Richard Petty, now 83, is a man who knows how to drive. With hundreds of race wins under his belt over a 34-year professional career, Petty set a lot of records. Among them, the first driver to win the NASCAR Cup Championship as well as the Daytona 500 seven times each. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010 as one of the sport’s most acclaimed racers.
But something Petty-related that many folks don’t know is that Pontiac made a special edition of the Grand Prix coupe specifically to commemorate his retirement in 1992. The Pick of the Day is a 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix Richard Petty Edition coupe that’s been driven just 524 miles, advertised by an O’Fallon, Illinois, dealer on ClassicCars.com.
The Richard Petty Edition, limited to only 1,000 cars, was available in red, white or blue and came with a handful of upgrades that set it apart from the run-of-the-mill Grand Prix. A badge with Petty’s signature was just the beginning; this Grand Prix also came with unique ground effects, a spoiler and a button-activated feature that allowed the automatic transmission to start in second gear. A five-speed manual was also available for the Richard Petty Edition.
The fifth-generation Grand Prix is referred to as the W-body. It lived from 1988 through 1996 in both coupe and sedan form, and it came with a variety of engine configurations. Powering this Grand Prix is a 3.4-liter quad-cam V6 that produces 210 horsepower, which at the time were good numbers for an everyday sports coupe – good enough that Petty signed his name to it.
In fact, the dashboard of this Pontiac has Petty’s actual signature, right next to a “fan appreciation tour” badge. The coupe also has perhaps one of the oddest accessories to be offered with any collector car: a Petty-signed race tire in its trunk.
While specific production numbers of Petty Edition Grand Prix in the various colors and configurations are not published, it’s safe to say that any 28-year-old collector car with just 524 miles on it is an exceedingly rare find – let alone with this kind of celebrity tie-in.
The dealer is asking $21,500 for this piece of race history. NASCAR fans should have plenty to get excited about here.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Not a race car, no race history, not even one of the thousands of “official pace cars”. This is just one of the hundreds of “limited edition” cars produced by every major manufacturer, every year.
If this is 1 of 1,000 then it’s 1 too many. Not a good looking car at all & that instrument panel/dash looks like LEGO built it. And don’t get me started on that “ Shifter”.
I am with Mike & Yanins on this one Tyson. As far as I’m concerned Pontiac definitely needs to “Fall Back On To It’s Roots”. This 92′ Grand Prix is nothing more than cheap, make believe parts, cleverly applied, & the Pontiac wants to bring in big bucks for it calling it “Limited Edition”. It’s a slap in the face for “The King” Richard Petty. I wouldn’t want my name on that car. This is something you would pick up for your 15-1/2 year old to learn how to drive.
They could have cleaned it up for the pictures. It looks like it’s been driven down a dusty road.
I like it – Lego and all. But then I’m English and just love American cars.
As it seems to be so bad – despite resembling a BMW – it won’t sell, so I’ll have it just for transport costs to the UK.
Maybe you guys will group-fund that – just to get it out of the USA!
That would make an old man very happy.
Here’s hoping…
I’m a lifelong Richard Petty fan and even I would not pay that price for this car. I’d rather pay the same amount or less for the 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2 Aerocoupe. Paint that Petty Blue with a big #43 on it in white!
But then I was honestly never a fan of the W-body FWD GM’s.
Bob Riffle who built the fastest engine for Richard Petty’s Pontiac passed away today. Bob moved on to other racing teams with Richard’s blessing. Bob got his start building drag race cars out of a speed shop in Columbus Ohio. Earned several national titles before building engines for NASCAR. I knew him as he was married to my cousin and on occasion visited my father and mother in Cincinnati Ohio.