Pontiac performance began well before the vaunted 1964 GTO, and key evidence rests in this 1962 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty. The 1 of 162 special-order unit wears an aluminum hood, front and rear bumpers, and inner and outer fenders, normally all steel. This drag-racer’s secret weapon trimmed quarter-mile times by lightening the burden on the burly solid lifter dual-quad 421 V8. The shiny red runner comes to market on March 21st, 2026 at Mecum Glendale. No market value estimate accompanies the listing, but Hagerty suggests $65,000 to over $100,000. Thanks to Mitchell G. for spotting this rare factory special.

Claimed original dual Carter carburetors top the 405 HP 421 cid (6.9L) V8, and manual brakes and steering keep things simple on a car that probably covered most of its reported 21,616 miles 1320 feet at a time. While a gentleman’s agreement (and potential insurance nightmares) typically capped advertised horsepower numbers in the low 400s, Hemmings reported that Motor Trend calculated their ’62 Super Duty test car made something like 465 HP and 505 lb-ft of torque. All that power and factory 4.30 gears in the Saf-T-Track (limited slip) rear end would probably lay rubber in all four gears until you threw on slicks.

Nearly everything except the paint on this feature car hails from the factory or matches the correct date codes, according to the listing, including the glass, engine, and interior. Despite its later application, that brilliant paint job is unlikely to draw many complaints. Wow!

Like most things from the ’60s, the clear plastic top and bottom sections of the spindly steering wheel have discolored with age. That cue-ball knob tops a factory angled Hurst shifter, and the Hurst logo decorates the factory radio delete panel. People know you’re serious about speed when you jettison your tunes to save weight. Usually the cloth is the first thing to go on seats from this era, but these are hanging in there.

Pontiac’s Wide-Track lineup echoed the evolution of a nation bristling with optimism after WWII. The Eisenhower highway system opened the door to comfortable all-day cruising. With narrow rutted byways fading into history, low-and-wide caught the eye of modern buyers. Before the market shift to mid-sized performance (the classic “muscle car” is a mid-sized with the larger engine from a full-size), most buyers expected performance to increase with size, and this lightened Catalina did not disappoint. With no engine size callouts or special model identification of any kind, this bruiser could barely be distinguished from your neighbor’s grocery getter until you uncork the tweaked 421. Even with ’60s rubber, a stock SD could snatch mid-12s around 115 mph. Full size vs. mid-size:  do you prefer Pontiac’s killer lightweight ’62 Super Duty or the ’64 GTO?