5 More Of The Priciest Pontiacs Ever Sold At Auction

Pontiac didn't necessarily have the best of times when it was around. Between mostly dispiriting badge-engineered models bearing the Pontiac name and a range of roundly-disliked Pontiac models, this particular GM brand endured a lot of bad press over the years, especially from the 1980s onward. But while the brand's later years may not have been that exciting, it would be a major disservice to dismiss Pontiac's output in its entirety.

In the 1960s and '70s, Pontiac released a range of muscle cars that have now become highly sought-after by collectors. From early Firebird Trans Ams to the immortal GTO Judge, the Pontiac name is indelibly associated with a range of great performance cars, and it's this heritage that has, and continues to, attract the rich and famous of the world to the long-dead brand. It's also what we want to celebrate by taking another look at some of the most expensive Pontiacs to ever sell at auction.

This isn't the first time we've taken a look at expensive Pontiacs, and so this list won't feature the true heavy-hitters of the Pontiac back catalog. If you're after the million-dollar Pontiacs, you'll want to check out our old list of ultra-expensive Pontiacs sold at auction. This list complements our previous one, highlighting five more Pontiac models that have sold for significant sums. Let's get started.

Many of us will recognize Pontiac due to its legendary 1960s models, but the first Pontiac to make our list came out a few decades before well-known nameplates such as the Grand Prix or GTO. Pontiac's history stretches back to the 1920s, and it's one of those earlier Pontiacs that kicks off our list.

The Pontiac 6 debuted in 1926, introduced to complement the offerings from its sister GM brand, Oakland. It was the first Pontiac ever made and helped Pontiac displace the Oakland brand, which GM discontinued in 1931. This particular Deluxe 6 came out more than a decade after the nameplate's debut, at the tail end of the interwar period. In 1939, the Great Depression was coming to an end, and New York was set to host the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows. Fittingly, the 1939 World's Fair was a true showcase of a nation (and a world) getting back on its feet and looking toward the future.

General Motors took part, with the corporation's 'Futurama' display imagining a city of the future, complete with a surprisingly prescient network of national highways criss-crossing the United States. Part of that display was also this striking Deluxe 6, which swapped its original sheet metal panels for see-through plexiglass. GM and Rohm & Haas, which had brought plexiglass to market in 1933, also painted the structure copper, chromed the trim and hardware, and painted the rubber components white. GM allegedly spent $25,000 on this unique 1930s sedan. It eventually sold for $308,000 at a 2011 RM Sotheby's auction.

There are many reasons a particular car goes for big money at auctions. Sometimes, it's because it is rare, like the sole survivor 1912 Oldsmobile Limited that became the most expensive Oldsmobile sold at auction when it sold for $3.3 million. Other times, it's because the car in question has a pop cultural link, such as this particular Pontiac Bonneville that sold for $308,000 at an RM Sotheby's auction in 2015.

Model year 1963 Bonneville convertibles themselves aren't that rare, with around 23,500 rolling off production lines. This Bonneville, though, is special, and for two reasons. Firstly, this Bonneville is one of the small handful of vehicles modified by legendary Hollywood tailor Nudie Cohn, thus the 'Nudie Mobile' name. Cohn was famous for designing extravagant Western-style costumes for celebrities such as Elvis, John Wayne, and Hank Williams, but he also lent his skills and aesthetic sense to 18 convertibles between 1950 and 1975 — one of which is this 1963 Bonneville.

That alone would justify the princely sum a collector paid for it, but it doesn't end there. Cohn sold this particular member of the 18-strong family to another titan of the cowboy and western fraternity, Roy Rogers, who was a fixture on TV and in movie theaters from the 1930s to the 1950s. This Bonneville would later become part of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum. After that closed, the car went to a private owner, who eventually put it up for auction in 2015.

