Ten Great Cars You Can Buy Now
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Sold for $3,080,000 Auctioned January 10-18, 2015 at Barrett-Jackson, Scottsdale-Arizona Special Inline 8 cylinder engine Displacement 268 cu. in. 230 HP One of 2 in existence |
1954 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE SPECIAL MOTORAMA CONCEPT CAR | |
It's said that Harley Earl, director of GM
styling, got the idea for a GM concept car while watching world speed
records being set at the Salt Flats in Utah. It would be a sports racer
called a Bonneville Special. That was when 1954 models were being
readied for production, and no GM car had ever carried the Bonneville
name. Perhaps Harley Earl gave the assignment to Pontiac as the birth of
its upcoming performance image. Under the direction of Earl, Hommer
LaGassey and Paul Gilland were directed to build two Bonneville
Specials. The bronze car would debut in the Grand Ballroom of the
Waldorf in New York and the green one in the Pan Pacific Auditorium in
Los Angeles. The green model would later tour major dealerships around
the country. The cars were showbiz and beyond production, but realistic
enough for the public to identify with them and make them contenders for
best-remembered Motorama cars. |