pontiac video. This was informative. I recall most of these. They woild have indeed put some excitement into Pontiac as a brand. They were held back by other GM brands for the looks of these concepts.

[@STB-jh7od]

phantom is gorgeous!

[@jeffreyrubish347]

I can imagine Sinatra driving a Stratostar.

[@Profabdesigns]

The only problem with reviving the brand is to me, the executives now days only care about the bottom line-MONEY. Not to mention we do not produce engineers or designers like they used have. Everything looks the same today, and the styling isn’t what it used to be. If cars were able to get back the magic that once was they maybe it might fly. I grew up in the 60’s when one in the neighborhood got a new car/truck it brought out the neighbors and it was an event we gather in. It was cool.

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

Exactly...we saw the tragic results when they tried to bring back the "GTO"...and who can ever forget the mind-bending horror of the late '80s when they tried to bring back the "LeMans" badge. 🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@PocketChangeInspector]

I liked back then how you can order a car they way you wanted instead of picking from 3 trim levels today. You also had a color chart to pick from instead with 4Xs or 5Xs as many colors as today.

[@epicseadragon1692]

They all look great, but I seem to have a soft spot for the Farago... I also love the idea of a "mini-vette"!

[@SUNUVAGUN]

How are we all ignoring the C3 Corvette similarities of the Banshee?

[@lib556]

That's exactly what I was about to post. The Banshee was 66 and the C3 came out in 68 (?). I'd say that Corvette ripped off the styling of the Banshee for the C3. It obviously inspired the Opel GT as well... Opel being GM in Germany...

[@radjeck9346]

Yep 🇩🇪

[@KhaoticKalm]

⁠@@lib556exactly, GM stiffs went into Delorian’s office and said “no competition to the vet allowed” and took the designs which became the C3.

[@remmor669]

As always, great video! Thank you!

[@grimmerjxcts2206]

Rip Pontiac

[@rarecars3336]

Indeed - we lost one of the greats

[@ronaldlingle8766]

I would have to say the banshee myself.

[@kerrypierre9494]

Agree 💯, to me it just has a balanced look.

[@rarecars3336]

It is a great looking car, no doubt about it. Thanks for watching!!!

[@redjupiter2]

I think you should have included the 1989 Fiero prototype. Especially since the Fiero is now quite a collectible special interest car.

[@serfcityherewecome8069]

Yep ..I've been loading up on them recently tryna corner the Fiero market while people still think they're worthless.😜

[@bélalugrisi]

The Phantom is beautiful!

[@tkskagen]

The 2nd generation Firebird & Camero (especially the Firebird 6.6L T/A) are the most beautiful vehicles ever due to the nose "radiator intake" of the vehicle.

[@rarecars3336]

I agree the 2nd gen’s with that European design flair they have do look great 👍

[@PocketChangeInspector]

I never had a Firebird but had a '70 Camaro. My favorite body style of all of them.

[@mikerainville6168]

Pegasus for sure that would have been a great to see in production.

[@assaultlick2169]

Im subbed to over 2000 channels and this is one of my favs. Great work, rare!

[@owenwilliams427]

Could you please do a video on Mercury

[@landiahillfarm6590]

Great find on that Farago! Never heard of that one either, and I love the look.

[@joshhaggin3090]

The Banshee would be an amazing car like how my Miata is. That light even low HP numbers and it is still fun to drive. If the handling was good then it would be a fun car.

[@rarecars3336]

Yeah 160ish hp with such a light weight would have still been fun - American customers back then though desperately wanted that V8

[@braddietzmusic2429]

I have seen pictures and mentions of those previously, but I appreciate the feature for all the folks who don’t know about these, or forgot. Wish every one of these was built as production vehicles.

[@xodiaq]

I say bring Pontiac back, but also use it to bring back other discontinued cars we’d love new versions of like Olds 442 or Plymouth Roadrunner, for example

[@rarecars3336]

I think with the rise of restomods someone will have some company like that come out that focuses on redoing old niche cars for a select few buyers that aren't just the common porsches and what have you

[@xodiaq]

@@rarecars3336 I’d hope so! It’s been a niche that could really take off in the right hands!

[@TooLooze]

Pontiac always stood out with their production models. The Banshee looks reminiscent of the Opel GT with DeLorean wheels.

[@madmike2624]

# 5 had a lot of Buick Rivera in it! The hip on the rear wheels says it all!!~# 2 has the Oldsmobile Toronado rear end!!!~ That Bashe looked like a baby Vette!!~ Great content my brother.

[@danielulz1640]

Love the looks of the Phantom.

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

Great video on one of the most forward leaning American car brands. You have done a lot of work to produce this. One small note, actually Bill Mitchell reached GM's mandatory 65 retirement age in 1977. So I don't think it wasn't an actual quitting in protest over the concept car. Bill spent 42 years at GM, he was probably all too familiar with how decisions were made at those executive levels.

