Stunning 1963 Pontiac Catalina Packs 421CI Muscle and the Right Amount of Pedals

The GTO is widely regarded as the nameplate that kick-started the muscle car wars, but Pontiac had been offering potent vehicles long before the beefed-up LeMans broke cover. First introduced in 1950 as a trim level, the Catalina became a stand-alone model in 1959 and went on to become the car to beat at the racetrack in the early 1960s.

The race-spec Super Duty engine was the main culprit, but the regular production model was nothing to sneeze at. When the second-gen model debuted in 1961, the options list included no fewer than four versions of the 389-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8 rated at over 300 horsepower. The range-topping HO Tri-Power came with 348 horsepower on tap.

In 1963, the 389 Trophy engine was replaced by the larger 421-cubic-inch (6.9-liter) V8. Sharing its displacement with the Super Duty mill that made the Catalina almost unbeatable at the drag strip, the street-spec unit delivered as much as 370 horsepower in HO Tri-Power spec. For reference, the Super Duty version was rated at 405 horsepower.

The Catalina hardtop you see here is not a Tri-Power version, but it does pack an HO variant of the 421-cubic-inch V8. This means its rear wheels spin to the tune of 353 horsepower and a whopping 455 pound-feet (617 Nm) of torque, enough to send the heavy two-door Poncho down the quarter mile in less than 16 seconds.

Granted, it may not be as fast as a Pontiac GTO, but when's the last time you saw a 1963 Catalina in such fantastic condition? Most likely a recent restoration, this two-door hardtop looks great from every angle, and the two-tone paint job has "golden era" written all over it. And would you look at that, it also has the rare eight-lug wheels.

The red interior is just as gorgeous, revealing that the 421-cubic-inch engine is not the only cool feature under the hood. This Poncho has three pedals, meaning that the V8 mates to a four-speed manual gearbox. There's no specific info on how many Catalinas got the manual transmission in 1963, but most customers preferred the automatic, so it's definitely a rare sight.

The Poncho was spotted at a local classic car show with the hood wide open, so you can take more than a glance at the mighty 421 unit. You won't hear it burble, which is a shame, but that powerplant still a spectacular sight.