Car Of The Week: 1964 Pontiac Banshee Xp-833 Prototype

Over the past decade, I have collaborated with Joe Bortz in Highland Park, Ill., to photo-document several General Motors Motorama concept cars that he’s collected over the years. Under Bortz’s guidance, and by employing a dedicated camera vehicle, we captured the 1964 Pontiac Banshee XP-833 operating on local streets adjacent to the Bortz Collection. Looking at these photos, its clear that the Banshee XP-833 inspired design aspects of the Pontiac Firebird, and at least shared features with Corvette Stingray models. Anyone who puts the Banshee under the microscope — Bortz and myself included — would likely begin to ponder how production of this vehicle would have significantly impacted the Corvette legacy, and whether it actually did. The Banshee’s distinct features exemplify Pontiac’s pursuit of innovation and ambition, and the car’s ongoing preservation by collectors such as Bortz has ensured Pontiac’s enduring commitment to bold design and performance remain unforgotten.

Beyond its visual impact, the Banshee XP-833’s enduring relevance is rooted in the way it bridges Pontiac’s creative past with the innovative spirit that propelled the brand forward in the 1960s. Observing the car’s sculpted profile and advanced engineering details up close, it’s clear that the Banshee not only embodied the optimism of its era, but also foreshadowed the design direction of GM’s later sports models. The experience of photographing such a rare prototype, that still commands admiration from enthusiasts and industry insiders alike, underscores the lasting significance of Pontiac’s risk-taking in conceptual engineering. Today, the Banshee XP-833 stands as a pivotal chapter in the story of American performance cars, reminding us that visionary ideas can leave a profound influence, even when they remain just beyond the reach of production.

A secret two-seater

Beginning in 1964 and through the 1980s, Pontiac used the “Banshee” name for some of its raciest concept cars. The first of these Banshees was actually a set of six two-seat sports cars developed in secret under the direction of John DeLorean, chief engineer of Pontiac Motor Division (and soon-to-be general manager of Pontiac). DeLorean was convinced of the sales potential of a two-seat Pontiac in General Motors’ excitement division, but his bosses strongly disagreed. In reality, Pontiac had already tested the idea with a string of sporty and personal Pontiac concept cars with the 1954 Bonneville coupes, the 1956 Club de Mer convertible and the 1961 Tempest-based Monte Carlo convertible. All were two-seaters met with positive public reaction, but it was hard to overcome the fact that there was limited sales opportunity for two-seat cars, and GM already had a two-seat sports car in the Corvette. 

By 1963, when the Banshee XP-833 was under development, Chevrolet had sold just 21,000-some Corvettes — not too shabby, but not too profitable, either. Ford Motor Co. had dabbled in two-seaters with the original Thunderbird and considered similar sales figures to be too small of potatoes. So, it’s understandable that GM management considered two two-seat sports cars to be too many. Yet DeLorean marched on.

In 1963, DeLorean had six prototypes of two-seaters developed under experimental code name XP-833. The prototypes were named SP-1 through SP-6. The first four of these cars (SP-1 through SP-4) tested different chassis components and body designs, and sometimes even borrowed from other makes of cars, such as Jaguar, Corvette and even Studebaker Avanti. None of these prototypes was fully functional. 

The last two versions of XP-833 —SP-5 and SP-6 — were fully functional cars given the name “Banshee.” SP-5 was a silver coupe with a Pontiac overhead-cam six-cylinder engine and a four-speed transmission, and SP-6 was a white roadster with a Pontiac 326-cid V-8 also backed by a four-speed manual transmission.

Rather than Corvette chassis, the engines of SP-5 and SP-6 were nestled in smaller, 90-inch-wheelbase versions of the chassis that formed the foundation for GM’s midsize A-body cars (LeMans/Chevelle/Cutlass/Skylark). The use of A-body chassis parts, including the solid rear axle, saved time and money when it came to development and construction of the prototypes, but would have done the same if the cars were approved for production. Likewise, the interiors also used existing components from A-body Pontiac models, which also served to give them a familiar Pontiac feel. 

Bortz says the car is fully functional, but notes the headlamp doors were never made to flip up, so it’s unable to be driven at night. He also says it drives well and handles “like it’s a roller skate” and compares it to a Ferrari Berlinetta he once owned. 

