This 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix is a previous Daytona 500 pace car or truck

With any luck ,, the fans of GM’s W-physique ’80s/’90s intermediates can forgive us, but we experienced pretty much neglected — or had hardly ever definitely known — that a single of the methods that era’s Pontiac Grand Prix bathed alone in glory was by serving as the speed vehicle for the Daytona 500. In point, the Grand Prix paced NASCAR’s marquee race each individual calendar year from 1988 to 1992, and all over again in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.

That first year, 1988, the Grand Prix was all-new, producing its debut on the W-entire body platform. It was also Motor Trend‘s automobile of the 12 months. The 1988 Daytona 500 marked the 17th yr in a row that a Pontiac was preferred to established the speed but the first time a front-wheel-push automobile was so honored. The ’88 Grand Prix followed a spate of Pontiac Trans Ams.

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This ’88 Grand Prix, for sale proper now on eBay Motors, is introduced as an actual pace car, though fans could buy a full set of pace vehicle decals for their very individual GP. The tempo auto is centered on that year’s major-spec Grand Prix, the SE. In area of the conventional car’s 2.8-liter V6, having said that, the pace automobile takes advantage of a modified 3.1-liter V6, which is hooked to a 5-speed handbook transmission. This Grand Prix is in any other case mostly common fare excepting the roof-mounted gentle bar, the switches for which are located future to the radio. The mechanical odometer tucked into the digital instrument cluster exhibits just about 5,000 miles, and presumably, not all of them were obtained on the higher-banked oval.

With 4 days to go in the auction, bidding sits at $4,000 with the reserve unmet. While the reserve is mysterious, one clue is that this Grand Prix experienced been shown by a typical-motor vehicle dealership in Pennsylvania for $18,500.

Besides the debut of the W-human body Grand Prix rate vehicle, the 1988 race is also noteworthy for its remaining lap: Bobby Allison held off his son, Davey Allison, to acquire the checkered flag, with the father-son duo savoring a 1-2 finish.

Now, who desires to re-reside those people Grand Prix glory times? Get on your Pontiac and ride!

This 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix is a former Daytona 500 tempo vehicle at first appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Jan 2021 14:48:00 EST. Please see our phrases for use of feeds.