When Pontiac released the top trim level Grand Ville in 1971, the fuel crisis had yet hit and big cars like this with massive engines were all the rage. At 18 feet long, 4,475 pounds and loaded with all kinds of luxury features it took a mighty 455 V8 to move this Coupe down the road. Between the high starting price and rising fuel prices, there weren’t many of these cars built. Some estimates put production at less than 5,000 cars per year. This particular example appears to be in amazing condition and is believed to be highly original. You can find this Grand Ville here on eBay in Cathedral City, California with a current bid of $7,900.
What a beautiful design! I really wish car manufacturers could design and build cars like this again. It’s sleek and flowing with an incredible amount of presence. Studying the front end you notice how the headlights “float” over the grille and how the fenders and hood are shaped to make them really stand it. It really is some impressive design work for a platform that was used for a number of other GM products.
While the outside doesn’t look that much different from the Bonneville that it’s based on, once you open the door you realize it’s the interior that really makes this a Grand Ville. The black upholstery is very nice, with button tuck seat backs that would be right at home in any little old ladies sitting room! There are a few small stains and a split seam or two on the front seat, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. It really does look like a 57k mile car on the inside.
In 1975, the Grand Ville was offered with the 400 cui V8, but the 455 was standard in all previous years. With the shift to net horsepower ratings and changes to emission requirements saw horsepower drop from 325 to 215, but don’t be fooled, this is still a torque producing beast! The seller states that the engine bay is untouched and hasn’t even been detailed. It looks like it could use some cleaning and paint touch-up, but that wouldn’t be necessary to drive and enjoy it.
I’m not sure if it’s the photos or just how clean this car is, but it sure looks great! The paint shows well in the photos and I don’t see any rust or signs of damage. If it looks this nice in person, it seems like a steal at the current bid. This will be an interesting find to watch and I will definitely be keeping an eye on the auction. So, what do you think of this Grand Ville? Will it be taking up space in your garage this summer?
This was the car Roy Scheider was chasing in The Seven Ups, only it was a 4 door. Stunt coordinator Bill Hickman drove it as well as the Charger in Bullitt.
Yep,one of the most underrated car chase scenes in the movies. IMHO,the chase scene from the 7 Ups is better than Bullitt.
True. The Gran Ville never careened around a corner, only to slam into the camera car like the Charger in Bullitt did!
Yeah, I laugh every time I see that.
Here’s another angle, at 5:48. Hickman hit the car, and then McQueen over shot the turn, maybe because he saw the sideswipe.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=bullitt+chase+out+take+crashes+caught&type=E211US1451G0#id=1&vid=0a0639b8377c1d91c409af8b2b1e7a8c&action=click
Cool car. I’d drive it with pride.
What makes this one stand out to me is the vinyl top delete option. It really accentuates the lines of this coupe with no vinyl top. As for the interior, I have to disagree with the writer in that the interior is nearly identical to the Bonneville; that’s where GM didn’t do enough to differentiate the two models. Maybe Grand Villes should’ve had front buckets/console automatic standard? But maybe that would be too “Gran Prix” in looks. This is a very straight, clean example of one of Pontiac’s better full-size designs of the Malaise era. You can’t confuse this with any Chevy or LTD.
That does look really nice, I’m assuming since its a California car they decided a vinyl roof would get ruined by the sun
It’s rarity is due to the fact that GM built their ’73 & ’74 models out of compressed rust. Few of them made it to the turn of decade. It’s nice to see an example of one that isn’t Swiss cheese.
Living in the rust belt of New England I can tell you these full size GM cars didn’t rust away ; the average life expectancy of ALL cars here was about 10 years , and other than some lower quarter panel rot and the bottoms of the front fenders , these cars held up well. We ran countless GM cars like this in demo derbies in the 1980s -we got them cheap because they were gas hogs ,and were just tired big old tanks at a time when people were buying Escorts and Citations. That and the fact that steel prices were down then attributed to many getting crushed out. Since this body style went from 71- 76., and many parts are interchangeable from different years saying that 73 and 74s are more rust prone just isn’t true . You want rust prone cars ? Look for any Vega or any 70s and early 80s Japanese and German imports ; I worked at a junkyard in the early 80s and I couldn’t believe how rotten those cars got in a decade (or less) !
