
1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe in Fontaine Blue / Mecum Auctions
In the mid-1960s, Pontiac was riding high on its sporty image. The full-size Pontiac Catalina was a big hit, and the muscular midsize Pontiac GTO was a great success, so a sporty Catalina along the lines of the GTO seemed like a natural step. Yet, the Catalina 2+2 was a flop, selling far worse than the smaller, lighter, faster GTO. Despite its lack of commercial success, the 2+2 still had much to recommend it — Car Life tested a four-speed 2+2 with the Tri-Power 421 H.O. engine in April 1965 and called it “one of the most satisfying cars we’ve ever driven.” Here’s that test, along with some comments from the magazine’s 2+2 new model introduction in December 1964.

1964 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe / Mecum Auctions
Pontiac first introduced the 2+2 for the 1964 model. It was a $290.52 option, RPO W51, available only on the Catalina Sports Coupe (two-door hardtop) and convertible. Like the similar Impala Super Sport, the 2+2 package didn’t include any performance hardware, but it came with bucket seats, center console, vinyl upholstery, and a special steering wheel and wheel covers.

1964 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe in Starlight Black / Mecum Auctions
This first 2+2 may have seemed like a logical addition to the Catalina line, but it didn’t sell well. Although Pontiac built 257,768 Catalinas for 1964, a mere 7,998 of those had the 2+2 option. The GTO option for the Tempest Le Mans, which the Pontiac sales organization had assumed would be a dismal failure, sold 32,450 units in its first year, outselling the Catalina 2+2 by more than 4 to 1.

1964 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe in Starlight Black with 8-lug aluminum wheels / Mecum Auctions
Unlike the 2+2, the GTO had a clear unique selling proposition — it was the only way to get the bigger 389 cu. in. V-8 in the smaller A-body, which was technically a violation of corporate policy on intermediate engine displacements — and it was aggressively marketed. By contrast, the 2+2 was just another member of the full-size “bucket brigade,” and not very exciting. As Car Life remarked in December 1964:
It was not very enthusiastically received by the buying public, even with the sports car oriented name (borrowed from the Italian Ferrari 4-passenger grand touring coupe). The 2+2 started Pontiac existence just as did the Grand Prix—inauspiciously and unpromoted.
Pontiac tried a bit harder for 1965, making the 338 hp four-barrel 421 cu. in. V-8 part of the 2+2 package, along with a stiffer suspension, a Hurst shifter for the standard all-synchro three-speed, dual exhausts, and distinctive louvers on the front fenders. This raised the price to $418.54 for the hardtop or $397.04 for the convertible (lowered during the year to $409.68 and $388.63), but it made the 2+2 a little more credible as a performance package rather than just a trim option.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 / Mecum Auctions
Pontiac being Pontiac, there was also a lengthy options list, with several more powerful engine options as well as four-speed manual or the newly available Turbo Hydra-Matic ($226.44 for either), eight-lug aluminum wheels with integral drums ($117.96 with the 2+2 package), and usual array of power assists and convenience options.
For 1965, ordering the 2+2 option deleted the usual Catalina identification, which inevitably leads people to insist that it was not really a Catalina, but a separate model. This would be true in 1966, but the 1965 dealer literature and the AMA specifications make clear that the 2+2 was still an option package for the Catalina, sharing the Catalina VIN codes.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 / Mecum Auctions
Although the 1965 2+2 was still really only the sum of its mostly optional parts, Car Life liked it quite a lot:
Even if you have a fixation against Pontiacs, it’s easy to get excited about a car such as this, which is a lot more emotion, either negative or positive, than can be worked up over 75% of the current domestic automotive products. In fact, about all it takes to start an argument among carnuts [sic] these days is to say: “How d’ya like that new Pontiac 2+2?”
The 2+2 is the sort of car that inspires admiration, or completely rejects it. There seems to be little inbetween ground and no “mixed emotions” where it is concerned. It’s either your kind of car, or it isn’t. In our case, it was. It’s one of the most satisfying cars we’ve ever driven.
