What Engine Was In The 1965 Pontiac Bonneville & Was It Considered A Luxury Car?

The Pontiac Bonneville spanned 10 generations and was anything but predictable. It was first unveiled as a sporty concept car in 1954 with the Bonneville Special. Named for the famous salt flats in Utah, an ideal location for setting speed records, the inaugural and now iconic 1957 Pontiac Bonneville launched as a premium and robust limited-edition convertible.

Pontiac, seeing the success of Chevy's Corvette, wanted to introduce their own take on the two-seat sports car. In fact, the 1958 Bonneville saved Pontiac from Chevrolet with its potent performance capability. Although, unlike other vehicle models that remained content to stay within the confines of their initial genre, the Bonneville morphed into a hardtop coup and then again into the most luxurious model the auto brand offered, complete with many variations of a 389-cubic inch and 421-cubin inch V8.

With a range of different Bonneville models available, by 1965 you could get two- and four-door hardtops, a two-door convertible, and even a four-door station wagon. With features like an optional cutting-edge automatic temperature-control A/C, included wood trim across the dashboard, and a convenient power steering system, the '65 Bonneville was premium inside and out. According to OldRide.

com , there were a total of 134,633 Bonneville's produced in 1965. The 389-cubic inch V8 found in the 1965 Pontiac Bonneville differed depending on which carburetor was included, and performance output also hinged on which transmission.