Back in the ‘80s, General Motors struggled to keep pace with Ford on the high-speed NASCAR ovals, as the Ford Thunderbird simply outran the brick-like GM G-body coupes thanks to its superior aerodynamics. In response, GM turned to Chevy and Pontiac to develop a more efficient design that could best GM’s crosstown rival with less drag and less lift. The end result on the Bow Tie brand’s side was the Chevrolet Monte Carlo Aerocoupe, while Pontiac made this – the Grand Prix Aerocoupe.
Unsurprisingly for a car developed to slice through the atmosphere with ease, the Pontiac Grand Prix Aerocoupe is most notable for the way it looks, with a pronounced rear end that falls down from the roofline in a gentle slope, ending in a hard angle with a rear hatch spoiler. Naturally, the new Aerocoupe came with a redesigned rear deck, but it still offered a good amount of trunk space. The new Pontiac Grand Prix Aerocoupe was also equipped with a restyled front end.
This particular example is one of 1,225 Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2 coupes made for 1986, and it’s one of 200 Richard Petty editions, making it relatively rare. Outside, we see a two-tone Silver over Charcoal exterior color treatment, as well as special 2+2 decals, red striping down the flanks, and a set of polished Rally II wheels finishing off the corners.
The cabin space is awash in gray cloth upholstery, and comes with a leather-wrapped, tilt steering wheel. Additional features include air conditioning, power locks, power steering, power windows, cruise control, and power brakes with front discs, plus a radio delete.
Routing the power and handling the cog swaps is a Turbo Hydra-Matic 2004R four-speed automatic transmission and a 3.08 rear end. Finally, FE2 suspension helps it stay nippy in the corners.
Now, this 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix Aerocoupe Richard Petty Edition is up for grabs as Lot F17 in the upcoming Mecum Auctions Kansas City 2020 event, scheduled for November 20th through the 21st.
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Source: Mecum Auctions
Comments
Never heard of the Richard Petty Edition.
Other than the decals that look like they are from a later Petty edition from the 90’s what makes this different? The interior color as most were just grey not blue. .
Looks like the original air cleaner is missing and some things were monkeyed with.
These are getting rare and the more original and lower the mile 2+2 the better. Like the SuperBird they were not loved back in the day. The real question is will this one find love later in life too?
My brother-in-law/sister-in-law tried fitting their growing family into one of these. Only had it for eighteen months but it was novel and very sharp-looking.
I owe this recap to all the readers…
I was a member of Pontiac’s field organization back in 1986, and when these vehicles were announced, they were immediately shunned by dealers and customer alike. My PTSD is kicking in right now, with the following memories..
– MSRP $18600. A premium over the normal G Coupes at the time.
– The silver paint looked to have been applied via aerosole. It was one of the worst delam vehicles ever built…
– Virtually all 200 units built ended up being driven by Pontiac district managers, with special dispensation to turn them over at 200 miles rather than the normal 3000 miles, I personally drove 3 of them to their required 200 miles in 1 week, and had them sent to auction…
– While the trunk was normal volume, the modified trunklid for the rear glass was only about 6 inches wide. Recall that the temporary spare barely fit, and a standard suitcase needed to be put in the trunk..
As an aside, Pontiac reached #3 in the market back in 1985-86, but it was a dramatic fall after that…probably warrants a marketing case study…
Thanks for the ‘rest of the story’!
There was 1225 2+2’s, only 200 Monte Carlo Aerocoupe’s. I own a 2+2, #153 of 200 Monte Aerocoupe, and 2 87 Aerocoupe’s. Have read a few places there’s as few as 300 or so 2+2’s left. Unfortunately the Pontiacs didn’t get much love at all
Though there were 6000 plus Aerocoupe MC’s made for 1987……
The tragedy of this model was no high output motor was available for any 2+2 Grand Prix, just a regular 5.0. It should had got an PFI 5.0 like Firebird to set it apart.
The HO was not available. Chevy refused to give Pontiac the engine for any GZp even the limited run here.
Pontiac wanted it but again the GM politics killed what would have been best.
To be honest in hind sight none of the cars in the 80’s were all that great stock. The best was the Turbo V6 TA pace car.
455 swap would bring this machine to life.
