Rare Rides: The 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2, Not Actually Named Aerocoupe

by Corey Lewis

Published: June 29th, 2020

rare rides the 1986 pontiac grand prix 2 2 not actually named aerocoupe

Rare Rides previously examined a rare Grand Prix. It was from a Pepsi contest and separated from the coupe you see here by only three years. Today we consider the end of an era for Grand Prix, with the very special 2+2.

Pontiac’s full-size V8 Grand Prix coupe debuted for the 1962 model year as replacement for the Ventura. The Grand Prix was more about performance than Ventura, as that name transitioned to become a luxurious trim of the Catalina. By the second-generation Grand Prix, the model shrunk into a midsize offering, but kept the sportiness Pontiac customers desired.

The successful formula remained the same through the third generation cars, but downsizing occurred for the debut of the fourth-gen model in 1978. The boxier and more contemporary looking fourth Grand Prix was a foot shorter than its predecessor, and lost 600 pounds of heft. Another sign of the times (and fuel economy regulation), Grand Prix customers had to pay extra for a V8 engine. Standard from 1978 onward was V6 power sourced from Buick, in 3.8- or 4.1-liter varieties.V8 options started at 4.3 liters with a Pontiac-developed unit, and ranged to 5.0-liters in the 305 Chevrolet V8. There was also a 5.7-liter diesel option should a customer want to pair an awful diesel experience with their downsized coupe. The vast majority of Grand Prix in this generation gained momentum by the grace of a three-speed automatic. More on that caveat later.

As its sales success continued, evolutionary trim changes appeared. Originally designated as an A-body car, GM created a new front-drive A-body line for 1982, and the rear-drive A-body cars were called G-body instead. And in 1986, there was a bit of a shakeup.

The tail lamps changed in design, featuring three different sections! And less impressively, there was a new body style on offer: the 2+2. This new greenhouse-inspired coupe was paired with the similar Monte Carlo SS 2+2 for a single model year. A homologation effort, General Motors needed to make some production cars in order to use its new aerodynamic two-door body in NASCAR.Notable changes over standard Grand Prix included the large, fixed rear glass arrangement and shortened trunk lid (made of fiberglass), along with an integrated ducktail spoiler. At the front, a pointy aerodynamic nose replaced the boxy standard front clip. All examples came painted in the same two-tone grey scheme, with 2+2 signage here and there. Other standard 2+2 features included 5.0-liter V8 power, plus a transmission upgrade in the form of a four-speed 200-4R. All used the same Rally II wheels.

It should be noted that the “Aerocoupe” name was an affectation by the public, as the official name of the car was Grand Prix 2+2. Given its special limited-production nature, dealers added a considerable 20 percent markup to the cars. In total, 1,118 were made, and all of them went to Southeastern region Pontiac dealers. The Grand Prix remained unchanged for its final model year in 1987, as the rear-drive coupe headed into the sunset. Its replacement in ’88 was much more with the times: front-drive, powered only by V6 engines, and available with four doors.Today’s Rare Ride has just under 29,000 miles, and in its pristine condition asks $18,900.[Images: seller]

#1980s #AmericanCars #ClassicCars #CollectorCars #Coupes #FamilyCars #GeneralMotors #GM #GrandPrix #GrandPrixAerocoupe #UsedCars #Pontiac #PontiacGrandPrix #NewsBlog #MidsizeCars #RareRides

Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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6 of 34 comments

PrincipalDan on Jun 29, 2020

yup... Fuel Injection does not get the credit it deserves in many circles for being such a wonderful leap forward. In my fantasy world my 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with Olds 307 would have had TBI. I don't even care if it would have increased the horsepower/torque. The drive-ability benefits would have been amazing.

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Art Vandelay on Jun 30, 2020

This car wasn't built to sell in any numbers...it was built because the aerodynamic Ford Thunderbird was kicking GM's butt on NASCAR's big tracks. That's all.

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- See 3 previous
- MRF 95 T-Bird on Jun 30, 2020
  
  A suggestion for Buy, Drive, Burn- Fox body Thunderbird, Cougar vs GM G-body coupes.
  
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- Art Vandelay on Jun 30, 2020
  
  @MRF 95 T-Bird Buy - 87-88 Cougar XR-7 with 5.0 Drive - 88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe with Manual and SVO type magnetic suspension (Think the 88 had the most power, but any past 85 will really do) burn - all of the G bodies.
  
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- MRF 95 T-Bird on Jul 01, 2020
  
  @Art Vandelay I owned an 87 Thunderbird with the 3.8 Essex TBI, the 88 got the MPI that gave it a few more ponies. One of the best vehicles I’ve ever owned. The 87-88 Turbo coupe had the inter cooler with the air slots in the hood giving it around 40 more horsepower. The SVO Mustang had the hood scoop.
  
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- Steve on Jul 07, 2020
  
  @Art Vandelay Art - I got an 87 Buick G-Body that says different. It came in one color...Black.
  