“It’s comfortable,” he says. “I once drove it to Milwaukee with Leo Gephart… that’s the farthest I’ve ever driven one of my concepts. Well, second farthest.”

The unique bodies of the XP-833 SP-5 and SP-6 prototypes were a mix of steel and fiberglass. The floors and many inner-body structures were crafted from steel, but the bodies were created in fiberglass by Dow-Smith Co. Using an external source for building the bodies also helped DeLorean keep the project secret from his bosses.

While the chassis had many familiar features, the external body styling was cutting edge for the time. The XP-833s had very long noses and short rear decks; pronounced Coke-bottle body curves with bulging fenders both front and rear; hidden handlamps; power bulge hoods (which provided needed headroom for the engines); and triple-slit horizontal taillamps. 

The Banshee XP-833 convertible had thin windshield pillars and a large, forward-opening rear deck cover that concealed the collapsed convertible top frame for a very sleek look. In place of the large rear deck lid, the coupe had a giant one-piece fastback roof section that mounted in place of the decklid. The roof section ran from above the taillamp panel to over the thin-pillar windshield. 

Since the coupe and convertible had different engines, they had different hoods. The coupe had a small bubble in the hood to cover the front of the inline, overhead-cam six-cylinder. The V-8-powered roadster had a wider, V-shaped hood bulge that was narrow at the front and widened at the rear (a variation of this hood bulge design appeared on later Corvettes). 

In retrospect, the similarities between the Pontiac Banshee XP-833s and the forthcoming 1968 Corvette Stingray are undeniable, but logical. The cars were designed in the same corporation where cross-pollination of ideas took place. What the Banshee XP-833s undeniably influenced was the design of the Opel GT for 1968. There are also some Banshee traits visible in the first- and second-generation Pontiac Firebird: the horizontal taillamps were used on the first-gen Firebirds; the front bumper was enlarged and made upright for the 1967 and ’68 Firebird; and the rear end design of the Banshee coupe is very familiar in the early second-generation Firebirds.

Several notable GM employees were involved in DeLorean’s top-secret XP-833 project: noted designers Ned Nickles and Roger Hughet; Paul Gillan, head of GM’s Advanced Design Studios; and engineer Bill Collins, who served as project manager of creating the XP-833 cars. Despite the small army of GM employees working on the project, executives were caught completely by surprise when DeLorean and Collins sprang the cars on them in mid 1965 as production proposals. And the executives promptly shot them down.

Times had changed since the XP-833 project had begun in 1963. Ford had stunned the market in April 1964 with its Mustang pony car, and after seeing its enormous sales, the heads of GM were fixated on adding a Mustang competitor to the corral. GM President James Roche directed DeLorean to concentrate on a pony car to compete with better-trimmed Mustangs and their anticipated Mercury companions, which became the Cougar.

With the Banshee XP-833 proposals shot down, DeLorean and his team were forced to turn more of their attention to Pontiac’s companion for the Camaro. They had been charged with creating a Mustang/Cougar fighter earlier, but hadn’t embraced the project. Now, they were forced to concentrate on a pony car. Because of their diversion with the Banshee XP-833, their Camaro companion came to market later than the Camaro itself.

The Banshee XP-833s weren’t built for the show circuit, so they were never publicly seen. After GM executives declined the project, the two functional prototypes were quietly squirreled away in a warehouse. In the mid 1970s, Banshee project manager Bill Collins was somehow able to buy the V-8-powered convertible from GM, while GM engineer Bill Killen was able to buy the six-cylinder coupe. Killen owned the coupe until his passing in 2000. Collins sold his convertible in the mid 1980s to Bortz, who by then was building an impressive collection of concept cars and prototypes. Bortz still owns the convertible today.

Although it seemed like GM wanted to forget the Banshees ever existed, the name was dusted off in 1973 for a Firebird-style concept car, and yet again in the 1980s for another very modern take on the Firebird. Both were as intriguing and innovative as the originals that inspired their name.

About a decade after DeLorean left GM, Pontiac did begin producing a two-seat sports car. Instead of naming it “Banshee,” it was christened “Fiero.”

The Banshee XP-833 can currently be seen at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich., as part of the special display titled, “the GM Motorama Marvels from the Joe Bortz Collection” Learn more at www.gilmorecarmuseum.org. 

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