Before the GTO: The '61-'63 Tempest Was Pontiac's Answer to the Corvair (& Even the Corvette)
The Pontiac GTO is widely considered one of the most groundbreaking cars in the history of the American auto industry. When it went on sale it 1964 it launched a performance revolution that and is considered by many to be the first true American Muscle Car. But a few years before the GTO came onto the scene, we find that it comes from a pretty special car on its own. We are talking about the 1961-63 Pontiac Tempest, which might be one of the most under-appreciated American cars of the 1960s.
Economy Car Roots
The Tempest was born out of a desire from Pontiac to capture the success its corporate rival Chevy had with the Corvair and its rear-mounted air-cooled engine.
Keep in mind that GM's brands were a lot more than just names back then. They may have shared platforms and some mechanical components, but each GM brand had its own engines, its own technology and its own engineering teams working independently of each other.
So rather than trying to sell a re-styled and rebadged Corvair, Pontiac began developing its own, new, compact car. It would be called the Tempest, and it would share GM's new Y-platform with the Buick Special and Oldsmobile Cutlass, but the Pontiac project would very much be its own thing.
A Difference in the Rear
Unlike the Corvair, the Y-platform cars would have traditional front-mounted water-cooled engines, but the Tempest stood out from the other Y cars by using a rear-mounted transmission (manual or automatic).
Along with the transaxle, the Tempest would also have an independent swing axle setup in the rear, which gave the car four-wheel independent suspension.
With the engine up front and transmission in the rear, the Tempest had near 50/50 weight distribution. And the lack of transmission tunnel helped give the Tempest a large amount of interior space for a car of its size.
There were other unique features the Tempest had, including a unique drum setup that used 15" wheels, which were large in 1961, especially on a compact car.
Like most American cars of this era, multiple body styles were available, including two and four-door sedans, a station wagon and a convertible, and each of three model years has unique styling.
Unconventional Engine Options
The Tempest's powerplant options were equally unconventional. Initially most were sold with a 195 cubic inch four-cylinder "Trophy 4" engine that Pontiac developed by basically cutting its 389 cubic inch V8 in half.
There were a few different versions of the Trophy 4 available, including a hot version with a four-barrel carb that made 155hp.
Muscle Car Formula
A small number of Tempests were even sold with Buick's 215 cubic inch aluminum V8, but the big change came with the 1963 model year when Pontiac introduced its 326 V8 as an option.
The engine technically displaced a little more than 326 cubic inches, but because GM said no compact car could have a larger engine than the Corvette's 327 small block, the numbers were fudged a bit. The 326-powered Tempest made as much as 260hp, which put it just above the standard '63 Corvette in terms of output.
The Y-platform would be around for just three years, and in 1964 the Tempest would grow into the larger midsize "A-Body" platform along with its Buick and Oldsmobile counterparts. And it was this midsized '64 Tempest that the GTO was born from.
And it could be because of the GTO that came soon after and overshadowed it, but the '61-'63 Tempest is very unique car that doesn't get the attention it deserves.
But without this unusual engineering experiment from Pontiac's engineers we may not have had the GTO as we know and love it.
And the first generation Tempest is another great example of the 1960s American auto industry, being a wild, wonderful and fascinating thing.
More From Driving Line
- Want to follow the story further? Here's a look at the evolution of the Pontiac GTO.