Richard petty and pontiac came with the best.desine for the grand.prix i love it im old school and i love old school cars
These had the in between 165 HP 305 as used in the full sized B- body cars instead of the HO 180 HP L69 engine from the Monte Carlo or the lower output 150 HP 305 from the regular Grand Prix or Monte Carlo’s. The rear end was a 3.08 instead of 2.41 for regular cars or 3.73 as used in Monte SS cars. This meant that 2+2cars were in between performance wise. Power was decent for the time but hardly sparkling. I drove one of these cars with 50K on the clock and it was a 9 second 0-60 car.
It’s too bad GM was being so cheap and didn’t put fuel injection on all the 305 engines. A good throttle body setup with 170-180 HP would have been a good starting point for the G-body with tuned port injection and 205-220 horses used for the Monte SS and 2+2. The sad part is that they already had the tech in place to do this for the 1982 and 1985 model years as the Cross fire setup made between 165-175 hp for the 305 in 1982/83 and the tuned port 305’s were over the 200 hp mark starting in 1985. The things that could have been if they spent a little more and quit wasting money on silly dead end projects like Saturn, the Allante and many other GM blunders on the 80’s.
LS3 swap all day.
All these cars only had automatics. 5-speed would have helped sales to a degree. I had ’87 Monte Carlo SS. Wish I still had it. Factory for and finish was not the best.
Agree with your rankings N400- spot on!
I agree with the standard Gran Prix being ugly but I say the 2+2 looked as good as the Grand National. Maybe if Pontiac hadn’t done such a lousy job with the 301 Turbo TA they would have used that motor.
I fully comprehend the short comings of the 86 Ponti-Carlo 2+2, but that said, I still want one…and I already own an 87 Buick GN with T-tops and an 86 V-8 Regal Coup.
It’s just too unique and cool looking to hate on. Its a real “what if” car that could have been something. GM had the technology and hardware to make it a monster…but it was not to be…
At least we G-Body enthusiast have the Turbo 3.8…
My mother bought one of these in October 1986 with about 500 miles on it I believe from a dealership for about $16,000 or so. I started driving it at age 16 in 1990 until 2001 when the engine block cracked for unknown reason. It was a fun car to drive except in rain and snow it handled awful. It was a sharp car although I would have picked different color choices. The paint as typical with 1980’s GM paints was not of good quality and faded and peeled by 1991. I will say it was pretty much a lemon. I replaced the alternator many times and the fan clutch many times as well as other parts. The carberator was a complete disaster. It was a 4 barrel computerized version that nobody wanted to work on and was always having issues, and even the shops that would work on it could never get it running smooth including the local Pontiac dealership. I always got a lot of comments when I owned it mostly positive that the car was cool looking and unique. The trunk was huge but the opening was barely big enough to fit medium suitcases at best. I wish they would have put a better engine and even a manual transmission which would have made it more desirable but it sounds like they couldnt obtain a better more powerful engine from Chevy or another GM brand. It’s a bummer becuase this car really had the potential to be a hot collector item like the Grand National. Instead at best it will have maybe a small cult type following/interest.
GM made just enough of the Monte and the Pontiac to be able to race the body style in NASCAR. There is very little (probably nothing) stock about a stock car. The body was the point. Back in 69-70 when the aero wars were going on MOPAR made the Daytona and the Superbird and the buying public didnt like those cars either.Im not saying the GM cars will be a collectible but they were made to be legal to race and beat the Thunderbird. The factory engine and trans meant nothing so thats what the street version got.
I own one,not fast but who cares it’s about class and style today,80’s awesome. I have 8 gto’s that are fast but this is my cruiser.
Brought one with 50k on it back from AZ some years ago just because it had little sun rot,was a good deal, I like G bodies and it was low production but it is my least favorite of the G bodies and I had enough cars so I had to part with something and even though it may be worth big money someday that day is not today. It went to a G body fanatic and when he sells,if he a pile of cash God bless him.
This sums up why both my dad and my mom bought new 5.0 Mustangs in the 1980s (1984 and 1989 respectively). No regrets there.
It was a home made Fabrication, no such thing as a limited edition 200 Richard Petty .. lol
These were NO OPTION Cars .. they all came the same .. and the radio delete ,, its the dash of an older GP w smaller radio .. LOL
At the auction it went to $13k .. Didnt sell
I have owned 2 and love em .. but this is an abomination .. and its still for sale on some car lot site .. Sad