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Recent Comments

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Ajla Remember when Cadillac introduced an entirely new V8 and proceeded to install it in only 800 cars before cancelling everything?
Bouzouki Cadillac (aka GM!!) made so many mistakes over the past 40 years, right up to today, one could make a MBA course of it. Others have alluded to them, there is not enough room for me to recite them in a flowing, cohesive manner.Cadillac today is literally a tarted-up Chevrolet. They are nice cars, and the "aura" of the Cadillac name still works on several (mostly female) consumers who are not car enthusiasts.The CT4 and CT5 offer superlative ride and handling, and even performance--but, it is wrapped in sheet metal that (at least I think) looks awful, with (still) sub-par interiors. They are niche cars. They are the last gasp of the Alpha platform--which I have been told by people close to it, was meant to be a Pontiac "BMW 3-series". The bankruptcy killed Pontiac, but the Alpha had been mostly engineered, so it was "Cadillac-ized" with the new "edgy" CTS styling.Most Cadillacs sold are crossovers. The most profitable "Cadillac" is the Escalade (note that GM never jack up the name on THAT!).The question posed here is rather irrelevant. NO ONE has "a blank check", because GM (any company or corporation) does not have bottomless resources.Better styling, and superlative "performance" (by that, I mean being among the best in noise, harshness, handling, performance, reliablity, quality) would cost a lot of money.Post-bankruptcy GM actually tried. No one here mentioned GM's effort to do just that: the "Omega" platform, aka CT6.The (horribly misnamed) CT6 was actually a credible Mercedes/Lexus competitor. I'm sure it cost GM a fortune to develop (the platform was unique, not shared with any other car. The top-of-the-line ORIGINAL Blackwing V8 was also unique, expensive, and ultimately...very few were sold. All of this is a LOT of money).I used to know the sales numbers, and my sense was the CT6 sold about HALF the units GM projected. More importantly, it sold about half to two thirds the volume of the S-Class (which cost a lot more in 201x)Many of your fixed cost are predicated on volume. One way to improve your business case (if the right people want to get the Green Light) is to inflate your projected volumes. This lowers the unit cost for seats, mufflers, control arms, etc, and makes the vehicle more profitable--on paper.Suppliers tool up to make the number of parts the carmaker projects. However, if the volume is less than expected, the automaker has to make up the difference.So, unfortunately, not only was the CT6 an expensive car to build, but Cadillac's weak "brand equity" limited how much GM could charge (and these were still pricey cars in 2016-18, a "base" car was ).Other than the name, the "Omega" could have marked the starting point for Cadillac to once again be the standard of the world. Other than the awful name (Fleetwood, Elegante, Paramount, even ParAMOUR would be better), and offering the basest car with a FOUR cylinder turbo on the base car (incredibly moronic!), it was very good car and a CREDIBLE Mercedes S-Class/Lexus LS400 alternative. While I cannot know if the novel aluminum body was worth the cost (very expensive and complex to build), the bragging rights were legit--a LARGE car that was lighter, but had good body rigidity. No surprise, the interior was not the best, but the gap with the big boys was as close as GM has done in the luxury sphere.Mary Barra decided that profits today and tomorrow were more important than gambling on profits in 2025 and later. Having sunk a TON of money, and even done a mid-cycle enhancement, complete with the new Blackwing engine (which copied BMW with the twin turbos nestled in the "V"!), in fall 2018 GM announced it was discontinuing the car, and closing the assembly plant it was built in. (And so you know, building different platforms on the same line is very challenging and considerably less efficient in terms of capital and labor costs than the same platform, or better yet, the same model).So now, GM is anticipating that, as the car market "goes electric" (if you can call it that--more like the Federal Government and EU and even China PUSHING electric cars), they can make electric Cadillacs that are "prestige". The Cadillac Celestique is the opening salvo--$340,000. We will see how it works out.
Lynn Joiner Lynn JoinerJust put 2,000 miles on a Chevy Malibu rental from Budget, touring around AZ, UT, CO for a month. Ran fine, no problems at all, little 1.7L 4-cylinder just sipped fuel, and the trunk held our large suitcases easily. Yeah, I hated looking up at all the huge FWD trucks blowing by, but the Malibu easily kept up on the 80 mph Interstate in Utah. I expect a new one would be about a third the cost of the big guys. It won't tow your horse trailer, but it'll get you to the store. Why kill it?
Lynn Joiner Just put 2,000 miles on a Chevy Malibu rental from Budget, touring around AZ, UT, CO for a month. Ran fine, no problems at all, little 1.7L 4-cylinder just sipped fuel, and the trunk held our large suitcases easily. Yeah, I hated looking up at all the huge FWD trucks blowing by, but the Malibu easily kept up on the 80 mph Interstate in Utah. I expect a new one would be about a third the cost of the big guys. It won't tow your horse trailer, but it'll get you to the store. Why kill it?