Shown on this photograph is the absolutely magnificent 1972 Pontiac Lemans, as photographed for the publicity campaign of the new model year!

The Pontiac Le Mans was a model name applied to compact and intermediate-sized automobiles marketed by the Pontiac division of General Motors from 1962 to 1981. Manufactured across six generations, the Le Mans was replaced by the downsized Pontiac Bonneville for the 1982 model year and resurrected for model years 1988-1993 as a rebadged Daewoo LeMans. Introduced as the top-of-the-line version of the compact Pontiac Tempest at the end of 1961 on GM's new Y body platform, the Tempest Le Mans was essentially a trim package featuring sportier and more luxurious trimmings than the Tempest, including different badging and bucket seats. That year the name was used only on a two-door pillared coupe. In 1962, Le Mans continued on this path, adding a convertible to the offerings and I4 4bbl carbureted engine. Though all four body styles—coupe, sedan, convertible and station wagon—were available as Tempests, there was no four-sedan or station wagon Le Mans. There was also no pillarless hardtop version of either Pontiac. The next year, in 1963, the Le Mans name was still used only on coupes and convertibles, but the name was officially made its own model. This would last for just one year. It's these 1963 cars of both nameplates that had the high-performance 326 CID V8 option (actually 336 cid for that one year only) and specially modified versions of them ( six LeMans coupes and six Tempest wagons with Super Duty 421" engines with a semi automatic four speed transaxle became the cars of racing lore. The Tempest line was upsized to an intermediate-sized car on the new GM A platform in 1964, and the Le Mans returned to its role of Tempest trim upgrade with a new 215 CID six-cylinder and a redesigned 326 CID V8 (now actually 326 CID). Shortly after the start of the 1964 model year, the Le Mans became available with a new performance package designated as the GTO, or 'Gran Turismo Omologato'. The GTO option was priced at just under US$300 and included a larger 389 CID V8 from the full-sized Pontiac line that put out 325 or 348 Tri- Power and for 1965 the numbers would be 335HP 4bbl and 360 Hp Tri power hp, a four-speed floor shift Muncie manual transmission with Hurst shifter, heavy-duty suspension, red-line Tiger Paw tires, and GTO nameplates. GTO sales ended up at 32,000 for the first year, well beyond initial estimates of 5,000 units and accounted for a large share of Tempest/Le Mans sales. With the Introduction of the Tempest in 1961, Pontiac achieved the number three in sales and something it would hold onto through the decade of the sixties The success and the image of the GTO also helped increase the image and sales of all the Pontiac line. The GTO became a separate model of its own for 1966, though retaining the same basic body as the Tempest and Le Mans models. For 1966, all Pontiac intermediates got swoopier styling featuring tunnelback rooflines on two-door hardtop and pillared coupes. While the GTO continued as a big-engined muscle car, the Tempest and Le Mans models got a new SOHC 230 cubic inch six-cylinder engine as the base engine. The new SOHC I6as well as the early Tempest with the transaxle in the rear was the brainchild of Pontiac Chief Engineer John De Lorean (who became Pontiac's general manager at the end of the 1965 model year, was available in an economical one-barrel carbureted, 165 hp version that was standard equipment on all Pontiac intermediates except GTOs. Optional on all Tempest and LeMans models except station wagons was a Sprint package that included a hopped-up four-barrel version of the 230 CID OHC six that also included higher compression ratio and hotter cam, resulting in 207 horsepower, along with an "all-syncro" floor-mounted three-speed transmission with Hurst shifter, suspension kit, and body striping. Those who preferred a V8 engine could get either the base two-barrel 326 CID V8 rated at 250 hp (the most popular Tempest/Le Mans engine) or a 285 hp four-barrel 326 HO V8 with higher compression ratio,and dual exhausts. The Sprint-optioned Tempest and Le Mans models were not very popular during the mid-to-late 1960s as they were greatly outsold by the bigger-engined GTO that was heating up the muscle car wars. Buyers of regular Tempest and Le Mans models definitely preferred V8 power, as the 326 and later 350 CID V8s were the most ordered engines. The Sprint option and SOHC six-cylinder engine were discontinued after 1969 with an ordinary Chevrolet-built 250 CID OHV six-cylinder engine, becoming the base engine from 1970 to 1976 in most Pontiac intermediates. Initially, the Le Mans included a pillared coupe and convertible for 1962 and 1963 as no hardtops were offered in the compact Tempest. For 1964, a hardtop coupe was added followed by a four-door pillared sedan in 1965, which was replaced by a four-door hardtop in 1966 and a four-door Safari station wagon in 1968. Generally, the four-door and station wagon models were differentiated from the coupes and convertibles by featuring conventional bench seats or notch-back bench seats with folding armrests as opposed to the Strato buckets seats standard in coupes and convertibles. Other Le Mans upgrades over lesser Tempests included carpeted lower door panels, deluxe steering wheels, courtesy lighting, and full wheel covers.

This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Pontiac ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 11" (ca. 20 x 27 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.