Pontiac Motor Division gave Detroit’s personal-luxury class a good shaking-up with the 1969 Grand Prix.

Introduced in 1962, the Grand Prix was Pontiac’s entry into the growing personal-luxury class, and for its first seven years on the market, it shared its General Motors B-Body platform with the full-size Catalina. In that form, the Grand Prix was a popular and profitable product for the division.

But for 1969, the Grand Prix received a major makeover. Pontiac general manager John DeLorean (above) and crew moved the GP to a new, smaller platform designated the G-Body. This package was essentially the GM A-Body (Tempest, Chevelle) with its wheelbase stretched from 112 to 118 inches, creating a more intimate cockpit and an impressively long hood. (“Dash-to-axle,” designers call this important visual element.)  With classical styling by Wayne Viera under the direction of Pontiac studio chief Jack Humbert and GM styling boss Bill Mitchell, this new Grand Prix essentially redefined the personal-luxury class.

In the now-familiar personal-luxury manner, the Grand Prix’s cockpit was focused on the driver, with a wraparound instrument panel, artfully sculpted bucket seats, and a shift lever mounted in the full-length padded console. Door and window controls were positioned in a mini-console in the driver’s door. A number of Pontiac GTO features were made available, including the hood-mounted tachometer and Rally II wheels, and the Grand Prix won a prominent place in Pontiac’s high-performance brochure that year alongside the GTO and Firebird. The GP was clearly aimed at the performance end of the personal-luxury spectrum.

For the official rollout on September 26, 1968, there were three available engines: a standard 400 CID V8 with 350 hp, a 428 CID V8 with 370 hp, and the 428 H.O. with 390 hp. There was even an available Muncie four-speed manual transmission, but reportedly only 676 cars were so equipped in a production run of more than 112,000 cars. Most Grand Prix buyers by far stuck with the standard THM 400 three-speed automatic. An optional SJ package ($315) included the 428/370 V8 as standard with special badging and some other items. There was but one body style, a two-door coupe.

While sales were sensational the first year, leaving the previous full-sized ’68 version in the dust, the Grand Prix suffered a significant drop in volume for ’70, which experts attribute to the introduction of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Based on the same G-Body chassis as the GP and following much the same formula, Chevy’s personal-luxury car was a two-edged sword for the Pontiac division. (Plans were also made to base the ’71 Buick Riviera on this package, but then dropped. See our feature on the Boattail here.) By sharing its platform with the Grand Prix, the Monte Carlo made the Grand Prix economically feasible, but it also cut into GP sales. Still, the Grand Prix continued to be a strong performer for Pontiac and General Motors, and the name remained in the Pontiac lineup well into the 21st century.