1981 Pontiac LeMans: the last rear-drive year

This record's own dek states that in its last year the rear-drive LeMans was catalogued with only a 3.8 V6 and a Pontiac 4.3 V8 that Pontiac said would be available only until about January 1981. This record's own overview states that Pontiac's 1981 catalog lists the LeMans and Grand LeMans coupe and sedan with two engines, a Buick-built 3.8-liter V6 two-barrel and a Pontiac-built 4.3-liter V8 two-barrel, both equipped with GM Computer Command Control, and that a note says the Pontiac V8 was available from the start of production until about January 1, 1981.

This record's own key facts state that the only sporting chassis option in the 1981 LeMans tables is the rally handling suspension, included with 205/70R14 white-sidewall or white-letter steel-belted tires. This record's own production rows document six separately scoped catalogue body totals, from 1,819 Grand LeMans two-door coupes to 25,241 Grand LeMans four-door sedans, each an all-engine total this record's own notes state must not be added into a series total unless a source states one.

Those same production notes document an extensive 2026-09-25 search for a combined LeMans-nameplate total that found none in the Standard Catalog of American Cars, and state that automobile-catalog.com's LeMans production page lists only the same three Grand LeMans body rows already in this record, carries no base-LeMans D-series rows for 1981 at all, and states no total, naming a Pontiac Historic Services request or a period trade digest as the best remaining sources. This record's own prices section documents thirteen catalogue price points, including a $7,100 LeMans LJ four-door sedan whose own note states its production is included in the D69 sedan total rather than counted separately.¹

This record's own engines section documents the Buick 3.8 V6 for LeMans and Grand LeMans in Federal and California form, automatic required in California, and the Pontiac 4.3 V8 for both trims in Federal and California form, automatic only, available from the start of production until about January 1, 1981. This record's own transmissions section documents automatic as the sole transmission, included in all three option groups and required with the V6 in California and with the V8.

This record's own options section documents the rally handling suspension, Option Groups 1, 2, and 3 building from custom air conditioning and Soft Ray glass up to cruise control, power locks and windows, an AM/FM stereo, and a tilt wheel in Group 3, a limited-slip differential, and bucket seats limited to the Grand LeMans. Fifteen exterior colors are documented for the year without production counts, from White to Dark Maroon Metallic.

This record's own specifications section documents the 108.1-inch wheelbase, a 198.6-inch overall length, a 71.3-inch width, an 18.1-gallon fuel tank, standard 185/75R14 tires limited to the six-cylinder, and EPA estimates of 21 mpg Federal and 20 mpg California for the V6 against 19 mpg for the V8 in both. This record's own performance, identification, and conflicts sections are all empty for this final year of the rear-drive LeMans, a documented gap rather than an assumption that no such data exists.