1964 Pontiac Banshee
Short answer: The Banshee was John DeLorean’s pet project — a sporty two-seater that borrowed styling cues from the upcoming third-gen Corvette but used a solid rear axle (to stay cheaper than the Corvette) and a unique clamshell door. GM nixed it to protect Corvette sales, and DeLorean was handed the Camaro to build a Pontiac version — also to be called Banshee.
Two running prototypes were built by an outside coachbuilder (a 6-cylinder hardtop and a V8 roadster), and a 4-passenger version was proposed. With only ~12 months to differentiate it from the Camaro, the team still produced a distinct, timeless design that reached showrooms in February 1967. When someone discovered “Banshee” also meant a mythical figure foretelling a death in the family, the name was dropped in favor of an old 1950s Pontiac concept name — Firebird. (Some prototypes wore GM-X nameplates.)
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
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