(first posted 5/11/2014) Mitchell retired from GM in 1977, and left a parting memorial to his love for the long, sleek, nostalgic and racy. He knew it was the (temporary) end of the road for his kind of car: “Realizing that with the energy crisis and other considerations, the glamour car would not be around for long. I wanted to leave a memory at General Motors of the kind of cars I love”. As well as a memory of a whole raft of Mitchell-era production cars: Toronado, Riviera, Firebird, Grand Am, etc… Any more?
Here’s Bill with his baby. Don’t know if it was given to him as a parting gift, though.
It has a certain Ace & Gary look from the side.
Yes mitchell took it home. I work for him, he’s got it in his meuseum.
Do you still work for Bill? Where is this “Bill Mitchell” meuseum(?). I would be curious to know….
Same here, very curious.
Especially since Bill Mitchell has been dead since 1988.
I was gonna say…
Buick Gallery, Flint, MI.
It is there.
To Edward’s point, it is there, it is real, and it is awesome. I remember seeing it at the Sloan Museum in Flint’s Cultural Center in the 80’s and reading about how it was just a rolling chassis and wondering how they pushed it in there. A truly stunning styling study.
Looks like an evolution of the ’69 Grand Prix, had there never been a ’74 oil embargo, and all the other subsequent setbacks and upheavals of our time.
Here’s Bill with his baby. Don’t know if it was given to him as a parting gift, though.
Judging from the heavy tint on all windows including the windshield, my guess is that this is just a pushmobile.
I thought that Mitchell did take home a concept car as a retirement gift, and later GM bought it back from his estate and had it crushed. I could have him confused with Harley Earl in that story though.
While this definitely has a Pontiac inspired beak on the hood, it reminds me of the Caddy V12 and V16 concepts of the 60’s, such as XP-840. The flowing upper bodyline with the sharp dip near the back of the door says Buick to me though.
That was Harley Earl. I believe the car he was given was the Olds F88 Mark III.
the lengths that GM will and has gone to to protect the myth that the corvette is and has been the only American two seater sporting car ever is unbelievable…..
It is a pushmobile.
I guess that’s what inspired the ugly and damned-near useless side windows on the Subaru SVX.
I was going to say the Delorean, which is somewhat fitting
The DeLorean was designed either concurrently or a little before. Giugiaro did the original in 1976–77 and it was shown publicly around the spring of ’77.
DAF trucks also use that window within a window its hardly an unusual idea but this car looks like a face lifted Toronado very out of date even for the time it was styled.
I agree that it looks like it belongs in the Toro family rather than a Pontiac, maybe it was intended to give Pontiac their own FWD personal luxury car.
I believe GM’s 1972 experimental safety vehicle was the first to have the mini-window. It had the world’s thinnest A pillar for improved visibility. Unibodies and crash standards mean they’re too thick nowadays.
https://www.story-cars.com/1972-gm-esv-concept
Looks like the result of a drunken three-way between a Cadillac Eldorado, Oldsmobile Tornado, and a Subaru SVX.
O. I would have paid good money to watch that.
I’m seeing Toronado, a little boat-tail Riviera and (yes, with the windows) some SVX; the red wheel wells remind me of Louboutin shoes. (Er, not that I personally wear said shoes. I live with a woman who covets them.)
I hope for your sake she pays for them herself!
Rumor has it that the wheel wells were upholstered with the leftover cloth from this suit… 😉
Bill was always a quiet dresser…
Those red wheel wells are probably a nod to the ’53 Buick Skylark, as here.
Very much his car, as GM’s designs were well into the sheer look by then.
The way I seem to remember it at the time, I think by reading it in Car and Driver, was that he indeed got to take it home. I was like 12, but I remember thinking that was the coolest looking car ever, like the ultimate ’66 Riviera.
I read the article when I was in high school and it did say that Mitchell took this car home with him at retirement.
I have runs several web searches over the years looking for this photo again just because of that article.
Great to see this again.
Windows-within-windows really stink. The DeLorean’s were the worst of the worst, though. I think everyone on here knows how I feel about windows opening, so I won’t repeat myself! The car is pretty cool, though. Riviera/Gran Prix/Toronado all mushed into one. Kind of weirdly reminds me of an old toy gun set where the weapon was something like 7 weapons in one! No, I never had one, either. All-in-one printers, anyone?
Look at that windsheild, this thing was defo off a Corvette chassis
“defo”? The English language is on life support.
