The fifth-gen Pontiac Grand Prix may have looked fairly futuristic for its day, but it remains one of the more unloved versions from the moth-balled brand.
Over its 40-year run the Pontiac Grand Prix was served in many body styles, including full-sized, mid-sized, and sports car. This, the fifth-generation car was a modern (for the time) interpretation of what a new-age sports car should be — except it wasn’t all that great to drive.
Introduced in 1987, it featured a front-engine front-wheel-drive configuration with six different engine options and trim levels with the biggest engine out of the line-up being the 3.4 L V6. In 1988 it was voted the car of the year by Motor Trend, and sales weren’t too shabby, if not groundbreaking.
Read: An Auction In Kansas Will Feature A Collection Of 20 Classic Pontiacs
The fifth generation was built until 1996 and was a decent seller for the Pontiac brand. This video from Curious Cars shows us just why this car deserves to be loved, and also why it’s faded from most enthusiast’s memory.
The car featured by Bill is a 1993 Pontiac Grand Prix with the aero package and, literally, pages of options. Items that seem ahead of their time include a head-up display, an auto-closing sunroof (not a factory option but offered through dealerships), an onboard compass, a button-laden steering wheel, and a computer that reminds you when your oil needs changing — all in the early 90s!
But as the host points out, this tech was largely in place to mask the loss of the old rear-wheel-drive platform with a replacement that just wasn’t all that fun. But perhaps interest in this slightly unloved generation of Grand Prix will pick up. And with a very retro design aesthetic with many cool features, it could just be a matter of time before prices start climbing.