Pontiac Tempest

E304898

The Pontiac Tempest was a compact car produced by General Motors' Pontiac division in the early 1960s, notable for its innovative drivetrain layout and for serving as the platform that evolved into the iconic Pontiac GTO muscle car.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf automobile model
compact car
assemblyLocation Pontiac, Michigan, United States
linked to: Pontiac, Michigan

other General Motors plants in the United States
bodyStyle 2-door convertible
2-door coupe
4-door sedan
4-door station wagon
class compact car
countryOfOrigin United States
designerRole John Z. DeLorean (involved as Pontiac chief engineer/executive)
linked to: John Z. DeLorean
driveType rear-wheel drive
engineOption 195 cu in Trophy 4 inline-four engine
215 cu in aluminum V8 (Buick-derived)
326 cu in V8
350 cu in V8
389 cu in V8 (in performance variants and GTO-related models)
firstGenerationYears 1961–1963
fuelType gasoline
historicalSignificance early American compact with unconventional drivetrain engineering
foundation for the mid-1960s muscle car era via the GTO option on Tempest/LeMans
layout front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout
manufacturer Pontiac
marketPosition below Pontiac Catalina in size and price
marketSegment entry-level Pontiac model
modelYearIntroduction 1961 model year
notableFeature flexible "rope" driveshaft (curved driveshaft)
independent rear suspension in early models
rear transaxle drivetrain layout in early models
notableFor serving as the platform that evolved into the Pontiac GTO
notableVariant Tempest Custom
Tempest LeMans
linked to: LeMans Sport
parentCompany General Motors
platform GM A-body platform (later generation)
linked to: GM A-body

GM Y-body platform (first generation)
linked to: GM Y-body platform
predecessor none (introduced as a new compact line)
productionEndYear 1970
productionStartYear 1960
relatedModel Buick Special
Oldsmobile F-85
Pontiac GTO
Pontiac LeMans
secondGenerationYears 1964–1967
successor Pontiac LeMans
Pontiac Ventura
thirdGenerationYears 1968–1970
transmissionOption 2-speed automatic transmission
3-speed manual transmission
4-speed manual transmission

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Pontiac GTO basedOn Pontiac Tempest
Pontiac LeMans predecessor Pontiac Tempest (as base line)
linked to: Pontiac Tempest
Ram Air usedOn Pontiac Tempest
GM A-body usedForModel Pontiac Tempest (1964–1970)
linked to: Pontiac Tempest
Pontiac Ventura predecessor Pontiac Tempest (as compact line positioning)
linked to: Pontiac Tempest
GM X-body usedForModel Pontiac Tempest (early 1960s compact)
linked to: Pontiac Tempest