In 1967 the president of Pontiac was shown this LeMans Concept Sport Truck; a 350 V8-powered El Camino with the interior and front end of a Pontiac LeMans. He didn’t like it enough to build it, but at least somebody preserved it.
The El Camino would have been around for almost a decade when this concept was floated, with the third generation bodystyle just getting launched in ‘68. The car/truck got a little longer and a little more powerful while holding on to the smooth lines we associate with the 1960’s.
By the early 70’s the fourth generation El Camino was looking a lot boxier, and of course by the time that decade was out the vehicle was in its fifth and final form; that boxy G-Body your buddy had in high school.
This Pontiac version of the car looks to be based on a third-gen, which makes sense as it was built around the beginning of that model run. Today it’s for sale at a place called Eric Joiner Classics of Alabaster, Alabama for $49,000. The listing has also popped up on Hemmings and BringATrailer.
Apparently this is one of the only existent examples of a bonafide OEM-involved Pontiac car-pickup truck crossover. And it’s in spectacular condition. GM of course ended up building the GMC Sprint instead of this, but it’s said that this prototype was actually the inspiration for that GMC El Camino variant.
With disc brakes and a tiltable steering wheel, this Sport Truck would have been pretty slick in the late 60’s. It’s a shame there aren’t more of them, but I’m happy to see the only third-gen Pontimino I’ve ever seen has been looked after.
Obviously “looked after” is an understatement; those valve covers are clean enough to do surgery on.
Hat tip to Countersteer and BringATrailer!
Contact the author at andrew@jalopnik.com.