I can see why Car Life liked this car (which they went on to explain), but I don’t understand at all their contention that it was a love-it-or-hate it car. There was nothing polarizing about the Catalina, a popular, good-looking, mainstream full-size car, and even the hottest available engine didn’t change that. The test car’s 421 H.O. V-8 was a moderately hot street engine, not a high-strung racing mill like the discontinued Super Duty 421 — you could even get the H.O. with air conditioning, which the Fontaine Blue car pictured below has.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe with the optional Custom Sports wheel, tachometer, custom gauge cluster, and air conditioning / Mecum Auctions
The editors continued:
What makes the 421-HO 2+2 such a pleasure, as there are many elements which enter into, and interact with, the car as a whole. It’s not just the brute power alone, nor is it the very roadable chassis, nor is it the quality of appointment nor the exterior styling. Rather, it is the balanced combination of all these things which create the overall impression of a superior sort of car.
Balance is probably the key word. The car has neither too little, nor too much of anything. Power is infinitely controllable, despite its ability toward roaring fierceness. Road-holding is precise and predictable, yet strong and inspiring. Riding qualities are firm without harshness and comfortable without indulgence. Gearing permits stunning acceleration on demand yet allows normal-speed dawdling without nervousness. Styling and appointment give tasteful distinction and dash without resorting to garish trickery or trimery. Balance of design, of performance and of component combination is the key.
Their test car didn’t have air conditioning, but it had the close-ratio four-speed with a 4.11 Saf-T-Track axle, the eight-lug wheels, a tachometer and the custom gauge cluster, quick-ratio power steering, power brakes, and an AM/FM radio. They also had the $3.74 Ride & Handling Package, which was stiffer than the not-very-stiff “heavy-duty” suspension that came with the 2+2 package.
The caption of the photo at the bottom reads, “STOPPING TESTS proved Pontiac’s brakes were adequate and average; they faded and locked when pressed for more than 18 ft./sec./sec. decelerations”

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 / Mecum Auctions
Even just two or three years later, as front discs became more widely available, the maximum deceleration rates the 2+2 posted would have rated “awful” rather than adequate. The eight-lug aluminum wheel/drum option improved brake cooling, but effective brake lining area and swept area were still inadequate for a car this size. Car Life offered little further comment on the brakes in this test, but in their new model introduction in December 1964, they noted that there was still some fade after two hard stops, along with rear lockup. They had judged the eight-lug setup only “relatively adequate” and suggested that “the hard driver might well look into Pontiac’s metallic lining option.”

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 with 421 H.O. engine and 3-2 carburetion / Mecum Auctions
The Tri-Power 421 H.O. cost an extra $231.26 with the 2+2 package, and provided a nominal 376 gross horsepower and 461 lb-ft of torque, compared to 338 hp and 459 lb-ft for the standard four-barrel 2+2 engine. Car Life explained:
Detail differences between stock and the HO engines are: 10.75 vs, 10.5:1 compression ratio, 288/302 vs. 273/389° camshaft timing, 0.409 vs. 0.406-in. valve lift, three 2-barrel Rochester carburetors (12.19 sq. in. throttle area at w.o.t.) vs. one Carter AFB 4-barrel (7.72 sq. in.) carburetor. Progressive, mechanical linkage for the three carburetors is standard for all manual transmission cars. Additionally, the test car had Pontiac’s new transistorized, breakerless ignition system.
Quick-bleed valve lifters permit higher rpm operation of this engine, giving a rev potential of nearly 6000 rpm, but for safety and longevity’s sake, it is generally recommended to keep the engine below 5800 rpm.
Based on the AMA specifications, the 421 H.O. cam had the same valve timing as the Tri-Power GTO engine, with the same 63 degrees of valve overlap, but slightly more lift (0.409 versus 0.406 inches). The transistorized ignition was not a standard feature of the H.O. engine — it was a separate $63.14 option. (For more about this option, see Part 1 of VinceC’s electronic ignition history.)

