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2007 Barrett-Jackson: The Dream Cars
click on image above to view the high-resolution gallery of Barrett-Jackson dream cars
A few more concepts from the Barrett-Jackson catalog should prove to be interesting lots. Nobody really expects these to draw the same kind of money as the F-88 or Bonneville from years past, but you never know. Heck, they probably won't even approach the value of the Dodge Firearrows we previewed earlier. But these are pretty interesting vehicles in their own right, starting with a concept for one of America's most iconic limos, carrying through to a GM mixed moniker model, to an early electric dream car. A rundown of each is available after the jump and as usual, a high-res gallery of my own and Drew Phillips' pics are available by clicking the above image.
Gallery: 2007 Barrett-Jackson: The Dream Cars
click on any image to view the complete high-resolution gallery
Lot Number: 980
Lot 980 started life as a 1963 Lincoln Continental, but was then transformed into the 1964/65 Lincoln Continental Town Brougham show /concept car. One of Ford's early XL treatments has this thing stretched 5 inches between the axles. It's serial number 3Y82N413138 and was built for Ford's "Caravan of Stars." For a car in this kind of condition, it's amazing to see that it has just over 8,000 original miles, and still has its original (near mint) interior, as well as its original padded top. Only the paint and chrome have been refreshed over the years. It's really a car that Ford used to gauge public reaction to custom coachbuilding, somewhat like the Giugiaro Mustang of late.
Lot Number: 980.1
This one is a bit of a tease. It's the 1956 Pontiac Club de Mer that was built by General Motors for that year's Motorama. But this one is just a 3/8 scale model. GM built it as a companion to the full scale concept. The story goes that Harley Earl swiped the model and sent it off to Pontiac to install a 6-volt Pontiac starter motor, 6-volt battery, steering apparatus and throttle switch. Why would he do that? Because he thought it would make a great peddle car for one of his grandsons. And if that's not significant enough for you, it's the only 3/8 scale model of a Motorama car known to exist.
Lot Number: 979.1
This is a 1961 Pontiac Monte Carlo. No, it's not a typo. It's not a Chevy. It's a Pontiac concept. It looks a bit like a cross between a scaled down Super Duty Catalina and a Chevy Corvair. Very nice proportions. It only has a 120 hp small V8, but it is light and looks like it could tackle the twisties pretty well. It was the car that many people think brought the image of performance back to Pontiac, a sporty 2-seater that GM thought would help customers change their opinion of this "old lady" brand. Didn't really get past the concept stage, but it did influence later Pontiac design, particularly in the nose.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard Owen 10:07PM (1/18/2007)
Neat cars, I think drew's shots aren't up, or I can't seem to find them.
Anyone think RM has outdone BJ this year?
http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?CarID=r128&SaleCode=AZ07
They even have a '71 Hemi Cuda Convertible!
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big jimmy 10:17PM (1/18/2007)
gonna post any rare muscle cars
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Monty 11:49PM (1/18/2007)
#2:
Hopefully not. Nowadays no muscle cars are rare. There are thousands of them at Barrett-Jackson each year. The boom's over.
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BOB 2:51AM (1/19/2007)
RE THE PONTIAC-
I must have missed that one the first time. My guess is that it hit the storage room quickly, with that silly stripe, but I could be wrong.
Of course, it does not predict future Pontiac styling, since it is pretty much a stock 1961 Tempest cut down, with what looks like (foolishly) painted-over stock chrome around the grille. (which, with the painted surround, predicts the later Plymouth Barracuda). The front end is STRAIGHT off the '59 full size Pontiacs, which are actually the cars that finished off the old lady image. AND the Pontiac horsepower thing started in 1957 -sorry!
A rich girl in my high school traded her stock Tempest like this for a '63 Catalina convertible, which was the bomb. The '63 Grand Prix was a huge sensation, and "THE car to have", as the '58 and '61 T-birds had been. Pontiac was the "youngest" of the GM car lines by then. I later had a '65 Lemans (higher Tempest model) convertible.
Next time, check with the guys who were around when the car was new -- but thanks for the article.
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Richard Warren 5:35AM (1/19/2007)
Bob,
Well said, and the 5" stretch on the Lincoln made it to production because the early Lincolns had a shoter wheelbase and overall length and folks complained about rear legroom.
Saw that Tempest and brough back a lot of memories, flexible drive shaft and all.
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whofan 9:12AM (1/19/2007)
The 60`s were the gold years for cars.
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Frank Filipponio 8:44AM (1/19/2007)
Well, there was a nice way to say all that, Bob. LOL. From what we've unearthed of the fossilized remains of this era of automaking, this was a smaller car than anything Pontiac was offering at the time. based on the 1961 Tempest, but Corvair size. Two seater. Could have led Pontiac towards "Lighter, narrower, nimbler," instead of where they went.
