Q: 1964 Pontiac Banshee
How does the Banshee play into the history for the Firebird.

A: If I remember correctly, the 3rd generation Corvette was already on the drawing boards, and the Banshee borrowed styling cues from that car. A couple of things that distinquished the Banshee from the Corvette was that the Banshee used a solid rear axle (to keep costs down, and make the car more affordable than the Corvette), and a unique clamshell door design. This was John Delorean's pet project, and he really wanted it in production.

Two functional cars were produced (built by an outside coach builder). One was a 6 cylinder engine, the other had a V8. One was a hardtop, the other a roadster.

There was even a 4 passenger version that was proposed.

This was John Delorean's pet project, and he really wanted it in production. But GM wasn't interested in erroding the Corvette's marketshare, and the top dogs nixed the project. Delorean was handed the Camaro to build a Pontiac version as a consolation prize. This was also to be called the Banshee.

He wasn't too happy about it all, but he lost the power struggle and gave in. By the time he relented, the Camaro was well under developement, and his engineers had little time to make the Banshee distinquishable from the Camaro. Something less than 12 months. As it was, the car didn't get to showrooms until Feb. 67. But they did suceed in creating a car that was much more than a copy of a Camaro. It's styling and drivetrain differences made for a classic design that is timeless.

Sometime during all of this, someone looked up the word Banshee and found that one definition was that of a mythical demon-like figure who foretold of a death in the family. Banshee was dropped in favor of another Pontiac concept car dating back to the 50s, the Firebird. I've seen photos of prototypes bearing GM-X nameplates as well.

Apparently the Sunset Pontiac Dealership in Clearwater Florida took factory Formulas and converted them into a Banshee look-a-like that included visual and performance changes. The standard package included:

Dominator Hood Paint
Side Air Extractors
Windshear GT Rear Spoiler
Flowmaster 2 Chambered Exhaust
Chrome Exhaust Tips
High Performance Air Intake System
K&N Air Filter BF Goodrich P275/40ZR17 Tires
17" Oz Wheels
Banshee Identification Package
Banshee Embroidered Interior
LT1 Identification
Titanium Window Tint
Build Number ID Console Plate

Reported Production of these cars:
1994 - 17
1995 - 21
1996 - 1

Who designed the Knight Industries 4000? (The version of KITT in the 1991 'Knight Rider 2000' movie) Jat Ohrberg Star Cars Inc. constructed a car which resembled the (1988) Banshee on top of a 1991 Dodge Stealth.