The Pontiac Strato-Streak was a show car built by
Pontiac for the 1954 General Motors Motorama. Based on the
Star Chief's underpinnings, it had a 124-inch wheelbase and was only 54.7 inches high. The Strato-Streak was designed as a fiberglass 4-door
hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), detachable for separate storing or retractable within the vehicle itself.
The ...
, with four
swivel
A swivel is a connection that allows the connected object, such as a gun, chair, swivel caster, or an anchor rode to rotate horizontally or vertically.
Swivel designs
A common design for a swivel is a cylindrical rod that can turn freely wi ...
bucket seat
A bucket seat is a car seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from a flat bench seat designed to fit multiple people. In its simplest form it is a rounded seat for one person with high sides, but may have curved sides that partially enclos ...
s for easier entry, no center
"B" pillar and the 4-door sedan opened from the center outwards.
The interior was done in beige leather and gold metallic nylon. It was initially finished in metallic green, but was repainted iridescent metallic red and renamed the Strato Streak II. The "Strato-Streak" name was later used on Pontiac's all-new
small block
The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of gasoline-powered, V-8 automobile engines, produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors between 1954 and 2003, using the same basic engine block. Referred to as a "small-block" for its si ...
overhead-valve V-8 engines from 1955–1957. The concept car was used to introduce the all-new
Pontiac V8 engine
The Pontiac V8 engine is a family of overhead valve 90° V8 engines manufactured by the Pontiac Division of General Motors Corporation between 1955 and 1981. The engines feature a cast-iron block and head and two valves per cylinder. Engine bloc ...
and introduce a
Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the ...
inspired marketing approach.
References
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Pontiac concept vehicles
Cars introduced in 1954