As the powerful and opinionated GM styling boss Bill Mitchell retired in 1977, he delivered his final parting shot to the automotive design world: the Pontiac Phantom.
Much like his predecessor and mentor Harley Earl, the powerful Bill Mitchell ruled the General Motors styling studios as his own private kingdom, while his tenure there produced some of the Motor City’s most beautiful cars, including the 1963 Buick Riviera and 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado. But by the mid-1970s, both consumer demands and GM’s internal politics were changing, and Mitchell’s design theories and bombastic personal style were increasingly out of fashion. With age 65 and retirement looming in the summer of 1977, Mitchell delivered his final parting shot: the Pontiac Phantom.
Working with a young designer named Bill Davis in GM’s experimental X studio, Mitchell envisioned the Phantom as a pure expression of his own personal taste from the start, without regard for GM division management or consumer trends. A long, low, but close-coupled coupe, the full-size studio model was originally designed with a severe notchback roofline, which was quickly replaced by a sweeping fastback sillhouette that extended all the way to the rear bumper (above).
The look was neoclassical, recalling the dramatic European coachbuilt designs of the 1930s. (The project’s original name was Madame X, after a Harley Earl Cadillac theme inspired by Alexandre Bisson’s theatrical drama.) Mitchell despised the downsizing trend of the 1970s and the boxy, squared-up shapes it required, equating small-car design to “tailoring a suit for a dwarf.” In a 1979 interview, Mitchell recalled, “You know, years ago when you went into an auto styling department, you found sweeps. Racks of them. Now they design with a T-square and a triangle.” The Phantom was his final response to all that.
As the story goes, Mitchell planned to unveil the Phantom to the top GM brass in a product display at the Milford Proving Ground. But the presentation was blocked by engineering executive Howard H. Kehrl, who evidently now held more power than the GM styling chief and was not a Mitchell fan. Kehrl, who ultimately became a GM vice chairman, has been called the father of the Oldsmobile diesel.
Mitchell’s project died then and there, and so it was that the Phantom never received a drivetrain or a functional interior. Mitchell retired in July of 1977 with his final vision incomplete. Fortunately, the fiberglass studio glider was preserved and later donated to the Sloan Museum in Flint, Michigan, where it can be seen today.
“Kehrl, who ultimately became a GM vice chairman, has been called the father of the Oldsmobile diesel.”
Not much of a claim to fame, given the reputation the diesel’s had.
He was Roger Smith’s engineering guy.
Engineering in those dark days of tightening emission and fuel economy standards was certainly a challenge. None of the big three adapted well to the challenge for several years, hence the malaise era.Styling also was lost at the time, and seems to have never regained the same footing it once had.
Bill Mitchell is also credited with designing cars he did not design, cars that were designed by yours truly while serving time in prison. I designed the Seville, the down sized full size 77’s Cadillacs Buicks Oldsmobiles Pontiacs, the award winning 77 Chevy Caprice and award winning 79 Riviera, the 79 Cadillac Eldorado and 79 Oldsmobile Toronado
Quite the set of claims. Care to elaborate, and explain the “prison” part?
Pretty sure he’s trolling you with a reference to a terrible Nicholas Cage/Sean Connery vehicle.
Rust Heinz would have loved it.
It shows how past his prime he was, considering that this looks more like a 50’s show car than one made in 1977. I like a lot of his work, but this just looks like a retro-mobile.
Have always loved this car except for the split windscreen. The ’73 LeMans body on GP’s longer chassis might make a good starting point for a custom but it would be a major tear-up to get it anywhere near as striking as the Phantom. The wheelbase aft fo the front seat would need shortened.
The ’78 Vette has similar proportions but is a size or two smaller.
If Mitchell had trouble tailoring a dwarf, the problem wasn’t the dwarf, it was Mitchell. He is one of the few historical designers that I have come appreciate less as the years roll on.
I’m sure depreciation has him spinning in his grave.