1976 Pontiac Grand Prix
For 1976, the Grand Prix received a split vertical-bar “waterfall” grille flanked by quad rectangular headlights, replacing the earlier round units, along with revised tail lamp lenses. Simulated rosewood panel inserts replaced the genuine wood trim that had appeared in prior model years.
Built on GM’s A-body platform, the Grand Prix shared its underpinnings with the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Buick Regal, and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in the midsize personal luxury segment.
Its Colonnade hardtop used fixed rear opera windows rather than the operable quarter glass of earlier Grand Prix models, and 5 mph impact bumpers front and rear addressed federal crash standards.
Engine options ran from a 350 CI V8 at 160 hp in base trim to a four-barrel 400 CI unit at 185 hp (standard in the SJ), with a 200 hp 455 CI four-barrel available across the lineup. All configurations used a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic automatic.
Base prices started around $4,800. With 228,091 units sold (a roughly 18 percent increase over 1975), 1976 was the best production year in the Grand Prix’s history to that point.
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