[gto4door]

Late seventies Hurst GTO proposal to Pontiac. Anybody know of the whereabouts of this car? If so, I would like to hear from you. Thanks.

[GTO4spd]

That probably would have been as well received as my 74 GTO.

['ol Pinion head]

Can't remember seeing the "Hurst" X-body "GTO" proposal, have read of the '77 CanAm proposals including one built off a '76 X-body (Ventura) platform

The automotive press in the late 70's seemed to really like the '78-80 GrandAm's, at least one article penciled a GrandAm GTO proposal. Most of us enthusiasts ready to buy a new Pontiac skipped right over the underpowered 301 powered GrandAms & instead bought 400 powered TransAm's. Can remember a lot of Pontiac guys back then echo'ing the few magazines floating the idea the 2nd Gen GrandAms should have received a 400 W72 engine. Would have made a nice option, but Pontiac wasn't thinking that way for multiple reasons.

[brians]

Never heard of this one.
I like it.

You sure that is not based on a 76?
I believe they went to a wraparound front marker in 77 and removed the front fender marker.

The paint scheme/wheels also scream 1976.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by gto4door

Late seventies Hurst GTO proposal to Pontiac. Anybody know of the whereabouts of this car? If so, I would like to hear from you. Thanks.

Photo appears to have been taken on the patio behind the Design Studio, GM Tech Center in Warren.

K

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by brians

You sure that is not based on a 76?
I believe they went to a wraparound front marker in 77 and removed the front fender marker.

The paint scheme/wheels also scream 1976.

First thing that struck me was Honeycomb wheels which were way outdated by 1978.
And you are correct about the wraparound front side marker. Phoenix (1978) had the narrow vertical side marker on the headlight housing.
This is definately a 75-76 Ventura.

Great looking concept car. I'd like to know what the drive train components were.

[gto4door]

I am in agreement with brians and Lightfoot. I do not think this prototype is a proposal for 1978, but earlier........perhaps for model year 1976 or 1977. The picture is from a Hurst book that I received as a Christmas present. The caption under the pics says it was proposed to Pontiac for model year 1978.

Picture is not the best quality, however it looks like the emblem on the left rear is a 6.5 litre emblem that Pontiac used on the 1973 Grand Ams, so I am presuming the proposed GTO was to be equipped with the 400 cid motor.

[68gtoMN]

hatchback

[gto4door]

Originally Posted by 68gtoMN

hatchback

Even better.....add a camper tent.

[Lightfoot]

Yeah, I noticed the hatchback also. Only natural for Hurst to utilize that model for their proposal. I think a hatch roof would have been too much alteration. At least for my taste.

[MikeNoun]

Agree with the above comments, that's a 75-76 Ventura. The 77 had the big chunky parking lights that wrapped around the side of the front fender.

[MikeNoun]

The honeycomb wheels appear to the same as the 76 Trans Am 50th Anniversary, and the honeycombs were out of production by 1977, replaced by the snowflakes. I would guess this is a 1976 Hurst GTO proposal.

As a side note, found these 1977 Ventura pics that I thought were interesting.

[nova7579]

If any body has a lead on a spoiler and side window louvers off of the 77 Sprint I am your buyer.
Brian

[Mr. Ro]

The Hurst GTO Ventura is intriguing, don't recall ever seeing that one before... thanks for sharing your find!

On the other subject, I know the guy who pulled the Sprint parts off of this particular vehicle. Judging by the date on the picture, it's been a few years, so I'll see if I still have his email. Will send a private msg if I do. More pictures of this car are in the "Wrecks & Relics" section of pontiacventura.com if interested.

As I recall, he drove many hours to get to the wrecking yard, and finding the car too far gone to save, just came away with the aftermarket Sprint pieces. The hand-lettered fenders would have been a great souvenir, if nothing else.

Mr. Ro
1977 Pontiac Ventura
1977 Lancia Beta HPE
1976 Mercury Capri (x2)

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

The honeycomb wheels appear to the same as the 76 Trans Am 50th Anniversary, and the honeycombs were out of production by 1977, replaced by the snowflakes. I would guess this is a 1976 Hurst GTO proposal.

As a side note, found these 1977 Ventura pics that I thought were interesting.

The first pic is from an auto dismantling yard in OH back in the early 90's. Believe it was the X body Canam proposal build. The 2nd pic, is either the same car, or another Sprint Tim Dye owned. In need of more info, he runs the Pontiac Museum.

[JD311]

I dont see how that junkyard pic was from the early 90s. There are a few 4th gen camaros and late 90s monte carlo in the background.

[Mr. Ro]

Correct, the wrecking yard photo is actually from Tennessee. I pulled the whole series of photos off of ebay at the time the ad ran and posted them on pontiacventura.com not too long after that (roughly Sept 2006).

I've tried contacting the person who actually bought this car off ebay (but ended up just removing some Sprint pieces), but haven't heard back yet. However, that old email chain references yet another 77 Sprint in a wrecking yard, so I probably saved photos of that as well. Will share them if I can dig them up.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

The honeycomb wheels appear to the same as the 76 Trans Am 50th Anniversary, and the honeycombs were out of production by 1977, replaced by the snowflakes. I would guess this is a 1976 Hurst GTO proposal.

As a side note, found these 1977 Ventura pics that I thought were interesting.

Confused....was this one produced? I've never seen it before.

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by gto4door

Late seventies Hurst GTO proposal to Pontiac. Anybody know of the whereabouts of this car? If so, I would like to hear from you. Thanks.

I like the looks of this; they should have built it, but not with the GTO name.

[PONTIAC LARRY]

Seems odd having the 1976 50 th anniversay wheels two year after they stopped making honeycombs they look good though..