GP vs GTP

The supercharged Grand Prix GTP is available in two- or four-door body styles. While the four-door is obviously easier to get into and out of from the back, the two-door is surprisingly roomy for backseat passengers.
The supercharged Grand Prix GTP is available in two- or four-door body styles. While the f

The polished-silver finish on the 16x6.5-inch wheels is optional. Contact with the ground comes from Goodyear Eagle RS-A P225/60HR16 tires.
The polished-silver finish on the 16x6.5-inch wheels is optional. Contact with the ground
The 9.4:1 compression ratio of the standard 3800 Series II V-6 is dropped to 8.5:1 for supercharged duty. With 231 cubes of displacement and 240 hp, the one-horsepower-per-cubic-inch barrier is easily topped. Its 280 lb-ft of torque is nearly as much as that of many V-8s. The Eaton supercharger is shrouded by an attractive plastic cover. Note the ignition coils for the distributorless ignition--setting timing is long a thing of the past. As with most new cars today, a tune-up basically involves changing the spark plugs.
The 9.4:1 compression ratio of the standard 3800 Series II V-6 is dropped to 8.5:1 for sup

The 389 breathes through a cast-iron intake and a Carter AFB 600-cfm carb. A total of four different 389s were available in 303-, 318-, 333-, and 348hp variations. This is the 333hp engine. The rarest 󈨂 Grand Prix? That honor would fall to the mere 16 equipped with a Super Duty 421 Pontiac V-8. Fewer than half of those are known to exist today.
The 389 breathes through a cast-iron intake and a Carter AFB 600-cfm carb. A total of four

Greg Minor’s 1962 Grand Prix has only 74,000 miles on it. Note the eight-lug wheels, which bolt directly to the brake drums. The aluminum brake drum itself serves as the center of the wheel. This car now rolls on modern P225/75R15 radial tires.
Greg Minor’s 1962 Grand Prix has only 74,000 miles on it. Note the eight-lug wheels,
The leather thrones and informative dash provide a comfy interior atmosphere in the 1997 GP. We feel that the radio controls on the steering wheel, though, are unnecessary. Instead, the space could be better used for the cruise control buttons. Note the Driver Information Center above the air vents. The DIC measures fuel economy, range until empty, tire pressure, and oil life, among other things.
The leather thrones and informative dash provide a comfy interior atmosphere in the 1997 G

Cavernous room for five is standard in the first-year Grand Prix cabin. The shifter controls a Borg-Warner T10 four-speed manual gearbox. The Driver Information Center in the ’62 GP includes a Moon tach and Auto Meter gauges that measure water temperature, oil pressure, and voltage. The factory Pontiac gauge mounted on the console measures manifold vacuum.
Cavernous room for five is standard in the first-year Grand Prix cabin. The shifter contro

Although there isn't a whole lot of hype surrounding it, this year the Grand Prix is quietly celebrating 35 years as Pontiac's perennial personal luxury coupe. Introduced in 1962 as a dressed-up Catalina, the Grand Prix quickly gained popularity, selling more than 30,000 units in its first year. Now, 35 years and several radical changes later (not the least of which was an '88 switch to a front-wheel-drive platform), the supercharged '97 Grand Prix GTP is one of the most exciting cars offered by General Motors.

The Grand Prix nameplate emerged during the same year in which GM produced its 75 millionth car (a Bonneville) in March 1962. According to the book Pontiac, They Build Excitement--The Story of an American Automobile Company, 1926-1992, by Thomas E. Bonsall, the GP was "basically a Catalina sport coupe detrimmed on the outside and trimmed up to the highest Bonneville standards on the inside, complete with bucket seats and console. The semicustom look seemed well worth the $3,490 asking price." Now, three and a half decades later, Greg Minor's 74,000-mile '62 GP (shown) keeps that clean look alive and well. The car's original 333hp, 389 Pontiac V-8 still resides under the hood.