Its like a Toronado-Firebird-Corvette. I wonder if it is a real car or a pusher, I’ve never seen any photos of the interior, it looks like it might be based on a shortened Toronado/Eldorado FWD chassis.
Window within window 2012 model truck from PACCAR
This picture seems to be easy to find online. Here’s another (different angle, different model), but it says “1973.” Is the 1977 date definitely correct?
http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/article-guide-by-pictures/pontiac-1973-pontiac-phantom/
Nice picture, but the date is wrong. It’s from 1977, which is also the year Mitchell retired.
Thanks, Paul. A little more sleuthing even showed the picture (dated ’77) purchase-able from GM’s website, and that most everyone online credited it (correctly) to ’77. Oddly, though, I couldn’t find any sort of mention in the newspapers of the time.
May I also say that the (female) models pictured looked distinctively “late ’70s” rather than 1973-ish?
Also, I’ll add myself to those who were kinda crushed to learn that such show/concept cars were typically “rollers” rather than “drivers.” Another youthful fantasy shot to hell…
Bill Mitchell was known to drive the hand built show cars home frequently but this one was not a “runner”. It was was designed in the top secret advanced design studio “x”. It was known as the Madame X within the studios – I am not sure if that was it was ever referred to that name in public.
That car was not given to Bill Mitchell on retirement and GM still has that car in its collection. It’s only been rare occasions it’s been shown to the public. It was frequently on display within the GM design center, Warren Michigan or in the lobby of the same building. I worked in the design center for 9 years and loved to see these cars up close – this one being a favorite that was kept outside the Pontiac studios when we worked on new Grand Prix designs.
Tell us more about your time, David. Can you write up an article?
Don – It would be great to share some bits about the GM experience as a sculptor. I worked on projects in most every brand studio – three of the brands no longer exist. How should I go about submitting any articles?
There’s a “Submissions” option on the black menu bar along the top of the CC page. That has all the info. Or just send it to curbsideclassic(at)gmail.com. Please don’t embed pictures into the text document; attach them separately to your e-mail.
We look forward to anything you’d like to share.
It is also frequently seen at the Buick Gallery in Flint, MI.
How would they mold the front windshield with that heavy vertical crease in it? I would think that would make for a distraction while driving (if…).
The Aerovette had a similar windshield with the crease down the middle. That was an actual drivable vehicle originally developed in the early 1970s when GM was also developing a 4-rotor Wankel engine, which was intended for this car. The Wankel was shelved and the Aerovette was fitted instead with a 400 cu.in. small block, which is mounted transversely ahead of the rear wheels.
As to whether it was a distraction, before 1955 or so, many cars had two-piece windshields which were separated by a sizable metal strut running from the cowl to the roof. America survived something in the middle of the windshield then without catastrophe enveloping the nation’s roadways.
I don’t know how the windshield was made with the crease, but on the 1977 Impala 2-door coupes, the back glass had creases on both sides. From what I understand, the back glass was cast flat, but there were wires inserted in the glass before it was cast. Once the flat piece of glass had cooled, the wires in the corner had an electrical current applied, which caused the wires to heat up sufficiently so that a zone of soft glass was created around the wires. The center of the glass was held and I believe the ends were then bent to the final shape, and the glass was allowed to harden for final installation on the car.
I think you nailed the procedure, from what I recall reading about it.
Just looking at that front end, imagine the lift that would be created at speed. Might be a little “skittish” in the handling and stability department.
I had the issue of Motor Trend in the late 70s with this car on the cover when it was first created. Awesome to see a post about it here. This design still seems awesome.
This car was at the Sloan Museum in Flint, MI a while back, so I believe GM still owns it.
When did you see it?
It’s been a few years. I go there a couple times a year, so who knows? Maybe three years ago?
I saw it last year (at the neighboring Buick gallery) when I went there (it’s only 20-30 minutes from where I’m from). FYI, I was just curious how long it has been there.
Wheel covers—-Devo hat inspiration?
Close, but they are almost straight off the 1971 Pontiac full size.
The wiki on Mitchell says he started at GM in ’35, and credits him with influence on cars starting in ’38. He spent 19 years at the top design post ending in ’77. The Mitchell era was very long.
This car is sort of an anti shear look recap of many styling cues from his time. Mitchell had a thing for nostalgia and classic elements in his designs, and it is interesting to see that by ’77 he was able to tap some of his own work as classic elements.
