page_title: Pontiac Tempest
section_title: Second generation (1964–1967)
hierarchical_section_title: Pontiac Tempest / Second generation (1964–1967)
caption_attribution_description: 65 Pontiac Tempest Custom
context_page_description: The Pontiac Tempest is an automobile that was produced by Pontiac from 1960 to 1970, and again from 1987 to 1991.
  The Tempest was introduced as an entry-level compact in October 1960 at the Paris Auto Show for the 1961 model year. A highly innovative design, it shared the new unibody Y platform, GM's first, with the Buick Special/Skylark and Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass, came with a standard four-cylinder engine, and offered a two-speed rear-mounted transaxle automatic transmission.
  The line offered the optional LeMans trim upgrade, beginning with a few 1961 LeMans coupes and adding a performance aspect in 1962. In 1964, the Tempest was redesigned as a mid-size built on the new GM A-body platform, with its LeMans version spawning the industry-changing signature muscle car, the GTO. Originally options, both the LeMans and GTO were subsequently split off as their own model lines, the LeMans in 1969 and the GTO in 1965.
  In Canada, Pontiac also marketed a rebadged version of the compact L-body Chevrolet Corsica under the name Tempest from 1987 to 1991.
context_section_description: In 1964, the Tempest was redesigned as a more-conventional vehicle and enlarged from a compact to an intermediate-sized car with a 115 in (2,900 mm) wheelbase and an overall length of 203 in (5,200 mm). The unibody, curved driveshaft and transaxle were gone, replaced by a traditional front engine, front transmission, body-on-frame, and solid rear axle design used by all of GM's other cars but the Corvette and Corvair. Together with its sister cars (the Oldsmobile F-85/Cutlass and Buick Special/Skylark), the Tempest/Le Mans moved to the new A body platform shared with the new Chevrolet Chevelle, and all three cars received updates and modifications standardizing them throughout—including the wheels—by GM edict. The cars were, in ascending order, base Tempest, Tempest Custom, and Le Mans.
  Replacing the previous "Trophy 4" inline four-cylinder engine as standard equipment was a new 215 in³ Pontiac straight six with one-barrel carburetor and 140 hp (104 kW; 142 PS). This six was basically a smaller bore (3.75") version of the 230 cu in (3.8 L) Chevrolet straight-6 offered as Pontiac exclusive. Optional engines included two versions of the 326 in³ Pontiac V8 introduced the previous year, a two-barrel 250 hp (186 kW; 253 PS) regular fuel option; or the 280 hp (209 kW; 284 PS) 326 HO engine with four-barrel carburetor and 10.5:1 compression ratio which required premium fuel. Transmissions included a standard three-speed manual with column shift, four-speed manual with floor-mounted Hurst shifter or a two-speed automatic; the latter was a version of Buick's Super Turbine 300.
  The popularity of the high-performance 326/336 V8 in the Tempest-based LeMans package the year before prompted Pontiac to give the option a special, sporty name: the GTO, after the Italian abbreviation "Gran Turismo Omologato" used to designate specially equipped street cars homologated for racing (though the opposite, producing a mandated minimum of street-legal race cars to meet the homologation requirement, is the norm). Available with Pontiac's largest V8, the 389 cu. in. (6.4L), and equipped with a four-barrel carburetor (producing 325 hp) or the soon to become iconic 345 hp 3 x 2 barrel Tri-Power set-up, the GTO proved to be the defining muscle car of the 1960s.  Unlike other 1964 Tempests, the GTO was available as a pillarless hardtop coupe.
  Unsurprisingly, the success of the GTO prompted Oldsmobile to rush out its own high-performance option package for the F-85/Cutlass called the 442, and the next year for Buick to release a high-performance version of the Skylark called the Skylark Gran Sport, or GS. Both cars would enjoy success and join Chevrolet's Chevelle SS in GM's effort to capitalize on the exploding muscle car era.
  Engine offerings for the 1965 Tempest were the same as 1964, except the 326 HO was uprated to 285 hp (213 kW; 289 PS) and the GTO 389's uprated to 335HP and 360HP via higher rise intake manifolds. Styling changes included a new split grille with vertical headlights similar to the larger Pontiacs, revised taillights and a more slanted rear deck. A two-door hardtop coupe was added to the Tempest Custom line, while the Le Mans got a four-door sedan with a plush interior done in Preston Cloth trim similar to the full-sized Bonneville Brougham.
  A major facelift was made on the 1966 Tempest that included more rounded bodylines with a Coke-bottle effect similar to the full-sized Pontiacs. New four-door pillarless hardtop sedans were added to the Tempest Custom line. Under the hood, the Chevy-derived 215 six was replaced by a new 230 in³ Pontiac overhead cam six, the only such engine found in an American production car at that time. This was also the first American-built engine to use a belt to time the camshaft to the crankshaft rather than a chain. The base OHC had a one-barrel carburetor and was rated at 165 hp (123 kW; 167 PS), designed for economy buyers. Optionally available as part of the Sprint option package on two-doors was a four-barrel, high-compression 207 hp (154 kW; 210 PS) version of the OHC six, marketed as an alternati
caption: 1965 Pontiac Tempest Custom sedan
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