If there was an ugly duckling year for the Pontiac GTO, this would be it. No longer a trim level of the midsize Lemans series, the GTO was moved to an embarrassing option package on the compact Ventura two-door coupe and hatchback. What was once the original muscle car and Pontiac’s ace in the hole had turned into a weird looking bug-eyed car that got less credit than it should have. This retina-scorched yellow example is the first 1974 model I’ve seen that wasn’t in a book, and with its very Mid-Seventies interior, is one of very few left like it. I liked the Shaker hood too–an unusual option for even that year. Enjoy the photos of this strange historical footnote in Pontiac history.

-Albert S. Davis