There is definitely Riviera, Grand Prix, Eldorado, and Firebird in this car. I’ll add 1954 Buick Skylark (especially the wheel wells). The number one influence seems to be the 1973 Pontiac Grand Am……..
Remove the bumpers and yes, the 73 LeMans was absolutely the show cars live child. Don’t even have to get its DNA tested by Maury.
This always reminded me of the Phantom Corsair (probably intentional given the name). I always did like the style, as a sort of neoclassical take on a sports car without the tacky, overly literal elements of most neoclassics.
the hubcaps make me dizzy.
See?
Mitchell had a tough act to follow replacing the legendary Harley Earl. He not only succeded, but IMHO surpassed his mentor. Looking back, many of the Earl designs now look cartoonish, while Mitchell’s seem timeless. All of his styling seemed to have a theme and just worked so well. The ’63 Riviera may have been the best of them all.
I like the Pontiac Phantom, but it is a little past the prime for 1977. Would have been an ideal show car in 1966 – but the actual Toro, Riv and Eldorado were better executed. It is a little pre-wedge and ignores the strong Guigario Ital Design box influences to in auto design of the early ‘70’s and into the early ‘80’s. The shear look ‘77 B bodies and, – eventually when Endura bumpers were added – ‘81 A/G bodies were more in keeping with their times. Just like the GM ‘58’s with Harley Earl, a sign that Mitchell’s time to retire had come.
I never saw this post – nor the car – before. But my instant reaction to the shape was not Pontiac, or Riviera, or even Toronado, but 1968 Cutlass. Am I the only one that sees that?
I see a little Phantom Corsair here and there.
“A parting memorial to his love for the long, sleek, nostalgic and racy… .”
Through the filter of the 1930s? 🙂
I have to admit, I find it rather garish and dated looking for the 70s. To me, it looks like an early 60s interpretation of what a futuristic coupe may have looked like from an earlier era.
With the throwback sculpting behind the wheels, and the fastback roofline, it reminds me slightly of the even more outlandish ‘Esso 67x’. As Esso Canada commissioned George Barris (that explains it!) to create several of these based upon the Olds Toronado. As a giveaway promotion related to the 1967 World’s Expo in Montreal.
That was back in the day when the auto companies had real car designers. These days, GM and the others have monkeys with computers drawing overpriced SUVs.
Here is a video of it.
I subscribed to Motor Trend through the 1970s and I had the issue with this as a featured car. I remember thinking it was not really a current design, since it’s styling cues had been used on production cars from the 1960s like first gen Eldos and Toronados, 66 through 1973 Rivieras, and the original ( and best!) Pontiac Grand AM. Bill Mitchell was a flamboyant individual who obviously enjoyed being the center of attention. He definitely had a thing for boat tail design. As a young man he had designed a logo for a sports car club that featured an Auburn boat tail Speedster. Speedsters and what we now refer to as true Classics (with a a capital “C” ) were all the rage during his youth. Besides the Corvette and Riviera, he managed to incorporate boat tail elements into the second gen Grand Prix.
I drove second gen and boat tail Rivieras and I loved them . I still bemoan the end of the PLC and fancy big coupe era. The expressive and dynamic styling is something that I really miss and they were available in a wide price range. They were not paragons of efficient space utilization bur are they any more silly than a three row SUV or big P/U with “mall wheel drive”? At least these types of cars are still available as low priced collectibles for those of us that want them.
Pontiac should have gone with this and sold it to mid-life crisis guys who had a family!
“Want that Corvette but the kids won’t fit in the back? Come and visit your local Pontiac dealer and test drive our Banshee. Now with the 6.6 Liter (back when the Vette’s biggest was the 350) or a Turbo 4.9.” That car certainly would have stolen sales from Ford’s T-Bird or Chrysler Cordoba, not to mention Monte Carlo
The pic is the original 1964 Pontiac Banshee
Hey everyone, my name is Nicholas. I just read through the threads on Bill. I’ve been studying car design for a few years now, which brought me to notice something missing in the threads. I would like people to remember that Bill Mitchell was only in the position of Head of the department. He got the choice of ideas to pick from, with a little bit of his own opinions dropped in.
The bulk of this work was conducted by either unknown or unmentioned hard working clever designers who rarely if ever get a mention in these articles. Car designers sometimes have a thankless job. Jus’ sayin’. 👍