A GM sport sedan that some enthusiasts may have forgotten about is available in Indiana on a Cars & Bids auction. It’s a 2005 Pontiac Bonneville GXP, powered by a 4.6L Northstar V8 LD8. This was the same V8 used in Cadillac models at the time, like the DeVille and Seville SLS. This was the first non-Cadillac GM model to employ this engine, and it later became optional in the Buick Lucerne.
GM offered a V8 option in the 2004 Pontiac Bonneville for the first time since 1986. The move was motivated by the discontinuation of the Oldsmobile Aurora after the 2003 model year. This gave Pontiac some room to move upmarket, and it did so by offering a muscular V8 in its biggest sedan. The V8, FWD Bonneville only lasted for two years, as the model was discontinued after the 2005 model year and replaced by the G8 in 2008.
The Northstar V8 powering this Pontiac is rated at 275 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque; the same performance specs as Cadillac models that used the same engine. Output is sent to the front wheels via a 4-speed automatic transmission.
A copy of the window sticker shows some of this car’s options, including a power sunroof, a universal garage door opener, a trunk-mounted 12-disc CD changer, a head-up display, SiriusXM, and heated front seats. Some standard features in every Bonneville GXP include leather seats with Ultra-Lux suede inserts, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, an auto-dimming mirror, automatic climate control, and a Monsoon audio system.
Based on the photo gallery, this Pontiac Bonneville GXP appears pretty clean. It has just under 60,000 miles on the odometer. The Carfax vehicle history report shows no accidents in this car’s past and one owner from new until 2021.
As of this writing, the high bid on this rare sport sedan is $5,200. It’s a no-reserve auction that ends on Friday, June 27th. Get your bids in now for a rare chance to own this unusual GM performance car that you can use as a daily driver.
Comments
Boy, do I miss Pontiac! Back 2006 I ordered my wife a Lucerne CXS. You could identify the V8’s because of the four “portholes” in the front fenders.
Nice car!!! Looks great in dark blue!
Never thought I would be saying this but I really miss the early 2000’s especially for the wide variety of coupe and sedan choices we used to have with actual performance in mind. It used to be fun traveling around to the various dealerships back then because you never knew if something like this or a special edition final 500 Oldsmobile model would show up. It is so different now and quite boring going around and looking at rows upon rows of 60-80K trucks and SUV’s and soccer mom crossovers and not much else. A malaise era for sure!
What about the ‘70s and ‘80s? One could special order blue seat belts, red cloth interior and a green roof. They even offered CB radios! Nearly every model offered a wagon or hatch. I miss my ‘84 J-2000. It had two tone comfy seats, a cushioned head liner, thick blue leather steering wheel, a luggage rack and blue seat belts with blue buckles. It was a little limousine. Now, everything is gray and black. Might as well sell cars at Walmart.
I miss the 70’s thru 90’s even more especially from the reasons you mentioned along with the style, comfort and unique way each could ordered.
The GXP along with a couple of other Pontiac models of the era got little support from the advertising department hence, nobody knew about these great cars. The supercharged 3.8L version was also great. Like Oldsmobile and the Buick GXS and Supercharged 3.8L versions the marketing failed. Chevrolet failed with the 5.3L FWD Malibu SS as well. This car will serve the buyer one or two ways. Either as a collector and be parked or driven many miles while being cared for for many years.
Agreed. When I think of the GP or Bonneville, I think of the 3.8 supercharged V-6….but the V8s are so rare, this one would be hard to pass up if buying.
I just looked at it closely on Cars & Bids, unless someone wants to drop a small fortune bringing this back to showroom condition this vehicle is nothing more than a daily driver. Currently at $5200 with about 22 hours to go, I can’t imagine it goes much higher.
I think you mean the 5.3L FWD Impala SS. I had an Olds Intrigue but unfortunately they never got the 3.8 SC motor.
I had ’99 Intrigue 3.5 v6 Shortstar engine. Quiet and smooth.
Had forgotten about these. Interesting powertrain combo and the exterior has nice clean lines even with the FWD proportions; the right person will love it. The interior is a pre-bankruptcy hot mess of design, materials, and textures. Maybe it has its charms as a good example of how bad it got before the plug was pulled.
What you described as a “hot mess” is what I think of as creative and interesting design that’s distinctive. So now, we get “Hyundai, Toyota, Equinox, Honda” monochromatic gray and back interiors. We are stuck with the “one world car.”
I guess we all have our own eye for what’s pleasing and distinctive. On the colors, my feeling is it doesn’t get more mono-chromatic than this. On the comparison, the 2005 buyer of this top of the line Pontiac was paying close to $40k, roughly $70k today. Today’s interior benchmark isn’t a Hyundai or Equinox.
Great looking car, but never cared for fwd. Complicates the drive train and all that front-end weight.
I bought 2004 Pontiac GTO over GP. RWD rules.
Love the car. Hate the engine. That Northstar V8 is a nightmare!! Stay away from it……. The following year gm came out with the LS4 5.3L in the impala ss and grand prix GXP. Those were the 2 vehicles to have.