Vintage Racecar’s own columnist Mark Brinker debuted his freshly restored 1965 Pontiac Vivant at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to swarming crowds. Gleaming on the 18th fairway, the car was nothing short of magnificent.
The Vivant was designed and built by famed Pontiac engineer Herb Adams in 1965. The roadster was constructed on a one-off multi-tube spaceframe chassis and clothed in all-aluminum coachwork. For power Adams selected a 370 cid Pontiac V8 fitted with a pair of 421 Super Duty cylinder heads and an experimental intake manifold. Weighing just 2,450 pounds and producing 405 horsepower, the Vivant remains a fully functional show car with rocket-sled performance. Because Adams had full knowledge of, and unfettered access to, the best components at Pontiac, the car’s build sheet is chock full of Super Duty and other rare components.