It wouldn't be a list of expensive Pontiacs without a GTO Judge, would it? First introduced in 1969, the GTO's Judge trim got its nickname from a contemporary TV show as part of GM's attempt to appear a bit more hip and clued-in with the youth. The Judge quickly entered muscle car folklore, not least thanks to its 366 hp Ram Air III engine, even if sales in its first year weren't particularly strong. Only 6,833 GTO Judges sold that year, out of a total of 72,287. 

Things didn't get much better in 1970. GTO sales dipped significantly, and thus an already-small subset of cars got even smaller. Out of the 3,797 Judges made that year, only 168 were convertibles, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Buyers of the 1970 GTO Judge could choose between not just automatic and manual transmissions, but also between the Ram Air III and Ram Air IV engines, the latter making an allegedly underrated 370 hp and costing a cool $558.20 (plus roughly $200 in necessary add-ons) — nearly 25% of the base car's price.

Given the extra cost, it makes sense that very few buyers paired the Ram Air IV engine with an automatic. A total of 66 hardtop Judge buyers went with the combo, while only six or seven convertible owners opted to pair the beefier engine with the auto. This is one of those, with its rarity, range of factory options, and MCACN Concours Gold award-winning 2015 restoration propelling it to a $405,000 sale at Mecum Indy 2023.

The top two Pontiacs on our list are two examples of an exceedingly rare car, with the added bonus of some genuine motorhead provenance. First of the two 1963 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty Swiss Cheeses that sold for big money this year belonged to record-setting racer and tire company entrepreneur Mickey Thompson. Having a link to Thompson's decorated racing career and his tragic death alone would probably have helped any vaguely rare car sell for a high fee, but this 'Swiss  Cheese' Catalina Super Duty is more than just vaguely rare.

Pontiac's Swiss cheese cars weren't named for any culinary reasons. Instead, these 14 cars were part of a Pontiac weight-reduction program that took 421 Super Duty-powered Catalinas and subjected them to some serious lightening, including drilling around 120 holes in the frame, thus the 'Swiss Cheese' nickname. Pontiac also went with thinner-gauge aluminum for certain body panels and even the exhaust manifolds. Those aluminum manifolds, while significantly lighter, were also prone to melting if the cars ran for too long. Bad for the street, but likely fine on the strip — hinting at these cars' racing focus.

Mickey Thompson took delivery of two 'Swiss Cheese' Pontiacs, and this particular Catalina raced under his name up and down the West Coast. While the auction listing doesn't detail the car's entire journey, we do know that this '63 'Swiss Cheese' Catalina eventually received a thorough restoration in 2012. It sold for $430,000 at Mecum Indy 2025.

Thus far, the cars on this follow-up list of expensive Pontiacs haven't really come close to the million-dollar examples that we've covered in the past. But this recent sale, also at Mecum Indy 2025, comes as close as we're going to get this time around. It's another ultra-limited 'Swiss Cheese' '63 Catalina Super Duty, but this one belonged to another titan of the muscle car world: Jim Wangers.

You may not be familiar, but that's fine. Unlike Mickey Thompson, Wangers didn't lend his name to a tire brand, nor did he set records. Instead, Wangers' influence was mostly behind the scenes: He was the mind behind the original Pontiac GTO's marketing campaign, had a hand in creating the AMC Rebel Machine, and inspired George Hurst to build the legendary 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix SSJ. He also raced, winning a drag racing title at the 1960 NHRA Nationals in a Pontiac Catalina Super Duty.

Pontiac only built 14 'Swiss Cheese' Catalinas before GM halted all racing programs in 1963, so Wangers was definitely part of an elite group. His 'Swiss Cheese' Catalina had an engine from Frank Rediker, and Wangers raced it in multiple classes across the Midwest and East Coast. Mecum auctioned it off with the 421 SD making 505 hp, although hood decals suggest it only made 405 hp back in the day. Regardless, the combination of its rarity, racing heritage, and Wangers' if-you-know-you-know stature pushed this particular slab of cheese to a $742,500 sale price.