In the final days of Pontiac, the company was still trying to figure out how to entice BMW shoppers into the showroom. This effort to make the brand the import / sport sedan fighter of the GM lineup was a mountain that it never seemed able to scale, at least not in a convincing fashion. The unfortunate part of looking through this lens is that it misses how good cars like the Grand Prix eventually got to be, and while the styling is a matter of subjective taste, the overall packaging was compelling. This 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP listed here on craigslist will make a fine daily driver for someone, and it appears to be in excellent shape.
The trouble with the Grand Prix in its swan song-era was namely the price tag (OK, the styling was also nothing your typical European car owner wanted, but Pontiac was set in its ways at this point). When new, a GTP like this one was nearly $30,000 with all the fun boxes checked, meaning details like the head-up display, steering wheel paddle shifters, and bigger wheels and more aggressive rubber. You had a lot of competition at that price point, including the likes of the Audi A4, Acura TSX (available with a 6-speed manual), and the Subaru Legacy GT (also available with a manual and effectively an AWD hot-rod.)
But those cars didn’t have this: the torque-monster 3800 series supercharged V6. Paired with the Hydra-Matic 4T65-E automatic transmission, the Grand Prix GTP could blitz to 60 miles per hour in well under 7 seconds and reach a top speed of almost 140 miles per hour (likely more if you figured out a way to beat the speed limiter). This engine and transmission combination remains one of the best GM has put into a car in the modern era, and kept Pontiac in the sport sedan game even when every other feature or option couldn’t convince import buyers to cross-shop in a GM store. This car has 100,000 miles and still looks quite clean under the hood, albeit with some typical Northeast surface rust on the bolts and hardware.
Inside, the presence of leather seats and what I believe are the paddle shifters indicates to me that this GTP was loaded up when new, so it likely also has StabiliTrak Sport traction control. I can also see the outline of a sunroof as well. The seller is asking $5,000 for this supercharged sedan, and while it won’t be heading to a local Concours or even get much for a look at your local cars and coffee, it could be an incredibly fun daily driver with very low maintenance costs compared to a BMW of the same vintage with nearly 100,000 miles. As long as you don’t mind a little torque steer, this Grand Prix GTP will still prove highly entertaining as a performance sedan you can drive every day. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the tip.
Back in the day one would frequently get a Grand Prix as a rental. Other than the ugly looks and plasticky interior I thought they drove quite well. And the 3.8 V6 was always pleasant even in non supercharged form.
Once I was surprised picking up my Grand Prix rental and found that it was a version with a V8 with a nice rumble. They must have been pretty rare?
Not at all. Its just a grand prix GXP
At 100k mileage the first time you would have to do is the timing belt. Not cheap, however at $5k there is room for improvement. These are nice commuter cars and have a punch when needed.
No timing belt on these to do.
Hahahaha. That comment made me laugh. Better change that timing belt even tho it has a chain hahah.
Hahahaha. That comment made me laugh. Better change that timing belt even tho it has a chain hahah.
I still have the original timing chain set on the L36 version of the 3800 at 248xxx miles in my 1996 Olds 98 Regency sedan. The 3800 variant in the Grand Prix has the Gen-5 M-90 blower (more boost), drive-by-wire (computer controls throttle, shifts and torque converter lock-up – less NOx emissions, also sets Cruise control -Cruise control “motor” eliminated by the throttle control motor). But, more importantly the Series 3 engine seemed to have better quench pads in the (heads) combustion chamber and better controlled spark knock, emissions and fuel economy.
The short blocks were all the same.
great motor car reasonably priced. not fan of this G/P body style
Nice enough. But OLD! Anybody who buys it will be its last owner. Another forgettable GM tin box but with horsepower.
More terrible photos.