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 with factory tach / Mecum Auctions
Given the poor accuracy of Pontiac’s $52.66 electric tachometer, which Car Life found a whopping 5 percent fast, it’s easy to see why a lot of owners added aftermarket accessory tachometers even on cars that had a factory tach. With the 4.11 gears and a close-ratio gearbox, having an accurate tachometer would seem more than usually important.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 with 8-lug wheels — fender louvers added identification in 1965 / Mecum Auctions
Such short gearing also made launch traction a problem, even with oversize 8.55-14 tires:
Applying the 421-HO’s power to the road for maximum acceleration is not difficult, just dependent upon tire equipment. Although the test car had optional 8.55-14s instead of the standard 8.25-14s, tractive ability was a matter of a delicate touch on the throttle pedal. Feeding anything over 2500 rpm through the clutch and first gear to the 4.11 Saf-T-Track (limited slip) differential produced smoke and spin.
CL recorded a 0 to 60 mph time of 7.2 seconds and a best quarter-mile time of 15.5 seconds, with a 95 mph trap speed, which was good, but not spectacular. They were quick to qualify:
Tires, street mufflers, driver-plus-passenger loading and some valve lifters that pumped up too soon limited the quarter-mile performance of this particular car. It could, and should, have done better with this gearing and equipment. However, at 15.5 sec. elapsed time, the CL testers got all there was to get, when limited to 5500 rpm shift points. Attempts to attain higher shifts achieved only pumped-up lifters and poorer times. Note that the first-to-second shift was made at 5000 rpm, however, as drag racers have found the car accelerates better through the early stages with this early gear change. Optimum times for the quarter-mile should fall into the low 14-sec. category when the car is more suitably tuned and equipped.
For comparison, here’s how their 2+2 compared with the Tri-Power GTO Car Life tested a month later, which had the same close-ratio four-speed with a 3.90 Saf-T-Track axle:
Acceleration | 2+2/4-Speed | GTO/4-Speed |
---|---|---|
0–30 mph | 2.8 sec. | 2.8 sec. [EST] |
0–40 mph | 4.0 sec. | 3.6 sec. |
0–50 mph | 5.6 sec. | 4.7 sec. |
0–60 mph | 7.2 sec. | 5.8 sec. |
0–70 mph | 9.3 sec. | 7.3 sec. |
0–80 mph | 11.2 sec. | 9.2 sec. |
0–90 mph | 14.0 sec. [EST] | 11.4 sec. |
0–100 mph | 17.5 sec. | 14.5 sec. |
Standing start ¼ mile | 15.5 sec. at 95 mph | 14.5 sec. at 100 mph |
(Rows marked “[EST]” weren’t included in the listed acceleration times, but I estimated them based on the accompanying acceleration graphs.)

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 probably weighed at least 4,300 lb as tested by Car Life / Mecum Auctions
The 2+2 was a full second slower through the quarter mile than the GTO, crossing the line 5 mph slower, and took 3 seconds longer to reach 100 mph, which was not a close race. Whatever edge the 421 H.O. engine may have had over the 3-2 389 in power, it was clearly not enough to make up for the B-body Catalina’s substantially greater weight — between 550 and 600 lb heavier than a comparably equipped GTO. (Based on the AMA specifications, I think the 4,110 lb curb weight listed in the Car Life data panel was south of the mark by at least 129 lb, probably more.)

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 option included buckets and console; woodgrain Custom Sports steering wheel was optional / Mecum Auctions
I’ll grant that the lifter pump-up probably cost them a little on top, but I’m skeptical that a “more suitably tuned and equipped” 2+2 could have done substantially better. The 1963 Catalina 421 Car Life had tested a year and a half earlier, which had the same engine and transmission with a 3.90 axle, couldn’t do better than 15 seconds in the quarter mile, even with a Royal Bobcat super-tune. Besides, any tuning tricks you could do with the 421 could also be done with the 389 in the lighter GTO, which would still win nine times out of ten.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 with 4-speed and Hurst shifter / Mecum Auctions
Car Life nonetheless concluded:
However, it wasn’t the accelerative ability which impressed us most about this 2+2; it was its fine over-the-road manners. Hurtling this creature along the by-ways gives the driver the impression of a sporting-type car. It belies its bulk in the way it can be heel-and-toed and tossed about. Most big American cars develop mal-de-road under such treatment but the HO 2+2 takes it all in a thoroughbred’s style. As we said in the beginning, it’s pretty easy to get emotional about this kind of car.
