The Pontiac Tempest was an entry-level compact produced by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors, introduced in September 1960 for the 1961 model year. Sharing the new monocoque Y platform with the Buick Special and Skylark, and Oldsmobile F-85 and Cutlass, the model also appeared under the LeMans nameplate . For 1964, the platform was redesigned with a full-size frame, and renamed A-body. The Tempest name was discontinued after the 1970 model year in favor of LeMans, a nameplate previously used for upmarket versions of that series. Despite sharing some of the Oldsmobile's sheet... metal, the original Tempest featured an innovative drivetrain — a rear-mounted transaxle coupled to a torque shaft arcing in a 3 in downward bow within a longitudinal tunnel — coupling the forward engine and rear transmission into one unit and eliminating vibration. The arrangement, known as "rope drive", had been previously used in the 1951 Le Sabre concept car.
more