Last Surviving Pontiac Trans Am Prototype Re-Discovered In the autumn of 1968, automotive designer Gene Winfield was recruited by John DeLorean of Pontiac Motors to fulfill DeLoreans dream of creating the “ultimate Firebird.” Winfield was flown to Pontiacs engineering headquarters in Michigan, then given a pair of brand new 1969 Pontiac Firebirds and a free hand to re-design them as he saw fit. When Winfields highly anticipated cars emerged from his secret, double-bay work shop at Pontiac, Americas legendary Trans Am muscle car was born. One of those prototypes has been lost. The other – the sole remaining original Trans Am – has now been found. Its re-discovery is one of the most remarkable stories in modern automotive history. After serving as Winfields test platform, the car reverted back to Pontiac where it was used as a test car for the media. The prototype was featured in magazines including Car Life, Hot Rod, Car Craft and Motor Trend in 1969. Unable to sell it through normal channels due to its heavy modifications, Pontiac instead chose to send the prototype to famed racing driver Jerry Titus. His new team, TG Racing, was converting to Pontiac products for the upcoming season. As it turned out TG Racing purchased six cars from Royal Pontiac in Hollywood, California. Five of them were turned into race cars, however, the prototype was kept by the Titus family as a personal vehicle. After Titus untimely racing death in 1970 the car was sold and its identity lost while changing hands many times over the next 40 years. Unknown, the Prototype finally ended up in the hands of a private owner in Simpsonville, Kentucky. Car collector Curt Richards of Lexington, Kentucky responded to an online advertisement and went to see the car, which was now showing its age but still retained most of its original body parts. After several more weeks of research, Richards was convinced that this car was indeed the Trans Am Prototype. He purchased the car and spent the last two years restoring it and validating its identity. The restoration of the Trans Am Prototype to original condition was completed last week (click to see video). All videos are available to the media and may be linked, embedded or carried freely by media outlets. For the first time in more than 40 years, the Trans Am Prototype will be unveiled to the public as one of the premier highlights of the 2014 Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals in Joliet, Illinois on November 22nd. Richards will appear at the event as a special guest to greet the public and speak with the automotive media. For more information, please contact: Global Media/Sopwith Motorsports TV Productions Indianapolis IN USA 317-590-3495 globalmedia@sopwithmotorsports
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 22:58:52 +0000
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