Although that summation was very positive, CL‘s December 1964 2+2 preview test had offered a more qualified assessment of 2+2 ride and handling:
Happily, the 2+2 comes from the factory equipped with a slightly stiffer than normal springing and tighter than usual damping. Although this is not what we would rate “excellent,” it’s so much better than the standard Catalina that we think Pontiac deserves some praise. … We found the 2+2 somewhat more stable than its [Catalina] forebears over all types of surfaces and particularly in cornering. Better balance may be the key here, since the roofline seems to add more weight to the rear of the car. Or the slight revisions to the Pontiac’s front suspensions for ’65 may have improved the cornering ability to the point where the car simply feels better now.
The remainder of the main text is actually a letter from Car Life reader James R. Mansfield Jr. of Louisville, Kentucky, who had read CL‘s December 1964 new model introduction and offered his observations of his 1963 Catalina convertible, which had the same 421 H.O. Tri-Power engine (albeit with vacuum-controlled carburetor linkage), close-ratio four-speed, and stiffer suspension.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 / Mecum Auctions
I’ll transcribe a few excerpts of Mansfield’s comments:
To begin the story of my experience with this automobile, let me say that it is the most powerful automobile that I have ever driven. With the 3.90 axle, it is difficult to leave a traffic light without causing enough tire squeal to attract every policeman within two blocks. If a person should accidentally open all carbs on such a take-off, the result is wild spinning and a lot of black smoke. If handled cautiously, the car is a pleasure to handle both in town and on the road, but the feeling of power flows back up through your foot to your head and you sometimes tend to feel somewhat younger than you are.
Mansfield said he hadn’t run timed acceleration tests, but had clocked the car at 126 mph in the measured mile.
The caption for the photo at the bottom reads, “ACCELERATION TESTS on the Carlsbad Raceway gave the 2+2 a plus for performance despite street-type tires and mufflers. Too much engine rpm on starts produced wheelspin; best technique was just to drive off line.”

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 with what looks like an aftermarket rear anti-roll bar — Pontiac didn’t offer this in 1965 / Mecum Auctions
Over the years, Car Life often took objection to the very short (high numerical) axle ratios found on many performance cars. Mansfield, who had ordered his car with the 3.90 Saf-T-Track, came to a similar conclusion on his own:
I always enjoy letting other automobile enthusiasts drive the car just to feel its brute power. One of these friends, an American Airlines captain who has owned sport cars and has been a car bug for years, described the power of the automobile in one word—dangerous. I had agreed with his description for some time and this, coupled with the 9 mpg which it got on a good day, caused me to change axles down to a 3.23. My gasoline mileage has now gone up above 12 and the automobile is considerably tamer at the traffic light and in the lower rpm ranges. The chief differences appear to be that I now must utilize the gearbox instead of ignoring it, and that the torque peak has moved up into the 80 mph range. The result of opening the front and back carbs at speeds in excess of 100 mph is still spectacular. …
Lest anyone think that the 3.23 axle is a cure-all, let me say that on a recent trip through the Colorado mountains, I found that the 3.23 ratio is too high for satisfactory starts on steep grades at that elevation. Also, in pulling a 1000-lb. boat and trailer, there are times when 1 even wished for a little more power than I have in first gear. I believe Pontiac was right when it chose the 3.42 as the best all-around ratio and, if I had it to do again, that is the gear I would choose.