[@SmallDawgLexi]

Yet another great video, nice. Also, I have no clue why. But everytime you said factor, I kept hearing the word vector. Thought it was funny.

[@rarecars3336]

Haha maybe that’s a sign I need to make a video on the Vector cars - thanks for watching

[@Alchemy2.0]

The Pontiac Banshee is my favourite American Car of All Time...Its stunning

[@stuartnochance]

Farago way better than banshee!

[@thefrydaddy1]

The cf 428 was the best of the lot!

[@Mr.Higginbotham]

Love it.

[@evanpatterson7098]

It was BEAUTIFUL!!❤❤

[@evanpatterson7098]

The Phantom was BEAUTIFUL!!❤❤

[@LordHolley]

Pontiac, Pontiac, want my money back! lol. kidding, I miss Pontiac as well.

[@johnybuzz833]

Love the Farago !

[@Xsiondu]

That Furago Cf428. Looked like the hero car from a movie I saw one Saturday night 30 years ago called "Superago".

[@Sillydogification]

GM is where it is today because of the decades of bad decisions. You could go through GM's trash bin, and find many cars better than they actually made... Saturn Curve, Sky concepts for example... They were so consumed with their internal politics and rivalries that they wasted so many good concepts and designs.

[@rarecars3336]

Very fair take - look at them now just the corvette. No camaro or anything :(

[@Sillydogification]

@@rarecars3336 Crapvette, the most expensive ton of plastic you can buy. Electric cars with their ton of Horsepower and endless torque have ruined sports cars... You dont need 1000HP to have a fun car to drive... A nice 3.8 V6 with a smooth 6 speed manual (optional) priced under $40k, and you'd have a hit car...

[@FrewstonBooks]

@@Sillydogification we used to call them Ponticraps.

[@prudentianavanvladeraecken7060]

Pontiac Phantom is my favorite coz it looks like 1) Pontiac Firebird 1977 and a Ford Mustang Mach 1 from 1973, both are favorites of mine.

[@danestormfeltz7815]

Banshee is my favorite.

[@vandalorianvandalorian4769]

The Phantom is stunning. I would buy that car right now!

[@rarecars3336]

I think A LOT of us would

[@corsa180]

I've always loved the Banshee. The Pontiac Polaris would have fit this list nicely, too.

[@rarecars3336]

That was also a great option I can’t believe I forgot about that one for this list :/

[@antoniotutt4894]

The Banshee was beating the crap out of the vette! With the 326HO against the vettes 327. Chevy bitched to GM and so ,the Banshee was scraped. That's just one reason why I HATE CHEVY!

[@Brian-uy2tj]

You say the Pegasus looks weren't half bad, but you forgot to mention that they weren't half good either. What it really needed was to borrow a name from history that reflected the styling of the front end. The name "Edsel" comes to mind.

[@michaelyoung1901]

DEFINITELY THE BANSHEE, AND PONTIAC IS MY FAVORITE GM!

[@jasonyoung3690]

I like the Banshee. If the mule had a Pontiac 326 V8, then a Pontiac 455 version of that same block would fit as well, and that would have been insanely fast if geared properly and mated with a 5-speed transmission! Of these 5 cars, this one seemed like it was the closest to becoming an affordable reality. Even with a steel body, it would have been a screamer!

[@royhersey2759]

A newer Banshee came about in the late 80s that was really groundbreaking, based on the F-body

[@buzzbomb67]

Farago looks like a cross between a Javelin, 71 Mach 1, and a Maserati Ghibli

[@bigsea1306]

The banshee with a 428HO would’ve been the baddest car on the planet at the time

[@bélalugrisi]

I loved my Pontiacs!

[@factsnofiction217]

the Phantom and Pegasus are to classy for American cars

[@dznr723]

I believe you need to give credit for the Tri 5 Chevys to Harley Earl. Mr. Mitchell didn’t take over Design until ‘58-‘59.

[@snarktwain644]

9:13 the Farago inspired the DeLorean, albeit, the DMC stainless steel body was more angular and with gulf wing doors

[@FrewstonBooks]

Look at the Citroen SM

[@ericbrammer2245]

Farago has some Lambo-Espada/gene/splicing going on! Or maybe a hint of Maserati Merak/Bora?

[@lancerevell5979]

Banshee looks like the get of a randy Corvette mating a lovestruck Opel GT. 😅

[@notmyworldnotmypeople3614]

The banshee needed a big block with a 5-speed and posi. The Italian firebird is really cool but it has less in common with Pontiac. Really didn't like the big coupe. But the virago has serious potential with a nice body kit.

[@tonybennett3]

We got the Corvette & Banshee's little European cousin, the Opel GT.

