Listing a rare Pontiac Grand Prix Aerocoupe at no reserve is a good way to get some quick auction action. This example has already raced up to $4K since last night and with plenty of time left in the auction. Said to have been sold in Hawaii when new and in Texas and the Midwest ever since, this looks like a honest-to-goodness survivor. Find it here on eBay and now located in York, Nebraska.
The Aerocoupes were produced in limited numbers with the distinctive rear glass shell its key distinguishing feature. The cars were intended to satisfy NASCAR’s requirement that its competition vehicles have enough street versions sold to satisfy the manufacturer’s claim that a car was available in “production” trim. Often, with these types of vehicles, production numbers are low and the Aerocoupe is no exception: just 1,225 were made.
These days, if you actually manage to find one in a junkyard, the rear glass is practically priceless. The rest of the car is more your bread-and-butter Grand Prix / Monte Carlo coupe, with bucket seats and a three-spoke steering wheel. A V8 paired with a four-speed automatic with overdrive and a limited-slip rear end were all pretty standard fare, so while the looks may be exotic, the running gear certainly isn’t. The good news is, however, upkeep costs are quite reasonable.
To me, the best part of the story is the island connection. I love cars that have come from a community like Hawaii – I don’t know, blame Magnum P.I. The first owner was in the military, and cruising around Oahu in your brand-new Aerocoupe just seems like a recipe for a good time. The original books and manuals all remain in excellent condition, and this Aerocoupe just feels like it was loved – and bidders seem to agree. What should it sell for?
Love the GP, Love the Gbody. My aunt had a Monte Carlo SS with the NASCAR glass, it was a nice car, but the Pontiac version is ugly.
That nose just ruins it. Maybe I could just drive it backwards?
This car is kind of like the girl you first meet and think there’s no way in hell you could ever find her attractive but after a few dates, she kind of grows on you and over a little time, she ends up really looking good to you. This car is not for everybody but there’s more than meets the eye in my opinion.
Grand Prix, Cutlass, Regal, Monte Carlo. Same thing…Other than the Buick Grand National, they were slow, clumsy sleds with sticker packages (and a fancy shifter in the Olds “442”). None were relevant to the horsepower wars between Camaro, Firebird and Mustang of the era.
HOWEVER, that’s a very nice car ! You’d be hard pressed to find a better example with such documentation. Love to look at these at show’s…
I thought the 442 had the same floor shifter as the rest? Isn’t it the Hurst/Olds with the lightning rods for the shifter?
Get past the unattractive proboscis and just enjoy owning a piece of unique GM history. Jeff’s find looks like it’s in pretty damned good condition.
For all the traveling this car has done it seems pretty solid but not my kind of Pontiac. I bought a new two tone blue “T” top Grand Prix in 1985 and we loved it. It wasn’t a tire shredder but a V8 and automatic that the wife could drive. It passed through 2 other family members before losing track of it in 2000 when I moved to Kansas City area. We had no problems except regular maintenance during that time.
I guess the aero designed helped keep this stored nicely ,
The condition looks nice!
A Hawaii warm vehicle now on the mainland is good 👍👀
Book um Danno !
There is one of these rotting away (now on three wheels) on Rte 1 south on northeastern MD.
For sale? Where?
On route one south in Harford county. Across from a dive bar called Harvey juniors. It had a for sale sign on it.
3821 conowingo road
Usually I bought one-way tickets to pick up the cars I’ve bought and driven home.
In this case, I’ll just HAVE to stay in O’ahu.
Darn, darn, darn…
The Pontiac was named the Grand Prix 2+2, not the Areocoupe. The “Areocoupe” name was only ever applied to the fastback version of the 86-87 Monte Carlo SS.
Personally, I like the Grand Prix 2+2, though I do think the shorter rear glass of the SS Areocoupe, is a little cleaner and less clumsy looking. The 2+2 and Areocoupe didn’t share any pieces. The rear glass, trunk lids, spoilers and interior trim pieces, were unique to each car.
These car’s weren’t designed to be attractive. Just like the Charger 500, Daytona, Superbird, Torino Talladega and Cyclone Spoiler II, before them, their sole purpose was to make the areo components legal for use in NASCAR racing.
A friend of mine has a very clean, low miles 2+2 put away in storage, along with 2 or 3 Choo Choo Custom El Caminos, and a bunch of NOS 2+2 and Choo Choo parts.
Drives me nuts when these are called Aerocoupes! First saw one at the New York Auto Show at the now defunct New York Coliseum at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. Fell in love immediately however the 15 year old me couldn’t afford one…..
Butt ugly car. Bidding goes to show some people have no taste. LOL
As I have reported in the past when these have came up, there is one just like this sitting in a yard next to an abandoned house not far from where I live in Ohio. It’s been there since the late nineties. There is never anyone home. I saw a man mowing the grass there a few years ago and asked who owned the property. He said he gets paid by an attorney from Texas to mow the grass and report on any needed repairs to the house. Besides that he doesn’t know anything about the owner. Just one of those mysteries I guess.
jw454 – Is the GP 2+2 still sitting there? I too, am in Ohio and would like to pursue researching on the owner.
undesriable ugly bubble top model,pass
They are weird but interesting and have upside within a narrow market. Meanwhile drive and enjoy.
GM had to do something after the spanking Awesome Bill from Dawsonville and his Thunderbirds were giving them. Was Petty driving for Pontiac then, is that the reason these were made?
Fun fact: the rear glass is fixed in place, so the trunklid behind it is little more than a mailslot, barely big enough to get the spare out:
http://perfauto.tripod.com/images/ve_got_mail.jpg
I’ve owned one of each of these cars being talked about (1987 Monte Carlo SS AeroCoupe and the 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2) and have found them to be very similar. Yes, they are an acquired taste, especially the front-end treatment, but as has been commented here, it was more for function than pure style. In 1986, I went to 3 different Pontiac dealers (in MD) who couldn’t sell the 2+2s and so CONVERTED THE NOSES BACK TO STOCK JUST TO MOVE THEM !
Usability was different, though; both have full-size trunks, but the 2+2’s trunk lid is noticeably smaller/shallower, barely allowing a bag of groceries to go in.
This car DOES look like it’s weathered the years pretty well.
And it’s true, neither one is a barn-burner in the performance category…but I had 307,000+ miles on my Monte Carlo when I finally sold it a few years ago, and had NO motor work necessary beyond basic maintenance. Maybe the every-3000-miles oil changes helped: that’s 100 or so oil changes in 26 years…cheap insurance :)
Hawaii. Texas. Then the Midwest? I worked with a guy many years ago that had one of these. He purchased it new while in the USAF. I wonder. If you look at the list of owners, the first one should be V. Obertance.
I look at the body and wonder: If someone had an inclination towards playing the SCTA games at Bonneville, would this be slippery enough and stable to push the driver into the 200 MPH club, if the drive-train was upgraded? Hmmm…
I would never invest in an ugly car that was designed for NASCAR homolagation, but never sold well when new. When has one of those cars ever gone on to be worth something?