If you didn’t plan to spend a lot of time on the drag strip or in impromptu stoplight confrontations, it was also sensible to stick with the wide-ratio four-speed, whose higher numerical ratios provided more dig even with a taller axle.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 came with the four-barrel 421 cu. in. engine, but the Tri-Power and H.O. engines were optional at extra cost / Mecum Auctions
Mansfield also warned that his 421 H.O. engine went through oil at a rate of two to three quarts per 1,000 miles, which the factory insisted was normal. However, he still declared:
In conclusion, I will say that this is the finest road machine that I have ever driven—foreign cars included. It has comfort, performance and, in my opinion, handling that should satisfy anyone but a race course driver.
Despite such praise, performance-minded buyers continued to give the 2+2 the brushoff. Production for 1965 was still only 11,521 cars, while Pontiac sold 75,352 1965 GTOs. For 1966, Pontiac briefly made the 2+2 a separate model, with its own VIN codes, but sales were even worse — just 6,383 cars. For 1967, the 2+2 reverted to Catalina option package status and found only 1,768 more takers. Pontiac called it quits after that; they’d sold almost a million Catalinas from 1964–1967, but 2+2 sales totaled only 27,670, a dismal showing. The reality was that the day of the full-size performance car was already mostly over by this point, and big car buyers were becoming more interested in luxury than sportiness.

1965 Pontiac Catalina 2+2 Sports Coupe / Mecum Auctions
The editors of Car Life may have gotten emotional about their 2+2 tester, but this seems like a car that provokes milder sentiments. It’s handsome (more in the metal than in pictures, I think), but it was neither the best- nor the worst-looking ’60s Pontiac, and while it was far from the slowest, it was at best mid-pack in outright performance. Equipped like this, a Catalina 2+2 was somewhat more composed than the contemporary big-car norm, but neither the suspension nor the brakes were up to really aggressive use. For cruise nights or mellow Sunday drives, however, it still has a lot of charm, as long as you don’t try to square off against any GTOs.
Related Reading
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix 421 Super Duty – “The Fastest Accelerating Stock Production-Line Car We’ve Ever Tested” (by Paul N)
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1962 Pontiac Royal Bobcat – Dry Run for the GTO (by me)
CC Tech: Pontiac Royal Bobcat Kit – “The Screwdriver Tune-Up” For Hot 389s And 421s (by me)
Vintage Car Life Road Test: 1964 Pontiac GTO – “Honest In Performance”? (by Paul N)
Classic Car & Driver Comparison: 1965 Pontiac 2+2 Against Ferrari 2+2 – 0-60 in 3.9 For The Pontiac? Sure! (by Paul N)
Vintage Car Life Review: 1965 Pontiac Tempest GTO – The Special-Order Supercar (by me)
Interesting to note then Pontiac in Canada keep offering the 2+2 in Canada until the 1970 model year.
https://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/GM-Canada/Pontiac/1969-Pontiac-Full-Size-Prestige-Brochure/slides/1969_Pontiac_Full_Size_Prestige_Cdn-06-07.html
https://oldcarbrochures.org/Canada/GM-Canada/Pontiac/1970-Pontiac-Full-Size-Brochure/slides/1970_Pontiac_Full_Size_Cdn-02-03.html
And being a “Cheviac” or “Ponvrolet”, they got Chevrolet engines like the 396 and 427 V8s.
Did it sell in Canada? I assume it must have, to a point. (The 2=2 wasn’t expensive to offer in terms of tooling or equipment, but interest obviously wasn’t strong in the U.S.)
As a child, I saw more than a few 2+2 models. A family friend had one. It was mostly a trim package, the cars I saw having a normal 350 under the hood.
Agreed the 2 +2 was a model I would see now and then but I think appealed more to the younger middle-aged male. Not a sales leader like the Parisienne.
Also, I think by the mid to late sixties full-size performance cars were beginning to fade as mid-size cars and pony cars started attracting more attention at a better price point.
Detailed review, as per Car Life (and other car magazines) provided back in the century of critical thinking and common sense.
As usual though, not even a blurb about the steering feel and handling, or cabin comfort or material quality.
$3.74 for a ride and handling package? 5 quarts of oil used up in 2500 miles? Not to mention 9 mpg. Times have changed … both for the good and bad. It’s certainly a striking car.
