1988 Pontiac Grand Prix: The Front-Drive W-Body Arrives

This record's own dek states that a front-drive W-body coupe replaces the G-body for 1988, the platform change this record's own overview and production sections both describe in their own separate ways. This record's own overview states that MuscleCarClub, crediting the Standard Catalog of Pontiac, gives 1988 Grand Prix production as 86,357 across Base, LE and SE coupes without a split by trim or engine, and that the compiled engine tables list a single 2.8-liter V6 at 130 hp and 160 lb-ft, SAE net as compiled with no rpm given. This record's own keyFacts section is empty for the year, so the overview and production sections carry the whole of this record's own account of the platform change.¹

This record's own production section carries a single total row of 86,357, with a note that the bodystyle column is printed by the source as Base/LE/SE Coupes and that the Standard Catalog states it as Grand Prix series production in its own Note 3, phrased as "Grand Prix series production totaled 86,357 cars." This record's own production notes add that no engine, transmission, option, paint or trim-color counts were found, and that a 2026-09-23 depth pass found no factory or registry breakdown of 1988 production by trim, engine or transmission, since the Standard Catalog of Pontiac, the lineage behind the total, sits on archive.org as a borrow-only book that could not be read at the time of that pass.^1,2

This record's own prices section carries three factory prices as reported by eightiescars.com: $12,539 for the base Grand Prix, $13,239 for the LE, and $15,249 for the SE, spanning a wider range than the badge differences alone might suggest. This record's own engines section carries the single 2.8-liter V6 entry matching the overview, with no second engine choice recorded anywhere in this record for the year. This record's own transmissions section lists two EPA-listed configurations from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records with that same 2.8-liter V6, a four-speed automatic under record 4613 and a five-speed manual under record 4614, the only source in this record that distinguishes the two gearboxes by name.^3,1,4

This record's own paint, performance, identification and conflicts sections remain empty for the year: the 1988 Pontiac Full Line Prestige catalog names no Grand Prix paint colors or codes in the pages read, prints no RPO codes for the options it lists, states no prices, and gives no road-test or series-code data, so nothing was entered for those sections rather than filled from another year or model. This record's own unpublishedLeads section still holds one Wikipedia claim, that the first front-drive W-body Grand Prix coupes were built in October 1987 and released on January 12, 1988, in Kansas City, Kansas, with the 2.8-liter V6 at 130 hp and 170 lb-ft. Its reason field notes that the 170 lb-ft disagrees with the compiled 160, and the factory catalog now printed in this record's specifications section states 160 lb-ft, which supports the compiled figure over the lead.¹

Pontiac's own 1988 Full Line Prestige catalog, a marketing document that shows what was offered rather than what was built, sorts the Grand Prix into three trims. Every car carries the 2.8-liter V6 with multi-port fuel injection, a 4-speed automatic, power four-wheel disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, four-wheel independent suspension, P195/75R14 all-season tires and a ripple cloth bench seat. The LE adds analog gauges with a tachometer, power windows, a rear armrest with pass-through and 40/60 split reclining seats in pallex cloth. The SE adds cruise control, fog lamps, dual exhaust, a tilt wheel, Rally Tuned suspension, P215/65R15 Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires, aluminum Sport wheels, a 5-speed manual and articulating power bucket seats.

The same catalog page prices nothing and prints no RPO codes, so this record's options section carries three option groups and seventeen individual options as uncoded, unpriced entries. Group I bundles electronic air conditioning, a tilt wheel, a lamp group and a visor vanity mirror. Group II adds cruise control and controlled-cycle wipers, and Group III adds power windows, power door locks with illuminated switches and a deck lid release. Individual options include the UM6 and UX1 Delco radios, a power antenna, reclining buckets with a console, two 15-inch Eagle GT+4 tire choices and a six-speaker amplified sound system for the LE and SE only. The Vital Specs box gives a 107.6-inch wheelbase, a 194.1-inch length, 3,038 pounds and a 16.0-gallon tank.