The late Fifties in the USA meant ”more” of everything” - plus extras - when it came to design. Two rare examples of this, both from General Motors, sparkles on Bilweb Auction´s Final Auction 2021 ending December 9. A 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Safari, maby the most glamorous station wagon and a 1958 Buick Century Convertible – the ultimate summer dream.
Despite the mass production of cars in the US, there were always models built in low numbers. Both the auction cars are examples of this. Pontiac Bonneville as a station wagon - the Safari - was built in only 4 653 examples in 1959. The fact that it also was the most expensive model in the Pontiac line-up that year was probably one of the reasons. The prize was just over 3 500 dollars - no options included.
One of Pontiac´s key selling points for 1959 was the ”Wide Track”. No other manufacturer could match the track width of Pontiac´s models, a feature that provided superior road manners, especially cornering. This year the Bonneville series also was promoted as Pontiac´s top-of-the-line. A Bonneville Safari was the wagon for a customer in need of space - lots of space. The denomination ”Station Wagon” originated from the horse-drawn carriages - and later cars - used for transportation of passengers and luggage to and from railroad stations in the USA.
The Safari in the Final Auction 2021 is in close to perfect condition, painted in striking Canyon Copper and with Morrokide three-tone vinyl upholstery. The loading bay is big as a skating rink, especially when the rear row of seats is folded flat. Under the hood a 6.4 liter V8 can be found, developing 305 horsepowers mated to an automatic transmission.
The design of a Bonneville Safari is utterly generous, it never ends, regardless of how long you look at it, new details can be discovered. The windows around the loading bay are in the size of shopping windows and gives the car a very distinctive look. Nobody who has seen this car will ever forget it.
The designers at Pontiac´s GM sibling Buick were also in a state of euphoria during the late Fifties. It must have been a wet dream to create a car like the Buick Century, especially the exclusive convertible, only 2 588 made in 1958, and 1 percent of the Buick production that year.
Buick profiled the Century as a performance model since it had the smallest and lightest body in combination with the most powerful engine, the 6-litre, 300 horsepower, Fireball V8. It should, however, be mentioned that the ”smallest” body in this context means a length of 5,38 meters and 1950 kilos of weight…
The mighty Century Convertible in the auction ending December 9 is painted in Glacier White and has a two-tone upholstery in red and white. The low silhouette is accentuated by big amounts of chrome, especially the 160 cubes in the grille.
This car has won a substantial amount of prizes on exhibitions and meetings in Sweden.
Bilweb Auctions estimates the value of the Pontiac Bonneville Safari to 450 550 000 SEK and the Buick Century Convertible to 600 - 700 000 SEK.
To the auctions:
6 DEC 15:34 MATHIAS BJÖRKMAN
Two rare 1950s classics from Pontiac and Buick the last auction 2021
The late Fifties in the USA meant ”more” of everything” - plus extras - when it came to design. Two rare examples of this, both from General Motors, sparkles on Bilweb Auction´s Final Auction 2021 ending December 9. A 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Safari, maby the most glamorous station wagon and a 1958 Buick Century Convertible – the ultimate summer dream.
