Back when the Ford Motor Company was putting the finishing touches on the first-generation Mustang pony car, John DeLorean was developing a Pontiac sports car that would greatly influence the C3 Corvette together with the dazzling Mako Shark II show car penned by Larry Shinoda.
Aimed squarely at the most famous pony car of them all, the Banshee series of concepts kicked off with the XP-833 we’re going to cover in this story.
Two drivable XP-833 prototypes were produced, which is why the sole coupe is currently listed for a simply ludicrous $1.2 million by Napoli Classics. Serial number 66L23060 was previously listed for $750,000 less than two years ago, which translates to a Wall Street-shaming return of investment.
Offered with less than 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) on the clock, the Banshee XP-833 didn’t enter production because the stiff executives and even stiffer bean counters at General Motors believed the Poncho would cannibalize sales from the Chevrolet Corvette. In retrospect, we can all agree there wasn’t room for any in-house competition because the 1964 Corvette sold 22,229 units during an era when personal luxury cars were in high demand. The 1964 Buick Riviera, for example, moved 37,658 units.
Masterminded by DeLorean through the Advanced Engineering division, the XP-833 sports car takes inspiration from the Corvair Monza GT show car of 1963. The only drivable coupe in existence features a steel perimeter frame with no bolt-down attachment points like a proper body-on-frame design. But had it received the green light for production, the Banshee would’ve received a unitized steel chassis with boded fiberglass for the bodywork.
Also fitted with coil-sprung double A-arms up front and a Tempest-sourced live axle with four-link suspension and a Watts linkage out back, the “Mustang Fighter” as DeLorean famously described this fellow is rocking a rather disappointing straight-six plant. Its white-painted convertible sibling, by comparison, features a 326-cubic-inch motor based on the 389.
The 230-cubic-inch sixer is an overhead-cam engine with a one-barrel carburetor that made 165 horsepower when brand-spanking new. Further equipped with a four-speed manual, adjustable pedals, and Rally II wheels, this breathtaking concept car wouldn’t look out of place in any collection.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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