7 DAYS UNTIL SCOTTSDALE: 1954 BONNEVILLE SPECIAL

January 3, 2015
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

This 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama Concept Car is one of more than 140 vehicles from the Ron Pratte Collection crossing the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in January.

It’s said that Harley Earl, the initial head of Design for General Motors, got the idea for this Pontiac Bonneville Special concept car (Lot #2500) while watching world speed records being set at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Only two Bonneville Specials were created, one painted Metallic Bronze and this one in Metallic Emerald Green. In simple terms, the car is a ’53 Corvette with a custom fiberglass body carrying Pontiac Division styling cues, a clear Plexiglas bubble top and a 230hp, 268cid Pontiac Inline-8 instead of a Corvette’s 150hp, 235cid Blue Flame Inline-6.

The Bonneville Special was meant to be more streamlined and powerful than the Corvette, befitting its status as a Pontiac rather than a Chevrolet. Stylists, Homer LaGasse and Paul Gilland were in charge of the project, under the direction of Earl. Despite the Bonneville Special name, which was meant to make you think of aerodynamic Land Speed Record machines, the styling is really aviation-inspired. The shift lever is supposed to look like an aircraft landing gear lever and the extra gauges – including a clock, compass and manifold pressure gauge – are salvaged from aircraft instruments.

The exterior features a grille-less, full-width air intake and twin aircraft-style air scoops on the cowl. Where the trunk should be, a functional Continental kit is frenched into the bodywork, revealing the turbine-style alloy wheel center that visually resembles a jet engine exhaust. Capping the aviation-inspired look is the Plexiglass bubble top with curved lift-up gullwing side windows.

This 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama Concept Car (Lot #2500) will cross the auction block in Scottsdale on Saturday, Jan. 17.

Ron Pratte’s prestigious collection of automobilia will kick off the 44th Annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction beginning Saturday, Jan. 10 at 9 a.m. and running through Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m. Pratte’s vehicles first cross the block at 4 p.m. on Tuesday with lot numbers 2000 through 2109 and will continue with lot numbers 2500 through 2530 on Saturday, Jan. 17.