This is like the car you would have if you were a pimp who catered to necrophiliacs! Gorgeous car that I would love to own. That rear bumper and taillight panel is stunning.
“A pimp who caters to necrophiliacs” – that’s just dead funny.
Kudos to the seller who presents an all black car that has been well-detailed for the photo session. You want top dollar make it look top dollar.
Someone’s going to get a very nice car.
Nice car. I especially like the cloth interior, although once it starts ripping there will be no fixing it. If I had this one the tires would be redlines, the steering wheel would become wood and that’s about it. Drive. Drive. Drive.
I’ve driven several 71-73 and for the size..they ran suprisingly strong granted the ones I had were 455 man them boats had some torque. And basically like driving a cloud
Beautiful Car, but after reading the pimp/necrophiliac comment, I do see a style similarity to the Jaguar hearse in Harold & Maude.
“Long and black and shiny clean!” Just BEAUTIFUL!! The only things (IMO) that would make it better is the factory body side molding (to protect those luscious flanks), and as stated earlier, buckets and console shift! This car’s styling is a throwback to the mid ’60’s when the big Pontiacs simply oozed with presence!! :-)
And he acted in The French Connection
My mom had a 72 4-door with a 455. Light blue with a white vinyl top and white cloth interior. I drove it all through high school. Don’t know what kind of gearing it had, but that car could burn rubber for half a block. And hold six of my friends.
GM never produced a “white cloth interior”. Vinyl or in the case of upper crust Caddies, Olds’ and Buicks, leather. If it were white cloth, it wouldn’t survive the first dribble of coke from the Burger King drive thru.
Yeah, those duals dropping down on the backside look boss.
It’s a nice car, but the front end is just way too busy for me. Too bad Pontiac couldn’t have come up with a simpler grille design.
The 1973 Catalina’s had a different grille , horizontal bars as opposed to the egg crate grilles the Bonneville’s and Gran Ville’s had . I had a 73 Catalina wagon years ago – what a monster ! It would haul all sorts of people and junk in the back ,and never strained itself. It sucked the gas like there was no tomorrow, but it rode like a dream
Ken, you should check out the front end on a 1971 or 1972 Pontiac. You’ll see that the 1973 is drop dead gorgeous in comparison.
It is drop dead gorgeous!!! Drool, slobber, slurp. I just can not afford it. Dang, man!!
The most fascinating thing about this listing to me is the weight. Despite advances in material technology, a new Dodge Challenger R/T is only a couple hundred pounds lighter.
Granted, the Challenger has more safety features and options but still, wow.
Here’s a stat for everyone…The 1970 340 Challenger 4speed chalked up a 14.5 second 1/4 mile. The 2019 six cylinder AWD Challenger clocks in at 14.8 seconds. Not too shabby, if you asked me.
The `19 Challenger (I believe…) V6 is rated at a healthy 310 horsepower! Not sure what the 1970 340 was rated at, but figure weight differences might figure in there too.
I’m actually a big fan of the current Challenger, and I probably buy one if it was 10% smaller! It’s simply too big. It looks kind of ungainly compared to past models, And the idea of trying to park all that mass with those small windows and high door sills and maneuver in tight spaces in the urban area I live in is not appealing.
They’ve definitely made strides though. The base V6 would give a 340 Challenger a run for its money. And an Ecoboost 4-cylinder Mustang (13.9 @ 97 MPH) and V-6 Camaro (13.7 @ 102 MPH) would give most of their 1960s muscle predecessors a run too!
I know it is a different year & different color, but this car really makes me think of Hoffa. Just sayin!
Elegance is all I can say.
I drove a 73 Grand Ville 4 door hard top in HS. What a sled. I could pack em in and take 10 to the drive in. Forest green and green cloth. Didn’t have the Pontiac mags though. Memories….
6? I had 9 friends in my 73 in relative comfort. Great car and this coupe is gorgeous.