[@skeetermcswagger0U812]

I noticed a slight change in the voice of this video compared to previous posts......I hope you don't ever change to AI or Computer Generated voices. An actual human voice is what keeps me enthusiastic about videos like this.

[@000hms]

Change the wheels, and the Farago, by farrrrrr!

[@rogergoodman8665]

I wonder if the front end design of the Farago inspired the front end of 1976-77 Aston Martin Lagonda. 🤔

[@xXcampx]

The Banshee showed up for sale in Facebook Marketplace in Connecticut in June 2024!

[@ajatathemu]

I thought the GM firebird series was going to be included for some reason

[@CarlosRobinson-y9u]

I wonder if the Banshee was the inspiration for the Opel GT

[@thebionicbassplayer]

Great video, my favorite is the Banshee. It was killed off for the same reason the next generation Fiero was, too much sales take away from the Vette.

[@rarecars3336]

I want to do a deep dive video on the Fiero at some point - such an interesting car that gets zero recognition

[@thebionicbassplayer]

@@rarecars3336 That would be a great one. There are alot of rare Fiero special editions and prototypes.

[@BlueJazzBoyNZ]

It's about Selling in The Market It could be Amazing but if the Crowd doesn't see it Your in Neutral

[@danielgrove7782]

Olds developed the current pro stock motor and i just heard pontiac developed the gm nascar heads

[@jesseballard4753]

My father had 8 Pontiacs from 57 to a 79 trans am. When Pontiac switched to corporate engines he switched to Ford starting with a 86 mustang. He never went back to GM. GM is an arrogant organization that believes buyers are corporate loyal as opposed to brand loyal.

[@michaelcallahan5358]

They should have put some of these cars into production, they could have made more money!

[@smc8144]

I vote GM brings back the Banshee and put it in its line up as a Mazda MX5 killer!

[@mistert7958]

They tried, with the bloated Solstice. By the time it got thru mgmt and acct, it wasn't even close to a Miata challenger.

[@axelregan]

I remember the first time knowing Pontiac Banshee from CSR Classic Boi it was fast So fast that I don't need a super nitro to win a Shelby Cobra

[@TommyGun1979]

The Banshee would have buried the Corvette on the mid term. Pontiac was always one step ahead

[@marvincorrea2175]

I’ve got a 1977 Pontiac Ventura SJ model and I’m hoping to make it into something of a show car with its 350 cam having engine with a 700R4 transmission. Hugger orange color from factory.

[@1loveMusic2003]

Pegasus all the way!

[@damonmelvin2402]

Most of these cars could have been sold as Special Limited Editions.

[@FrewstonBooks]

The profile of the Farrago looks remarkably similar to the Citroen XM.

[@FrewstonBooks]

Correction - Citroen SM.

[@ernestoclaudodip9671]

I love the Pegasus and the Banshee.

[@marvlouslie2053]

I miss Pontiac, tbh.

[@davidjohnson8474]

The Banshee reminds me of the Opal GT and the chevy powered cheeta (I cant spell) LOL.

[@Cleveland.Ironman]

And now you know…the rest of the story! as Paul Harvey would say. The title of this wonderful video show be “Five times GM’s upper management were complete blockheads and help precipitate the fall of GM into irrelevancy!”

[@milfordh.mercado2787]

"Hmmm...let me borrow some design form this concept car for our mustang' some one in ford must have been looking very closely on farago cr428 😅 i am really surprised with today's video as seeing phantom made me think of batmoble, the banshee should have been built but say it with me 'gm does not want a corvette rival in there line up' 😡😡😡 and finally that pegasus couldn't be anymore 70s if it was speedster (v12 coming from ferrari i would love to hear it roar 🤤) anyway thanks and have good day bye now.

[@P.E.O.ll-RhodesScholarGraduate]

8:34 Pontiac pasted this design on to BMW the M1.

[@SellingLAandMiami]

V12 Ferrari-powered Pontiac? No brainer

[@kylefenske2498]

There was another banshee concept actually multiple look them up

[@danielgrove7782]

I think pontiac got Chrysler to help develop a hemi head motor

[@WayneCampbell-l3b]

Someone , most likely Trans Am Co. Should buy the Pontiac M C brand from General Motirs Co. and go through all the recorda of the Pontiac name badges & concepts, update them and put them out as the new Pontiac Motor Co. for the 21st Century!

[@CarlLovgren-lh4em]

The De Tomaso Mangusta is a sports car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso between 1967 and 1971. Looks like the Pontiac Farago.

[@angelb4677]

Lamborghini Espada and the Mangustas love child!

[@FrewstonBooks]

@@angelb4677 Citroen SM has same profile as the Ferago.

[@kingjames1586]

Infomercial end’s at 4:50

[@radjeck9346]

Bring the Farago to Europ in 1968 and everybody think : Its a new Ferrari or Lambo 😊 . I love it ❤❤❤ 🇩🇪.