1969 Pontiac Cirrus - Department X

As one would expect, all of the cars in the GM display were extremely well received, especially the Firebird IV and the GM-X, which were the most radical. Where the Firebird IV was positioned more as a machine suited for future automated highways, the GM-X, with its aircraft-inspired controls was seen as a machine that was meant to be actively guided by its driver.

After the closing of the New York World's Fair, the GM-X and its siblings went into long-term storage at GM, their careers seemingly over. Interestingly, after more than half a decade, both the GM-X and the Firebird IV, were pulled out, dusted off and mildly updated for another tour of duty. The Firebird IV became the '69 Buick Centurion, and the GM-X became the '69 Pontiac Cirrus. GM's Runabout was not reused.

Exactly why GM decided to recycle these dream cars so long after their original showings remains unclear. There are a number of likely explanations, many of which could have happened at the same time. First off, it is fairly simple and inexpensive to revamp an existing car compared to designing and building a new one. Both the GM-X and Firebird IV were such advanced designs that even years later, they still looked very modern. Indeed, even today, they both possess remarkably fresh styling.

Secondly, even though they were shown at the World's Fair for an extended period and were seen by millions of people, nationally-speaking, a relatively small percentage of people saw them in person, making them "new" for many showgoers. Changing some details, the paint and then renaming it after a high-altitude cloud formation gave the world a "new" Pontiac dream car.

Actually, the conversion from GM-X to Pontiac Cirrus was not a huge leap. Though it was designed as a non marque-specific GM car, the original design actually carried a lot of Pontiac design character, particularly up front, where the hood's "ironing board" treatment could be modified slightly at the leading edge and reused.

Its nose was modified to look more like a Pontiac with the original rocket-like nose cone making way for a V-shaped nose and a split-grille on the underside of the Endura-style bumper. The bladed front fender design was retained, as was the rest of the original design. GM-X's only other changes to transform it into the Cirrus was a new bright silver metallic paint scheme and the seven-spoke wheels were replaced with smooth deep-dish units.

Pontiac's recycled dream car was sent out again for the 1969 show season, where it was sometimes displayed with a Ram Air V engine on a stand. Though it was never openly stated that the Cirrus was R/A-V-powered, the implication was certainly there. In fact, the duo made it on the cover of the May 1969 issue of Hot Rod, though the logo obscured much of the Cirrus. The Ram Air V was prominently displayed, though.

Pontiac sent the Cirrus out for another season of show duty in 1970 as well. Since the one-off showcar was not tied to any particular model or model year, it made sense to get some more use out of it. Though it was nearly 7 years old by the time it was retired at the end of the 1970 show season, the Cirrus was still a thoroughly modern design.

Afterward, the dream car again went into long-term storage GM and remained there until a house-cleaning in the early '80s sent it to the crusher, along with the other two 1964 World's Fair dream cars and some other stray prototypes languishing in warehouses.

Though all that remains of the Cirrus are these photos and its nameplate attached to a Chrysler product, it is a great example of high-tech '60s design philosophy. Too bad this one isn't around anymore, though the scale model shown in the diorama shots and a matching scale model of the Firebird IV are now at the Henry Ford Museum

The author wishes to thank Jennifer Knightstep-Lesniak and Mark Curatolo for their assistance with the preparation of this article.