AQUAMARINE ACCELERATION

GLANCE AT A 1967 MERCURY COMET sometime and you’ll see it. The stacked quad headlamps of the 1963 Pontiac were a seismic event in auto styling. But they were quickly aped by other makers, and by the 1967 model year they were diluted in a way the old Silver Streak motif never was. The overhaul of GM’s A-body fleet for the 1968 model year provided an opportunity for the GTO’s maker to visually redefine its signature product.

The new styling was a clear nod to the F-body pony cars (Camaro and Firebird) that debuted for 1967 with their long-hood/short-deck proportions enlarged for the 112-inch wheelbase of the Tempest/Le Mans/GTO. Four-door models, found only in the Tempest and Tempest Le Mans series, rode a 114-inch wheelbase.

While lower-ranking A-bodies came with chrome