Picture Time: American Muscle From the Keeneland Concours
In our previous concours edition of Picture Time, we shared five distinctly American luxury cars from years gone by. Today we move forward in history a little, and subtract some luxury for the sake of sheer power.
Follow along now for some great American muscle cars from the show.
The Buick GSX was an option package on top of the Buick GS455, available from 1970 through 1974. Low sales figures make it a fairly rare car today.
The GSX was Buick’s equivalent model to the Pontiac GTO, and featured sporting details like this excellent optional hood tach.
Speaking of the GTO, this red and white convertible beauty was nearby.
The internet tells me this example, with concealed headlamps (lost for 1970) and rear side marker shaped like a GTO logo, is from 1969.
Who doesn’t love the familiar visage of a golden late ’70s Firebird Trans Am?
The brown vinyl interior lets onlookers know that not only are you a sporting driver, but you’re also someone who enjoys a nice, wide lapel on a suit.
As previously proven in the Pontiac 6000 Rare Rides article, Pontiac often received wheel designs better than other General Motors offerings. Golden snowflakes are always a win.
The Trans Am was an option package on the base Firebird, upgrading the model’s power, suspension, and handling. It also added Trans Am-specific visual cues.
But enough about General Motors, as this enormous Mustang Mach I also made an appearance at the show.
The huge exterior proportions of the Mach I did not translate into extensive interior room for occupants.
Inset headlamps and front corner vents were only available on the 1970 Mach I. The model debuted for the first time in 1969.
Back to GM one last time, for this utterly mustard Corvette Stingray.
For 1969 through 1976, the C3 Corvette Stingray maintained this same basic shape. The egg-crate fender vents seen here place this example between 1970 and 1972.
With T-tops and an automatic transmission, the Stingray was ready to brougham you around throughout the remainder of the 1970s.
Come back soon, for our next Picture Time from the Keeneland Concours.
[Images: © Corey Lewis]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Find me on Twitter, @CoreyLewis86.
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The C3 'Vette was intro'd for the 1968 model year, not 1969. The amber front parking lights mark this example as a '72.
That red GTO is a '70, not a '69. The parking lights tell the whole story.