The Pontiac Pursuit Concept Was Ugly On The Outside, Ahead Of Its Time Inside
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Concept vehicles are always something of a fascination. They’re the tattoos of the automotive world, a stamp for a place in time where engineers and designers thought the future could take them.
Sometimes for better, concept vehicles were not the way of the future. Look to the Ford Nucleon concept as a reference. However, some are downright cool, like the Pontiac Pursuit concept of 1987.
Road & Track highlighted the design and technology of the Pursuit concept, and it’s shockingly ahead of its time even if you wouldn’t have guessed it.
Despite the exterior styling being extremely future forward, there are some elements that made their way to production. Take the stripped headlight for example, which was channeled in the fifth-generation Grand Prix. Similarities to production vehicles end there, though.
Inside, a wild steering system was in place. No steering column is present, but drivers used an electronically controlled module, which sent inputs to battery-powered steering gears. The gears moved both the front and rear wheels. Reminiscent of Infiniti’s steer-by-wire system? Yep.
The steering wheel and display feature a basic infotainment system and navigation in a similar concept like the Audi TT’s virtual cockpit. Even with all the technology, there’s still a five-speed manual gearbox present, though.
Speaking of power, it came from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, also ahead of its time for the division.
Oh, if only Pontiac weren’t swallowed by the ways of Old GM. What could have been…
My favourite Pontiac Concept is the Banshee IV, see in detail the adjustable lower front splitter, today used on LaFerrari
Folks are too quick and easy with the term ‘ugly’ simply because something is particularly different. Just because Zoe Saldana doesn’t look like Emma Watson doesn’t mean Zoe is ugly. Or that Emma is good looking for that matter. What makes both of them good looking gals to objective standards is that their looks work individually.
Is this concept car overly round, overly designed in a particularly futuristic way? Yup. But if you were to design a round futuristic car, would a reasonably good looking one look something like this? Yes. Therefore it’s not ugly. It’s more… a bit much for current car fashions.
Consider the Nissan Cube. The original boxy Scion Xb. And the recent/second rounded but boxy Xb. In my opinion only the latter one is an ugly design. Where NIssan found a way to make rounded boxy work, the second Xb doesn’t. It’s a mess. But most people consider all three ‘ugly’ merely because they’re different.
It’s a cultural thing, not a design thing.
Ray Charles even considered the Cube hideous.
This car was ok for a show car but it was just never something that was even close to production.
As for the technology GM was always a leader in development but often under funded much of it so it either did not work well or just never made production.
We will see better advances with the better funded and profitable.
Many people considered Ray Charles hideous. Because he was different.
I don’t see your point!
For some reason I thought it looks like the EV1
It is time for GM to build and release special. edition Pontiac cars and SUVs.
A Firebird would be easy;’ a vehicle like SS sold as a Bonneville could command high margins and smash Charger and Maxima.
Pontiac should nerve be a full-line brand. Our should cover muscle white space on Chevrolet lots.
Hummer would new great in the ssme way of the brand could be repurchased.
As one who studied Pontiac from inside to out you are on the right track or should I say the wide track.
The powers to be at GM never knew how to handle Pontiac or use them effectively. Pontiac was an engineers division and was best run when run by engineers or by people who knew how to effectually let the engineers operate.
All the greatest cars they did were by engineers or done with their engineers. But the board at GM never knew how to market that and would never let Pontiac focus only on that. There was a growing market there but it never was let to expand.
Just look at what John D wanted in the 60’s and never was let to put into production.
DHOC V8, SOHC V8, Composite Headlamps. 4 wheel disc brakes, FI in the 60’s, Radial Tires in 65, Electronic Ignition, 2 seat sports car, etc. He really wanted what the Germans were starting to do but GM killed it off.
Imagine if GM had let them do these things in the 60’s and how that could have effected the entire GM line. Can you see that Pontiac could have been a global model and may have still been around?
It is still a lot of what if’s but they would have had a better shot than they did selling a Aztek, Torrent G3-, G4 and G6.
But none of this was to ever bee so we will really never know the true impact.
Pontiac and some of the models are the perfect case studies of why GM went bankrupt. They did not manage the divisions well and they just did not know what to do with them. They also failed with inter division rivalries with Chevy.
As one well know GM insider said to me Chevy sells more cars so Chevy got more say on what we could do at Pontiac.
Let’s not forget the electric twin made in 94 its called the gm impact I have a full review on it in a motor trend magazine I wish they would let me take pictures to put in the comments but I’m pretty sure u guys can find it online