After a significant downsizing of the Pontiac Grand Prix in 1978 to begin the car’s fifth generation of production, the exterior lost some of the sleek lines found on its predecessor and instead had more of a boxy look outside. The design team made a few changes to the panels for the ’81 model, which resulted in a noticeably improved outward appearance, with nearly 150,000 buyers driving one home from their Pontiac dealer. While the 1981 Grand Prix certainly isn’t rare, it’s always a treat to find one that’s been treated kindly, such as this LJ example here on Facebook Marketplace. This GP resides in Grove City, Ohio, and is priced at $9,750. Our thanks go out to Barn Finds reader Sam61, who spotted this beautiful coupe and sent us the tip!
Opting for the LJ package added even more luxurious features to an already plush car, such as the pillowed cloth seatbacks, with this one also featuring several additional accessories. Power windows, door locks, cruise control, and a tilt steering column are all extra-cost niceties that can also be found inside, with the interior’s condition remaining nearly immaculate. This Grand Prix is of such high caliber that it’s won trophies at the Lake George, New York, Concours d’Elegance shows, with those awards included in the sale, along with the original owners and service manuals.
Outside, the paint also looks considerably younger than its age of nearly 45 years, as does the sheet metal. It’s hard to spot anything at all to complain about regarding the exterior, and another great feature here is the two-tone finish, which consists of two different shades of Champagne. A couple of other options include the wire wheel covers and padded landau top, so this GP would be considered loaded for the period.
The one thing missing here is an eight-cylinder engine, as the original buyer didn’t choose to spring for the optional powerplant. This one’s equipped with the base Buick-sourced 231 cubic-inch V6, but fortunately, it only produced 10 fewer horsepower than the slightly larger 265 V8. Neither were strong performers, rated at 110 and 120 HP, respectively. However, it’s the car’s beauty that’s the real focal point here, and I’d certainly enjoy a slow cruise down the boulevard in this well-maintained 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix LJ. How about you?
I’ve seen this one in person at the G body show in Cleveland. Gorgeous car
I always loved these, the two-tone paint was beautiful. When I was a teen, I knew someone who had one that was white and silver, I used to wax it for them every summer. It’s a shame they were so underpowered in those years.
Having owned its four door counterpart an 83 Grand Lemans i can attest that these were nice. Loved my 3.8, granted it was slow but with the 2.41 highway gears i knocked down consistent 28 to 30 mpg’s sticking at 100 km/h. On long trips. It finally died on me when the rear frame under the.trunk ripped apart.on one side dragging yhe bumper to the ground in 2001
Right lane specialist 🐢. Beautiful condition. Comfortable interior. Lovely Grand Prix
Nearly all dealers overlooked the answer to the lackadaisical performance of the 3.8 Liter V6. A 3.08 rear axle ratio was available at no cost in these cars with the 3.8, all they had to do was specify it. That change made the 3.8 a respectable performer, and it would still deliver decent fuel economy.
This was a really good looking car, particularly for the era. It does bring back some memories, not specifically of the car, but the feeling of Detroit in the early 1980s. We were starting to get out of the Malaise era, and saw a little hope.
trophy winning 6cly G body? come on. must not have been many cars in that show. nice car but just don’t see it winning trophies
It’s great to see one of these surviving in such great shape. These (and their Buick and Olds counterparts) were so beautiful to me as a teen. The design of these really worked so nicely with 2-tone paint combinations and, thankfully, there were many versions. I knew someone that had a light silvery blue over a sky blue Grand Prix and recall one that was silver and charcoal. Like Zen, the ones that were white and silver were really beautiful.
In college, had a friend that had a triple Navy Regal Limited that was just gorgeous.
I had the same color combo ’81 GP. I had it from 1990-99. It was not NEARLY as nice as this one. Mine had a basic package. No plush seats, no power anything. It was a TANK to drive, but it got me where I needed to when it wasn’t broken down.
Many, many years ago, my wife and I rented an 81 Grand Prix. It was a tu-tone blue with blue cloth interior. We loved it, got great gas mileage for the time and had such a smooth ride. If we could have done so at that time, we would have definitely bought one.
Pontiac closes the doors because of these soulless 80s cars. They offered nothing in performance and nothing in handling. The only cars that could be called a Pontiac in my opinion was the Trans Am and it had been neutered.
Pontiac always built a better looking A body than Buick but Buick survived and Pontiac was kicked to the trash heap.
It was a shame after the GTO, the Catalina 2+2, the 69 and 70 Gran Prix and the Trans Am of old.
I bought a used 81 GP for my daughter and could never get it to stop hesitating so it got dumped.
Archie, although numbers were dropping for the Grand Prix line, Pontiac closed it’s doors in 2010, 29 years AFTER this car rolled off the assembly line.
These Grand Prix models were pretty sharp, in my humble opinion. As far as performance, all of the Big Three entered the Malaise Era at some point.
I don’t think the 80’s models were the sole reason for Pontiac’s sad demise.
GM sold a ton of Grand Ams, Bonnevilles, Vibes (Toyota partnership), G6’s and other models decades later but still pulled the plug on the brand.