5 Rarest High-Performance Pontiacs From the Golden Age of Muscle

Under the stewardship of John DeLorean, Pontiac went from a struggling brand to one of GM's most successful divisions, being revered for delivering exciting cars.

For the 1964 model year, Pontiac decided to introduce the high-performance GTO package for the Tempest-based LeMans and hit a home run in terms of sales.

Rivalring brands followed suit in 1965, and the muscle car era took off.

Until the early 1970s, when high-powered American cars began disappearing due to skyrocketing insurance prices and stringent emission regulations (among others), Pontiac delivered some of the most iconic American rides of that exciting era.

Available in different body styles with various high-performance powertrains, some versions of the Pontiacs developed during the golden age of muscle were produced in limited numbers, and in this article, we'll remember the rarest five.

1971 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible: 17 produced

The Pontiac that kicked off the muscle car craze was produced in five distinct generations, but for the vast majority of the brand's enthusiasts, the first two were unquestionably the most legendary.

Based on GM's intermediate A-body platform, these versions were built from 1964 to 1972 and were available with a conventional fixed roof or as convertibles with a foldable soft top.

During each model year, GTO customers were more drawn to the fixed-roof, two-door coupes or hardtops rather than the convertibles, making the latter variations rarer.

One of the rarest convertible GTO's was the 1971 Judge, of which only 17 were produced.

The popular Judge became the range-topping GTO when it was launched in 1969. Unfortunately, by 1971 sales were declining drastically, so it was discontinued after the model year ended.

The last of the Judges, the 1971 model, received the same facelift as the rest of the LeMans/GTO line, while the only available powerplant was a lower-compression 455-ci (7.5-liter) HO V8 rated at 335 hp (gross) and 480 lb-ft (654 Nm) of torque.

Though not the most powerful nor the most beautiful GTO Judges, the 1971 convertible is now one of the most sought-after classic Pontiacs because of its low production numbers.

1971 Pontiac GT-37 L75: 15 produced

While the GTO Judge was the high-performance king of Pontiac's intermediate range, the Tempest T-37 hardtop coupe was the affordable version of the mid-size lineup from 1970 to 1972.

The T-37 was also the base for the stripped-down, budget-friendly Pontiac muscle car, the GT-37.

Available a few months later as an option for the T-37, the GT-37 added distinct features like Rally II wheels without trim rings wrapped in white-lettered tires, chrome-tipped dual exhaust, vinyl accents stripes, sport mirrors, hood pins, and option-specific badges.

In 1971, Pontiac dropped the Tempest nameplate, and the GT-37 became part of the LeMans range. Largely a carry-over of the previous iteration, the entry-level muscle car received the same facelift as the rest of the lineup, as well as a new side stripe package.

Initially available with the entry-level 350-ci (5.7-liter) as standard or one of two optional Pontiac 400s (L65 and L78), the 1971 GT-37 's engine lineup was expanded to include the two-barrel LS5 and four-barrel L75 455-ci (7.5-liter) units.

The latter optional engine, rated at 325 hp and 455 lb-ft (617 Nm) of torque, was only fitted inside the engine bays of 15 GT-37s produced during the second part of 1971, making the model one of the rarest Pontiac muscle cars of the era.

1963 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty Lightweight Coupe: 14 produced

While the 1964 GTO is considered by many the first widely popular muscle car, it was by no means Pontiac's first high-performance beast based on a series-production model.

For the 1963 model year, the GM division prepped a lightweight, drag-strip-oriented (yet theoretically street-legal) version of the full-size Catalina, which, in more ways than one, was as epic as the 1964 GTO.

Called the "Swiss Cheese" Catalina, this particular version benefited from an extensive weight-saving treatment that included drilling holes in the frame rails, stripping off unnecessary features such as carpeting and sound insulation, and aluminum body panels.

As its name implies, the Catalina Super Duty lightweight coupe was powered by Pontiac's race-bred, 421-ci (6.9-liter) Super Duty V8 rated at 405 hp.

Of all the units produced from 1961 to 1968, the ones that left the factory in the first few months of the 1963 model year were the rarest. Only 14 examples of this street-legal, drag-strip warrior were produced in that interval, and today, a surviving Catalina Super Duty can fetch well above the $500,000 mark, depending on its competition history.

1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Convertible: 8 produced

After Ford revolutionized the American automotive industry with its 1964 Mustang, which gave birth to the pony car segment and broke sales records, rival brands hurried to come up with an answer.

Pontiac's answer, the Firebird, hit the market in 1967 and, even if it didn't manage to outsell the 'Stang, it proved to be one of the most popular pony cars in the years that followed.

By 1969, the Mustang, as well as other pony cars, had received a healthy infusion of muscle with the addition of the ever-more powerful V8.

Freshly redesigned, the Firebird also stepped into the muscle car arena with the addition of the Trans Am package.

Like the GTO package before it, the Trans Am added a long list of improvements to the standard Firebird 400, the most spectacular of which was a 400-ci (6.6-liter) that, when fitte with the optional Ram Air IV engine upgrade, made 345 hp and 430 lb-ft (583 Nm) of torque.

Most of these early Trans Am equipped with the L67 Ram Air IV engine were sold as regular two-door coupes, but eight customers opted for the convertible version.

With such a low production figure, the 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am convertible is currently one of the most sought-after drop-top muscle cars of the golden age.

1969 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV Convertible: 5 Produced

As I mentioned earlier in this article, the Judge was the range-topping GTO throughout its short lifespan.

However, few are aware that it was initially conceived as the stripped-down, low-budget GTO aimed directly at Plymouth's successful Road Runner.

When it did hit dealerships, the Judge was more expensive than the standard GTO and packed all of the premium features available for Pontiac's intermediate lineup.

In its most lethal guise, the original Judge hid a 370-hp Ram Air IV 400 V8 under its hood, but since this engine option was expensive, not many of them were produced.

After the 1969 model year ended, Pontiac sold 6,833 GTO Judges. Of those, around 500 were Ram Air IV-powered hardtops, while only five convertible Judges left the factory with the lineup's most potent engine.