The list of optional engines for the GP was extensive. The base 389 made 303 hp with a single four-barrel. A Tri-power, three two-barrel option with a jump to a 10.75:1 compression ratio and a bigger cam increased output to 318 hp. Next up was a single four-barrel 389 with even more cam that netted 333 hp (this is the engine in Minor's car). The top of the line was the same engine with the Tri-power and 348 hp.

The new '62 Grand Prix certainly impressed Motor Trend staffers. In a March '62 road test, they proclaimed, "Our performance figures were only slightly less than amazing. The 0-60 time was blasted off in 8 seconds." In addition, they reported that the car "cut a very quick 17.2-second, 85-mph trip through the quarter-mile." Although that may not sound very quick by today's standards, an explanation may clear the air. The Motor Trend test car was a base 303hp 389 with an automatic trans and a 3.23:1 rear axle ratio. It also punished the scales with 3,984 pounds--a 2-ton mass of steel to move around. Greg Minor's Grand Prix, with its healthier 333hp 389, Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed, and deeper 3.42:1 axle ratio is quicker--much quicker, in fact. He reports that the car has run a 15.5-second pass at 89 mph.

Although Minor's '62 Grand Prix would run rings around the original MT tester, it would still be left sucking the supercharged wind of the '97 Grand Prix GTP's 3.8L V-6. The best front-drive Pontiac ever made, the '97 Grand Prix GTP is the most sporting version of a GM platform that includes the Chevy Lumina, the Olds Intrigue, and the Buick Century. Totally redesigned for 1997, the new "GP-GTP" has a 3-inch-longer wheelbase, a 2-inch-wider track in front, and a 3-inch-wider track in the rear when compared to the '96 model. The car also has a new rear suspension design that replaces the composite leaf spring with rear coils. Available in both two-door and four-door models, the Grand Prix also comes in SE and GT iterations. The GTP package, though, is where you really get to play with fire. It adds an Eaton blower to the already torquey 3.8L (231-inch) 3800 Series II pushrod engine. The result is 240 hp at 5,200 rpm and 280 lb-ft at 3,200 rpm.

The GTP fortification doesn't end there, because the blown V-6 transfers its fury to a GTP-specific four-speed automatic transaxle dubbed the 4T65-E. A significantly beefed-up version of the 4T60-E, the electronically controlled trans includes a "performance shift" switch on the dash that delays upshifts to a higher rpm and provides more aggressive downshifting. Stand on the gas with the switch set in the performance mode, and it's like having your own shift-improvement kit at the flip of a switch.

The result of all this high-tech wizardry is a car that's an exceptional back-road barn-burner of "grand" proportions. As for straight-line talents, as we stated earlier, Minor's '62 Grand Prix gets left draggin' the tower. Our '97 GTP ripped 15-second-flat blasts down the strip with ease at trap speeds well in excess of 90 mph. In fact, with CC's ever-so-stingy fifth wheel crunching the numbers, we squeaked into the 14s on one run with a speedy 14.97 at 93 mph. The new Grand Prix also scurried to 60 mph almost a full second and a half sooner than the first car Motor Trend tested in 1962--doing the feat in 6.7 seconds.

Test procedures 35 years ago focused mainly on straight-line acceleration; however, the '62 GP recorded a 60-0 braking attempt in 153 feet--impressive work for the car's massive drum brakes, which mounted eight-lug wheels. The new car's 134-foot, 60-0 mph performance is indicative of its four-wheel disc brakes, full antilock control, modern P225/60HR16 Goodyear Eagle RS-A skins, and, of course, a 600-pound weight advantage.

So is the new Grand Prix better than the old one? If pure performance numbers are the criteria, then yes. If other things are considered, then the playing field gets leveled a bit--both cars are strong contenders in their respective markets for their respective eras. Let's just say the '62 Grand Prix and '97 Grand Prix GTP serve as notable bookends to one of the longest-surviving nameplates in American automotive history--one that will hopefully carry on for at least another 35 years.

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