1961 Pontiac Bonneville
Bonneville means speed; a vast dry lake in Utah used to time land-speed record runs, a place where the fastest cars in the world compete. It’s also a great name for a car. Pontiac first used the Bonneville name back in 1953 for one of their flamboyant Motorama show cars. Then in 1957, a special convertible Star Chief with every option Pontiac offered became the first production Pontiac to bear the name. In 1958 it became its own model, when the one year-only body was available as a hardtop or convertible. By 1959 things took off when Bonneville became its own full line of Pontiacs, including four-door sedans, hardtops and wagons, along with their two-door hardtops and convertibles. Pontiac promoted their new “Wide Track” slogan around the Bonneville. Wide Track was Pontiac’s engineering of a wider track width front and rear than other divisions that shared the same body architecture. Besides making the cars look lower and wider it also helped stability in corners and even in straight line driving. Bonneville was positioned as the most highly optioned, luxurious Pontiac made. A minor restyle happened in 1960, and then in 1961 the new B-body platform debuted. The new body was so well received that by 1962 Pontiac was the number three manufacturer of cars, right behind Chevrolet and Ford. Pontiac was finding great success with marketing all of their cars as fast, performance-packed luxury alternatives to more staid choices, and it was working. In 1963 they offered the 421ci “Super Duty” engine with two four-barrel carbs and solid lifters. Pontiac maintained their third-place position throughout the 1960s. In 1971 the high-end Bonneville was dropped a notch for the new Grand Ville Pontiac. Body styles were reduced to a four-door sedan and two- and four-door hardtops. Horsepower was also reduced as yearly updated Federal emissions requirements were rolled into each successive year’s Pontiac production. 1976 was last year of the larger Bonnevilles, as the new B-body platform was downsized for 1977. These smaller Bonnevilles did not sell well, and partially as a result of this Pontiac opted to eliminate full-size cars after 1981. In 1982 the Bonneville line was applied to a smaller midsize A-body platform.
1961 Bonneville
B-bodies received a completely new design for 1961, with the main change being the elimination of the perimeter frame for a sturdier “X” frame chassis. Wheelbase was also reduced by three-inches. The Pontiac trademark split grille returned, to continue for the duration of the Pontiac Division. Body styling was tauter and tops heavier than 1959-60. Special-order options included a four-speed manual transmission with Hurst shifter, and the 421ci “Super Duty” which was only installed at the dealer level.
AVAILABLE MODELS:
1961 Bonneville
- Body Styles
- 2-Door Hardtop
- 2-Door Sedan
- 4-Door Hardtop (Vista)
- 4-Door Sedan
- 2-Door Convertible
- Station Wagon-nine passenger
- Station Wagon-six passenger
- Engine Options
- 389-2bbl V8, 215hp
- 389-2bbl V8, 230hp
- 389-4bbl V8, 235hp
- 389-2bbl V8, 245hp
- 389-2bbl V8, 267hp
- 389-4bbl V8, 280hp
- 389-2bbl V8, 287hp
- 389-4bbl V8, 303hp
- 389-4bbl V8, 333hp
- 389-3/2bbl V8, 318hp
- 389-3/2bbl V8, 348hp
- 389-3/2bbl V8, 363hp
- 421-2/4bbl V8, 373hp
1961 Bonneville VIN Decoder:
First Character: Series
- 7 ~ Bonneville Safari (Station Wagon)
- 8 ~ All Other Bonnevilles
Second and Third Characters: Model Year
Fourth Character: Assembly Plant
- P ~ Pontiac, Michigan
- S ~ South Gate
- L ~ Linden, New Jersey
- W ~ Wilmington, Delaware
- K ~ Kansas City, Kansas
- D ~ Doraville, Georgia
- A ~ Arlington, Texas
- E ~ Euclid, Ohio
Fifth through Eighth Characters: Basic Production Numbers
The sequential starting numbers start at 1001/up.
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