You don’t have to know anything about a ’58 Bonneville Convertible to appreciate it. It is a car that could only have come from America; it was 211 inches and 4,040 pounds of steel and chrome, and it had all of the hot engine options you could ever want. In its first year of having its own line of cars, Bonneville was among the hottest cars in the red-hot GM lineup, and a Tri-power Bonneville Convertible paced the 1958 Indianapolis 500. It was an expensive and exclusive car, though—both price and production were comparable to Corvette—and only 3,096 convertibles sold that first year.

Beyond the styling, Pontiac was a high-performance engine company with its own unique offerings. The V-8 was overbuilt, dependable and supremely powerful, especially with the Tri-power/Hydra-Matic transmission combination, which yielded 300 horsepower, thanks to 10.5:1 compression and a high-lift cam. This Bonneville has power steering and brakes to assist the ease of operation.

This Tri-power V-8 Bonneville is presented in red and white with a similarly colored interior; the convertible top is black and power-operated. Among the distinctive styling elements are dual headlights, honeycomb grille, distinctive brightwork, intricate trim elements throughout, Continental kit, rear fender skirts and dual mirrors. Additional equipment includes factory air conditioning, power seat, AM radio with rear speaker, dual rearview mirrors, factory wheel covers and whitewall tires. This steel-muscled road machine set a pattern of dynamic luxury for those who like their motoring rare and exciting.