The 376 horsepower 1965 Pontiac Catalina that held the record as the quickest road car which Car and Driver tested for about fifty years had a 3.42 final drive ratio and lacked the optional big brakes. It is funny that raising their profile actually imbued them with some credibility.
The 2+2 that Car and Driver tested was also so far from stock as to boggle the mind, and their performance figures were fanciful, so “credibility” is not a word that I would readily associate with that test. “Entertaining,” yes, “credible,” er, no. (CC has presented it here before, the link is in the Related Reading section.)
The main point of the article seems to have been gearing. I despise 4.11 gears because when one drives normally, there is no need for the fastest quarter mile time. A car with 3.08 rear end is not going to be as fast off the line but after about 30 MPH it will really take off. The higher axle ratio makes for better fuel consumption, lower noise levels and longer life.
It is shocking that a new car would guzzle engine oil. This wasn’t all that abnormal back in the day and was why gas jockeys always checked the oil. We have come a long way. My car burned half a litre of oil during break-in but since then it has not burned a drop/
Have we come a long way? Last time I was in the business, Subarus that drank a quart in hundreds of miles were pretty common, and the last Bush had been out of office for almost a decade.
If you read the full text in the page, the engine wasn’t just drinking oil, it was spraying a film of it out the crankcase breather, which sounds like a problem with excess crankcase pressure.
I like it. It’s more of a GT than a a muscle car, which is fine for me. I value roominess, luxury, and the GTI feels like the low-end Pontiac intermediate it is, stuffed to its gills with performance gear. It all fits together better in the larger cars. The Catalina offers power but also plushness, a smoother, quieter ride, and the sight for sore eyes that was the Pontiac full-size dash of the mid’60s. Problems I was I had today: having to sift through choices in engine tunings, transmissions, overdrives, final drive ratios, LSD, suspension tunings, seat shapes, tires and wheels, and that’s before you even get to cosmetic and luxury options. I’c be test-driving lots of cars before making a choice, and i’dd likely pick a 2+2/
The problem Mr. Mansfield had was that with the 4.11 axle it came with the close ratio 4-speed. That was really oriented to those who wanted absolute maximum performance, but all sorts of wrong for street driving. So when he switched to the 3.23 axle, the close-ratio 4-speed was all wrong again. He really needed the wide axle 4-speed box.
Except for racers and extremely high strung engines, these close ratio 4-speed boxes were a lousy choice. Big V8s had a wide and fat torque band; for that matter a good 3-speed manual was just as good or better with them.
The other day, Joseph Dennis posted a piece on the Ford Elite. One of the images was an ad that said,
“A mid-sized car in the Thunderbird tradition”.
Could this car be considered “A full-sized car in the GTO tradition”? 😉
Gorgeous car. Love those eight-lug wheels.
I was a huge Pontiac fan back then but the ’65 styling was too formal for my taste. True it met it’s target audience well, but that wasn’t the performance market per se. The full size Pontiac buyer wanted performance, but in a ersatz luxury car.
If you wanted full size performance (and that was a shrinking market) you were much better off with the Impala SS or later the 7 Litre Ford. Their styling was more in sync with the performance image.
In hindsight I much prefer the styling of the ’65 Mercury or Dodge to the Pontiac’s matronly hips. And any magazine test of a Pontiac was very suspect because of Jim Wangers and the Royal Pontiac connection.
Beautiful car in a beautiful color! Pontiac was on fire in the mid-60s.
Here’s my tale about a ’65 2+2:
My wayward older cousin somehow got his hands on a lightly used ’65 Pontiac 2+2 sometime in the mid 60s. He showed up at our house with a friend after Thanksgiving dinner and took my brother and me on what remains as the wildest, scariest, and yet most exhilarating ride of my life.
I was 14 or so at the time; my cousin took us to what was then a largely rural area near the Pittsburgh International Airport. I remember one oncoming driver pulling completely off the road when he saw us approaching! Needless to say, my brother and I remained mum to our elders about the antics we experienced once we were deposited back at home.
Nice article. Thank you. I especially enjoy the magazine road tests that often accompany these articles.
Thank you again!