They had built the Corvair-based Polaris show car before this and when that was abandoned they built the Tempest Monte Carlo to show the upcoming Tempest styling in a two-seat package, but fitted an aluminum V8 in place of their "half of a 389", straight 4. Although, a supercharged version of that Indy 4 was also seen in it at one time. The Tempest Monte Carlo had bucket seats with big side bolsters and a cut-down windshield. Oldsmobile even showed off a version of the Monte Carlo called the X-215.
After production Tempest problems with features like the buzzy 4, the flex drive and swing axles were deemed too problematic, and the 1963 refreshening didn't take too well, Pontiac abandoned their unique project and switched over to the same platform as the Chevy Chevelle, Oldsmobile F-85, and Buick Special for 1964. And then John DeLorean and Jim Wangers managed to slip a 389 into that Tempest and the GTO was born.
Just so you know, we were only going by the info we gathered on it from the available material and from the few seconds we are able to chat with the old farts like yourself that were talking about it before we became disinterested and moved on to the other 1,000 plus vehicles. Something about all these old people and their long-winded, know-it-all storytelling. :D
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BOB 4:26PM (1/19/2007)
Your comments: OH FRANK!! -- --"based on the 1961 Tempest, but Corvair size" -- Of course the Tempest was based on the Corvair already. I dont have the
dimensions, to tell you which was shorter.--"a cut-down windshield" -- See the photo: the windshield is stock, but the TOP is cut down. Maybe you read this
innacurate item in AutoLemon "One of the more curious show cars of the early sixties was the '62 Pontiac Tempest Monte Carlo. Sporting a name that would show up on a Chevrolet personal luxury car nine years
later, the Tempest Monte Carlo was a slick little two-seater that sported such niceties as a supercharged 4-cylinder engine, bucket seats with pronounced side bolsters, and a cut-down windshield.
-- You keep on: "Could have led Pontiac towards "Lighter, narrower, nimbler," instead of where they went." Makes no sense, since A--this was only a slightly cut down stock car WITH NO BACK SEAT. B--
The big boats they did make were right for the market in the 60's and beyond, and provided their best sales years. (Whether or not YOU thinkthey should have made small cars then). PEOPLE WANTED THE CARS --however, GM should have covered its butt when the market started to
change more. The more Volvo sized Grand Prix of the early 80s was another big hit, but not as hot as the long boat GP of the 70s.ETC
--NOW, may I say that what I originally wrote was a bit of a slap on the wrist for an inaccurate and sloppy article (for which youexcuse yourself) --
May I suggest you save knocking us MODERATELY old guys until you are right (can't be always) and we are incorrect -- and why be careless, and make us miss basket weaving at the Home while we provide the real information?
Back in the Dinosaur era, we were told to shut up until we had our facts straight, and to immediately admit it when we were wrong.
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Frank Filipponio 2:57AM (1/20/2007)
BOB, I was just trying to relay the info we based the post on. Most of what we get here is second-hand and with little time and few resources, we usually trust the source to provide fairly accurate info. I saw the humor in what you added, sorry you didn't see the humor in my response. We'll accept you as the definitive source on this car and move on. That's what makes blogging so much better than writing for the "traditional" media; the give and take with our readers. Thanks for keeping us on our toes.
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Argen 11:37PM (1/19/2007)
Either that car is NOT the '61 Monte Carlo, or it has been heavily modified. The original car did have a short, cut-down windshield with similar-height side windows and raised bolsters behind the seats like the modern Solstice. It also had a pair of bullet-style rear-view mirrors and no convertible top. Futhermore, had five-spoke racing wheels compared to the wire-wheels in the photo. I take back the first sentence. It is the concept car. As typical with GM show cars it was modified later in its life. I found the Department X article in the March 2005 issue of High Performance Pontiac and it says that the car was revised after initial appearances to look more stock with a normal windshield. In the article, the car had a 215 Buick V-8 and the interior was very worn and dried out from the sunshine. The car has a 97-inch wheelbase, which is 15 inches shorter than the car originally was. So there it is as far as I can tell.
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joe cole 2:58PM (2/24/2007)
Hi folks,
Just happened to be tooling around the internet and saw the photo of the Pontiac Monte Carlo. I once owned this car. I bought it while in High School. How did i get this--Well my father was Ed Cole--i would guess that name should need no furhter introduction to anyone that is a car lover. Yes it had a Buick 215/ spagetti drive shaft--knock off wheels. The windshield was only 6 inches when it was a show car--when it became street legal they made it a more stock size. The mirrors were also changed to more conventional style of the time. The car was fully carpeted --even the trunk. 4 spd trans. It actually had some pretty good pep. Unfortunatly it did get weathered over time --prior to its restoration. I saw the pictures and couldn't believe how good it looked. Actually for a period of time the color was changed to what suppose to be candied apple red--bad paint job--it really was more orange. This happened after dad tried to open up the wheel wells with a pry bar--the tires had gotten so old they had begun to rot and to find that size in a radial was impossible at the time. Had a lot of fun in this car. And i liked the blue stripe before it was painted. The car was donated to a museum in San Antonio and then purchased from there. I believe the picture here is from the museum.
Joe Cole
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