This is the 6th generation Grand Prix and it is in this generation that Pontiac became front wheel drive. The model was produced from ’87 to ’96 and was very successful not only by the standards of the company, but also by the standards of the entire GM concern. So for the whole time 1,035,953 of such cars were produced. By the way, the assembly was carried out in Kansas. During the three years of production, the series of cars produced was very close to 130,000. And only in the first and last year of production a little less than 100,000 cars were assembled and sold. Authoritative Motor Trend magazine named the Grand Prix the car of the year in ’88.
The 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix is notable precisely for its coupe body. We’ll talk about the exterior a bit below, but it’s worth saying that the sedan wasn’t too remarkable. It was essentially an ordinary, utilitarian car, but that’s what many of those who bought the Grand Prix sedan new liked. It is also liked by those who buy such a car today. You can see from the reviews that many consider such a Pontiac a great, first car. Today, the sedan in not too good condition is not expensive at all. Many people buy such cars today, make necessary repairs like changing tires, or the gas pump, and continue to operate the Grand Prix further. The coupe tends to be more expensive, but it has some features, the presence of which on a car from the late 80’s, first half of the 90’s surprised me greatly.
1992 Pontiac Grand Prix for sale and price.
In ’92, you could buy a base sedan Grand Prix for $14,890. Looking ahead, it’s a five-footer with a V6 under the hood. Taking this into account, the price seems quite attractive. Well-equipped cars were sold for $21,635. The Richard Petty Edition, of which only about 1,000 were made, was $399 more expensive.
Today, the price of a 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix sedan can be less than $1,000. A sedan in good condition with about 100,000 miles can be bought for around $5,000. The cost of a coupe today is much higher. A coupe with about 10,000 miles on the road in excellent condition today costs about $18,000. The latter are quite highly priced among fans.
Appearance and photos.
The ’92 coupe stands out externally with several features at once. Recessed headlights, consisting of three light elements on each side give the car its individuality. You can notice from the photo that there are no door handles in their usual place. The handles are on the door frame and they are almost not conspicuous. Later, a similar solution was used in Alfa Romeo 156 model, but it was already in the 2000s and on the rear doors. These features are present exactly on the coupe. The sedan looks quite traditional. It is distinguished only by a glass element between the headlights. The radiator grille of the coupe resembles the “nostrils” of BMW, but the grilles are mounted lower than on most cars – in the bumper. The Pontiac lettering is attached to the left grille.
Grand Prix sedan has a length of 496 cm and a wheelbase of 273 cm. By European standards, these are the dimensions of an executive sedan, but for the U.S. it is an ordinary, family car. The base car was shod in tires size – 215/65 R15.
Coupes equipped with the Petty package can be recognized by the inscription Grand Prix Twin Dual Cam on the doors. Cars in the Petty Package had a spoiler on the trunk lid, and special wheels. These Pontiacs were painted blue, red and white. Richard Petty’s initials can be seen on the trunk and on the spoiler.
For its time, the Grand Prix coupe stood out for its rather bold decisions in body design. Of course, the door handles designed in this manner were to increase the level of exclusivity, and not work for aerodynamics (as is done in modern supercars). It may surprise people who have not encountered the Grand Prix 6th generation coupe, but the interior of this car has even more features than the body.
Interior and equipment.
In the SE configuration, the Grand Prix was equipped with electric front seats. The base sedan is equipped with a front seat with a one-piece backrest – like a sofa, but the seat cushion itself is divided into two parts – it is not a full sofa. In some modifications, the Pontiac was equipped with an electronic, dashboard. Note the buttons on the sides of the dashboard.
I can’t think of any car that used a similar solution. The buttons to the left of the dashboard are responsible for the headlights, parking lights and fog lights. On the center console you can see the compass, and here it is electronic! Such equipment is used in Japanese SUVs of that time, but not in sport coupes. In ’89 the air conditioner was included to the base equipment.
I was very surprised by the fact that the Grand Prix could be equipped with projection on the windshield! That’s not a typo! The speed data could be projected to the windshield, which was undoubtedly a feature of the car from the 90’s and even more so in the 80’s. From the photo you can notice that the front seat belts are not fixed on the side pillars, but on the doors!
You can notice the Gran Prix inscription on the door panels. Perhaps this is done so that you do not forget which car you are sitting in at the moment.
I want to draw your attention to the steering wheel of this Pontiac. What a lot of buttons! It seems that the creators of this car tried as much as possible to move all the buttons on the steering wheel. Today such decision seems strange, but certainly gives exclusiveness to the car.
The steering wheel can be adjusted only in angle, which was the norm for cars made in the U.S. With all these unusual features, the parking brake is activated with a pedal in the American manner, which is not typical for sports cars.
In ’89, air conditioning was standard on the 1992 Pontiac Gran Prix. Have you ever seen a code glove compartment lock on any of the production cars? – Look at the glove box on this Pontiac! With all these fancy features, the headlamp on the ceiling looks like something fairly normal. Note the recessed shelf behind the back of the rear couch.
The trunk of the sedan holds 422 liters. Luggage compartment has a large, loading height, which is not convenient when loading heavy things, but it is equipped with a grid to fix the luggage.
Engine and Specifications 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix.
Originally Pontiac was equipped with a 2.8 liter V6 gasoline engine. The engine had a power of 130 horsepower and torque of 230 Nm. The engine could be coupled to a five speed manual gearbox, or four speed automatic.
In ’89 the 3.1 liter V6 engine was introduced. The 3.1 liter V6 had 8 inches cylinders and stroke of 84 inches. Compression ratio is 8.8:1, and the engine has two valves per cylinder. Maximum power of 140 horsepower was reached at 4900 rpm, and torque of 251N.M at 3200 rpm. With a four speed automatic transmission, the Grand Prix with this engine could reach 60 miles per hour in 10 seconds and reach a top speed of 170 km/h.
Also in ’89, there was a turbocharged version. The turbocharged 3.1 liter V6 had a power of 205 horsepower.
In ’91 the high power modification GTP was presented. The engine of this machine had four camshafts (two on each head of the block), which allows to increase the power up to 210 horsepower. This engine replaced the turbocharged Grand Prix. Up to 100 km per hour with an automatic transmission Pontiac GTP could accelerate for 8.6 seconds. The engine of this car is decorated with a plastic, decorative panel with the inscription – Twin Dual Cam. According to the reviews of people who drove this Pontiac, – under intensive acceleration the steering wheel feels power steering, which can be called the norm for the powerful front-wheel drive cars of that time.
Opening the hood, you can see the light fixture, – obviously, it should help during repair or maintenance. Suspension of this Pontiac is fully independent, with disc brakes on both axles. ABS is now standard on this ’92 model.
The Grand Prix was not equipped with a really powerful V8, but in coupe form it is a beautiful and unusual car with many features. In the sedan body it is an inexpensive, practical and quite powerful car. It is for these reasons that such a Pontiac is still bought today.
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